Final answer:
Perceptual encoding in language acquisition is the process by which infants start to recognize and differentiate between phonemes, the smallest meaningful units of sound. An example is an infant distinguishing between different dog sounds and recognizing them as the same concept, which is foundational for later language development.
Step-by-step explanation:
Prof. Pearl's proposition about perceptual encoding as a first step in language acquisition refers to how infants begin to process and organize the sounds they hear in their environment, even before they start to speak. Perceptual encoding involves the discrimination of phonemes, the smallest units of sound that can make a difference in word meaning.
An example of perceptual encoding is how infants are exposed to various sounds and begin to notice the differences between them, as demonstrated by Werker and Tees (1984). Initially, babies can differentiate between phonemes from all human languages but gradually start to specialize in the sounds that are relevant to their native language.
During this critical phase, the auditory system of infants is exceptionally adept at picking up phonetic nuances, which is essential for the later development of speaking and understanding a language. This cognitive process is tied to the biologically determined mechanisms underlying language acquisition. Thus, when 2-year-old Abdul, having a Labrador retriever at home, hears different dog sounds and sees other dogs in his picture books, he says, "Look mommy, dog!" indicating that he has perceptually encoded the schema for 'dog' and is able to generalize the concept to other dogs.