Making sense of sensory language: Acquisition of sensory knowledge by individuals with congenital sensory impairments. (9th September 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Campbell, Erin E.; Bergelson, Elika
• Is Part Of: Neuropsychologia. Number 174(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-09-09
• Subjects: Neuropsychology -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Psychophysiology -- Periodicals; Neuropsychologie -- Périodiques; Neuropsychology; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 616.8
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108320
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0028-3932

Abstract

Abstract: The present article provides a narrative review on how language communicates sensory information and how knowledge of sight and sound develops in individuals born deaf or blind. Studying knowledge of the perceptually inaccessible sensory domain for these populations offers a lens into how humans learn about that which they cannot perceive. We first review the linguistic strategies within language that communicate sensory information. Highlighting the power of language to shape knowledge, we next review the detailed knowledge of sensory information by individuals with congenital sensory impairments, limitations therein, and neural representations of imperceptible phenomena. We suggest that the acquisition of sensory knowledge is supported by language, experience with multiple perceptual domains, and cognitive and social abilities which mature over the first years of life, both in individuals with and without sensory impairment. We conclude by proposing a developmental trajectory for acquiring sensory knowledge in the absence of sensory perception. Highlights: Linguistic structure and dedicated sensory language communicate sensory information. Deaf and blind individuals develop rich knowledge of sound and sight. Linguistic mechanisms for acquiring sensory knowledge are universal. Sensory impairment may increase reliance on linguistic structure in language learning. A proposal for language learning in blind and deaf children is articulated.