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Beyond the data gap: Children create languages, violate their input statistics, and exhibit critical periods

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2026

Annika McDermott-Hinman Open the ORCID record for Annika McDermott-Hinman [Opens in a new window]  and
Roman Feiman Open the ORCID record for Roman Feiman [Opens in a new window]
Annika McDermott-Hinman
Affiliation:
Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, USA annikamh406@gmail.com
Roman Feiman*
Affiliation:
Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, USA annikamh406@gmail.com Linguistics, Brown University, Providence, USA roman_feiman@brown.edu
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

Futrell and Mahowald argue language model (LM) success suggests humans may learn language entirely through domain-general statistical mechanisms. However, children differ crucially from LMs in their ability to surpass their input, their language learning trajectory, and the presence of a critical period. Until LMs account for these phenomena, it remains possible that human language acquisition is supported by innate, language-specific learning mechanisms.

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Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 49 , 2026 , e215
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© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press

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