In the context of language development, in what way are newborns more linguistically sophisticated than the average adult?

• A. Newborns can distinguish between phonemes from all languages, while adults are typically sensitive only to phonemes in their native language.
• B. Newborns have a larger vocabulary than adults.
• C. Newborns can produce complex grammatical sentences from birth.
• D. Newborns understand abstract language concepts better than adults.

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the concept of phonemes: Phonemes are the smallest units of sound in a language that can distinguish one word from another.
2. Recognize that newborns have the ability to perceive and distinguish phonemes from all languages, not just the language they are exposed to after birth.
3. Contrast this with adults, who typically become specialized in perceiving phonemes only from their native language(s) due to a process called perceptual narrowing.
4. Note that this early ability in newborns is a form of linguistic sophistication because it provides a broad foundation for language learning before specialization occurs.
5. Conclude that the key linguistic sophistication of newborns compared to adults is their universal phoneme discrimination ability, rather than vocabulary size, grammatical production, or abstract language understanding.