Danish has a tendency for speakers to swallow the end of syllables such that in many cases you will lose a lot of information. Children have problems figuring out where words begin and end when they happen in these kind of long sort of vowel-like sequences. And we found that that affects the ability to pick up vocabulary. Danish children are behind, for example, the kids learning Swedish or Norwegian or other European languages.
Morten Christiansen is Professor of Psychology at Cornell University and Nick Chater is Professor of Behavioural Science at Warwick Business School. Together, they've written The Language Game, a new book which explores the science and psychology of language and some of its mysteries too. Hosting the discussion is journalist Christine Ro, whose work covers areas ranging from science and culture to international development.
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