ABSTRACT

Does language have a role to play in conceptual development, and if so, what is that role? Understanding the contents of another person’s mind parallels the development in early childhood of mental state language. Does the conceptual understanding get reflected in and drive the language development, or does the language allow the representation of propositional attitudes like belief? The paper reviews the evidence and sets up the terms of the debate, focusing on the syntax for mental states. It also asks whether syntax development could serve as a scaffold for other concepts that are described by propositions rather than labels. Finally, it reviews experimentation on the syntax of embedded clauses, where subtle phenomena are acquired for which it is impossible to imagine nonverbal counterparts: here, language is human thinking.

摘要

语言在概念发展中是否发挥作用？如果是，那么该作用是什么？理解他人思想的内容与幼儿期心理状态语言的发展是平行的。概念理解是否会在语言中得到体现并推动语言发展，或者语言是否允许诸如信念之类的命题态度的表达？本文回顾了证据并设定了辩论的期限，重点关注精神状态的语法。它还询问语法开发是否可以充当由命题而不是标签描述的其他概念的支架。最后，它回顾了关于嵌入式从句语法的实验，该实验获得了微妙的现象，因此无法想象非语言的对应物：在这里，语言是人类的思维。