ABSTRACT
Given the extensive evidence of canalization in the development of infraphonological capabilities, it is worth taking a somewhat deeper look at circumstances that delay or otherwise disrupt the process. Congenital deafness produces severe delays in the onset of canonical babbling, and it can be concluded, as a consequence, that hearing experience normally plays at least a role in triggering the events that lead to well-formed syllable production. Yet it is worthwhile to ask why deaf children ever go on to babble if hearing is so important to the process of development.
