Elissa L. Newport
Encyclopedia
Elissa L. Newport is George Eastman Professor
of Brain
& Cognitive Sciences and Linguistics
at the University of Rochester
. She specializes in language acquisition
and developmental psycholinguistics
, focusing on the relationship between language development
and language structure
.
in 1975, where her advisors were Lila Gleitman
and Henry Gleitman. She was a member of the faculty in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, San Diego
and the University of Illinois before joining the faculty at the University of Rochester
, where she currently serves as George Eastman Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences.
using miniature languages presented to learners in the lab, where both the input and the structure of the language can be controlled, to see how the learning
process (called "statistical learning") actually works. A second line of research concerns maturational effects
on language learning, comparing children to adults as first
and second language learners
, and asking why children, who are more limited in most cognitive domains, perform better than adults in language acquisition. She also conducts studies of human learners acquiring music
al and other nonlinguistic patterns
, and of nonhuman primates attempting to learn the same materials, to see where sequential learning, and the constraints on such learning, differ across species and domains. A long-term interest concerns understanding why languages universally display certain types of structures, and considers whether constraints on pattern learning in children may provide part of the basis for universal regularities in languages of the world. Her most recent work investigates language and the brain, using fMRI to examine how signed and spoken languages are represented in the brain and how language is reorganized after damage or disease.
, the Society for Experimental Psychologists, the Cognitive Science Society
, the American Association for the Advancement of Science
, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
, and the National Academy of Sciences
. Her research has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health
, the National Science Foundation
, the McDonnell Foundation, and the Packard Foundation.
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
& Cognitive Sciences and Linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
at the University of Rochester
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
. She specializes in language acquisition
Language acquisition
Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive, produce and use words to understand and communicate. This capacity involves the picking up of diverse capacities including syntax, phonetics, and an extensive vocabulary. This language might be vocal as with...
and developmental psycholinguistics
Developmental linguistics
Developmental linguistics is the study of the development of linguistic ability in an individual, particularly the acquisition of language in childhood...
, focusing on the relationship between language development
Language development
Language development is a process starting early in human life, when a person begins to acquire language by learning it as it is spoken and by mimicry. Children's language development moves from simple to complex. Infants start without language. Yet by four months of age, babies can read lips and...
and language structure
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
.
Biography
Newport received a Ph.D from the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
in 1975, where her advisors were Lila Gleitman
Lila R. Gleitman
Lila Gleitman is a Professor Emerita of Psychology and Linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania. She is an internationally-renowned expert on language acquisition and developmental psycholinguistics, focusing on children's learning of their first language. Gleitman received a B.A. in...
and Henry Gleitman. She was a member of the faculty in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
and the University of Illinois before joining the faculty at the University of Rochester
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
, where she currently serves as George Eastman Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences.
Research interests
Newport studies both normal acquisition and creolizationCreole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
using miniature languages presented to learners in the lab, where both the input and the structure of the language can be controlled, to see how the learning
Learning
Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning...
process (called "statistical learning") actually works. A second line of research concerns maturational effects
Maturation
Maturation could refer to any of the following:* Fetal development* Developmental biology* Emotional development* Or physical maturation of any biological life form - see individual articles for maturation of different life forms....
on language learning, comparing children to adults as first
Language acquisition
Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive, produce and use words to understand and communicate. This capacity involves the picking up of diverse capacities including syntax, phonetics, and an extensive vocabulary. This language might be vocal as with...
and second language learners
Second language acquisition
Second-language acquisition or second-language learning is the process by which people learn a second language. Second-language acquisition is also the name of the scientific discipline devoted to studying that process...
, and asking why children, who are more limited in most cognitive domains, perform better than adults in language acquisition. She also conducts studies of human learners acquiring music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
al and other nonlinguistic patterns
Pattern
A pattern, from the French patron, is a type of theme of recurring events or objects, sometimes referred to as elements of a set of objects.These elements repeat in a predictable manner...
, and of nonhuman primates attempting to learn the same materials, to see where sequential learning, and the constraints on such learning, differ across species and domains. A long-term interest concerns understanding why languages universally display certain types of structures, and considers whether constraints on pattern learning in children may provide part of the basis for universal regularities in languages of the world. Her most recent work investigates language and the brain, using fMRI to examine how signed and spoken languages are represented in the brain and how language is reorganized after damage or disease.
Less is more hypothesis
One of Newport's most well-known contributions to the field of language acquisition research is the less is more hypothesis. In this hypothesis, Newport posits that children are better able to learn languages than adults because they have fewer cognitive resources available to them. This is advantageous in learning a complex combinatorial system such as a human language because children, given their cognitive limitations, will naturally proceed by beginning with small parts and will acquire more complex constructions only as they mature. In contrast, more competent adults will begin by trying to analyze more complexity from the start and will have difficulty finding the best analyses. In her miniature language studies she has shown that children and adults differ in language learning in well controlled studies in the lab, with young children acquiring regular patterns and rules even when their input is inconsistent. This regularization process provides an explanation of how children may contribute to the formation of languages over generations.Recognition
Newport has been recognized by a number of organizations for the impact of her theoretical and empirical contributions to the field of language acquisition. She has been elected as a fellow in the Association for Psychological ScienceAssociation for Psychological Science
The Association for Psychological Science , previously the American Psychological Society, is a non-profit international organization whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in research, application, teaching, and the improvement of...
, the Society for Experimental Psychologists, the Cognitive Science Society
Cognitive Science Society
The Cognitive Science Society is a professional society for the interdisciplinary field of cognitive science. It brings together researchers from many fields who hold the common goal of understanding the nature of the human mind...
, the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
, and the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
. Her research has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
, the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
, the McDonnell Foundation, and the Packard Foundation.