Abstract: Infant word learning is a hot topic in language development. Most research is working with English infants. Currently there are few studies on early language development with Chinese infants. Since Mandarin Chinese is different from English in many aspects, adults’ "input" and non-linguistic cues all influence infant word learning, these may lead to different word learning pattern. This study aims to investigate Chinese and English infant word learning (including word comprehension and production) and adults’ linguistic and non-linguistic input features that may improve infant language development. The study will adopt lab experiment, observation and scale measurement, using new technique (such as habituation and IPLP), to explore word learning and factors that influence its development. The result may reveal the language-specific and general machanism and shed light to children’s word learning.

Key words: infant, language development, cross-cultural, mandarin Chinese