Early exposure to language strongly influences the ability to learn a new language, regardless of the type of language experience, Canadian researchers have found.

Researchers at McGill University in Montreal, the University of Ottawa and the University of Western Ontario in London studied groups of deaf and hearing adults to see how early exposure to language influences linguistic ability.

They found that deaf and hearing adults who experienced either American Sign Language or spoken languages when they were young showed similar abilities to pick up a new language later in life.

But deaf adults who missed out at experiencing language when they were young weren't as adept at learning a new language when they grew up.

"People have always thought that the human capacity to learn language simply disappears as the brain ages," said Rachel Mayberry, director of McGill's School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, in a release.

"Our research shows that when the young brain learns language, it develops a lifelong capacity to learn language. When the young brain does not experience language, this language-learning capacity does not fully develop."

All hearing babies experience language from birth, so the researchers also had to look at deaf subjects, who may not experience language until they are enrolled in special programs.

The results support findings that experience affects visual development and other types of learning in animals and humans.

The study appears in Thursday's issue of the journal, Nature.