Sharon M. Guten Colloquium Series: Makeba Wilbourn, Duke University

Title: Culture Matters: Understanding Gesture, Language, and Learning through a Sociocultural Lens

Abstract: The origins of human language are rooted in nonverbal communication. Many contend that non-verbal gestures laid the foundation for humans’ advanced system of oral communication. A remarkably similar gesture-to-speech trajectory is evident across the first three years of life as most human infants transition from relying almost exclusively on non-verbal, communicative gestures to mastering the nuances of spoken language. In fact, infants’ early communicative gestures not only predict their first spoken words, but also predict vocabulary development years later. Although this gesture-language link remains robust throughout early childhood, important questions remain as to how gestures impact infants’ early word learning. Moreover, important differences in gesture use are evident across cultures. To date, we know very little about how cultural differences influence the relation between gesture and language in various ethnic/racial groups within the United States. Dr. Wilbourn will discuss research related to (1) the relation between early gesture and language development in typically-developing and at-risk populations (e.g., preverbal infants, African-American toddlers) and (2) culturally-specific factors (e.g., ethnicity/race, dialect, poverty) that influence children’s vocabulary and reading development in the United States.