http://www.gaelport.com/index.php?page=clippings&id=2014&viewby=date

quote:

The latest finding, published in the journal Science, shows that four- month-old infants can tell whether someone is speaking in their native tongue or not without any sound, just by watching a silent movie of their speech.

This ability disappears by the age of eight months, however, unless the child grows up in a bilingual environment and therefore needs to use the skill.

Tá seans ag m'iníon, mar sin. Faoi láthair, cloiseann sí ceithre theanga - tá au pair ón Iodáil againn!

Is fearr i bhfad liom "cheithre teangacha" ná "ceithre theanga"!

An cheart agat arís, mar is iondúil.

Ach is dócha go mbeadh "ceithre cinn de theangacha" níos cruinne fós.

Is ionann "cheithre cinn desna teangachaibh" agus "cheithre teangacha", is dócha. Ach b'fhéidir gur coitianta "cheithre cinn desna teangachaibh" ná "cheithre teangacha", ní fheadar!

Ní thuigeam cad é atá cearr le "ceithre theanga". Deirfinnse féin "ceithre theangaidh". Abair liom cad é nach dtaitníonn leat sa fhrása sin.

Ní hionann "cheithre cinn desna teangachaibh" agus cheithre teangacha". Ciallann a’ chéad chionn "four of the languages (we’ve already mentioned)" agus an darna cionn "four languages".

Ina dhiaidh sin, b’ionann "cheithre cinn de theangachaibh" agus "c(h)eithre theanga" ó thaobh na céille dó.

quote:

The latest finding, published in the journal Science, shows that four- month-old infants can tell whether someone is speaking in their native tongue or not without any sound, just by watching a silent movie of their speech.

This ability disappears by the age of eight months, however, unless the child grows up in a bilingual environment and therefore needs to use the skill.

To clarify:

Can they tell:
a) Whether a speaker is speaking in the speaker's native tongue.
b) Whether a speaker is speaking in the infant's native tongue.

The former would be quite impressive.

So basically are you saying that analysing by vision alone, they can confirm or deny whether the "native tongue" is being spoken? Well how much time does it take them to make this analysis? I'm sure anyone could do it given enough time.

Computers can be trained to read lips ('visemes' or lip shapes) and then abstract the main phonemes and do morphing for any of the other ones (allophones etc)

http://cuneus.ai.mit.edu:8000/research/miketalk/miketalk.html

Tubbies learning in their sleep: http://www.babyplus.com/finnish_study.aspx

quote:

Ní hionann "cheithre cinn desna teangachaibh" agus cheithre teangacha".

Níl an ceart agat, go háirithe sa Mhumhain. Is ionann iadsan!

quote:

The latest finding, published in the journal Science, shows that four- month-old infants can tell whether someone is speaking in their native tongue or not without any sound, just by watching a silent movie of their speech.

Which then begs the question, can they then tell whether someone is speaking in their native dialect just by watching?

Mac Léinn Léimh Liopaí

That is a good question. If they have to go on is visemes one woudl think that differently pronounced dialects might throw things a bit

Níl an ceart agat, go háirithe sa Mhumhain. Is ionann iadsan!

Tá tú a’ ráidht gurb ionann "na teangacha" agus "teangacha". Tá ’n chéad chionn cinnte agus an darna cionn éiginnte, nach bhfuil ?

Ní fheicim céard atá mícheart le 'ceithre theanga.' An bhféadfadh duine éigin mé a chur ar an eolas?

quote:

ceithre theanga

Tá sé ceart caighdeánach. Níl tada cearr leis.

quote:

If they have to go on is visemes one would think that differently pronounced dialects might throw things a bit

Tá sé an-suimiúil. Físéim - focal an lae. Here's an article that elaborates on Bearn's point quoted above:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viseme

quote:

Phonemes and visemes do not share a one-to-one correspondence; often, several phonemes share the same viseme. In other words, several phonemes look the same on the face when produced.

I would think that if newborns are using only their sight as sensors/transducers(gabh mo leithscéal; is innealtóir mé agus nil aithne orm an focal ceart) to identify the differences between native and non-native tongues, they would be able to identify different dialects, but might not be able to identify those dialectical differences where the phonemes are dialectically different but the the visemes are the same.

Mac Léinn Físéimi

Fáilte roimh ceartucháin, go raibh míle maith agaibh.

Go raibh maith a't a Dennis, agus do chéad fáilte ar ais.

A Mhic Leinn, I'm glad Dennis is back too. I miss his hard to desipher messages to me.

Beir bua agus beannacht

Fáilte ar ais, a Dennis!

Theastaigh uainn do shaineolas cúpla uair - agus do chomhluadar i gcónaí!

quote:

Tá sé ceart caighdeánach. Níl tada cearr leis.

Caighdeánach, ach ní í an fhoirm Ghaelach a dóthain í mar nach í an fhoirm stairiúil í!

Nach bhfuil sí sách Gaelach má tá sí á h-úsáid ag cainteoirí líofa agus cainteoirí dúchais?