Developmental

There are a number of unanswered questions in psycholinguistics. In part, they are suggested by some of the items mentioned in the section on "theories" (above). For example, is the human ability to use syntax based on innate mental structures or is syntactic speech the function of intelligence and interaction with other humans? Can we even design psycholinguistic experiments to find that out? Research in animal communication has much to offer here. Can some animals be taught the syntax of human language? If so, what does that mean? If not, what does that mean?

How are infants able to learn language? Almost all healthy human infants acquire language readily in the first few years of life. This is true across cultures and societies. And what about children who do not learn language properly? There is a broad field called aphasia that deals with language deficits. Can research in psycholinguistics ever be of some therapeutic value? In addition, it is much more difficult for adults to acquire second languages than it is for infants to learn their first language (bilingual infants are able to learn both of their native languages easily). Thus, critical periods may exist during which language is able to be learned readily. A great deal of research in psycholinguistics focuses on how this ability develops and diminishes over time. It also seems to be the case that the more languages one knows, the easier it is to learn more.

Also, recent research using new non-invasive imaging techniques seeks to shed light on just where language is located in the brain. How localized is language? How distributed is it from one hemisphere to the other? The older, traditional descriptions of the language functions of Broca's area, Wernicke's area and other areas of the brain will be refined as research continues.