Multiple paths to language: Capturing the language learning environment and early language knowledge in Tseltal Maya infants

We propose to (1) develop and validate a battery of culturally sensitive language assessments, informed by data from naturalistic recordings from children’s own environments, and (2) use these assessments to test the presence of linguistic knowledge in infants exposed exclusively to overheard speech, which is often overlooked as a valuable source of input, despite its ubiquity across the globe.