ERIC Number: EJ1010596
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Apr
Pages: 36
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0364-0213
EISSN: N/A
How Do Children Restrict Their Linguistic Generalizations? An (Un- )Grammaticality Judgment Study
Ambridge, Ben
Cognitive Science, v37 n3 p508-543 Apr 2013
A paradox at the heart of language acquisition research is that, to achieve adult-like competence, children must acquire the ability to generalize verbs into non-attested structures, while avoiding utterances that are deemed ungrammatical by native speakers. For example, children must learn that, to denote the reversal of an action, "un-" can be added to many verbs, but not all (e.g., "roll/unroll"; "close/*unclose"). This study compared theoretical accounts of how this is done. Children aged 5-6 ("N" = 18), 9-10 ("N" = 18), and adults ("N" = 18) rated the acceptability of "un-" prefixed forms of 48 verbs (and, as a control, bare forms). Across verbs, a negative correlation was observed between the acceptability of ungrammatical "un-" prefixed forms (e.g., "*unclose") and the frequency of (a) the bare form and (b) alternative forms (e.g., "open"), supporting the "entrenchment" and "pre-emption" hypotheses, respectively. Independent ratings of the extent to which verbs instantiate the semantic properties characteristic of a hypothesized semantic cryptotype for "un-" prefixation were a significant positive predictor of acceptability, for all age groups. The relative importance of each factor differed for attested and unattested "un-" forms and also varied with age. The findings are interpreted in the context of a new hybrid account designed to incorporate the three factors of entrenchment, pre-emption, and verb semantics. (Contains 4 tables, 3 figures, and 13 notes.)
Descriptors: Generalization, Comparative Analysis, Verbs, Grammar, Young Children, Semantics, Linguistic Theory, Morphology (Languages), Children, Adults, Language Acquisition, Foreign Countries, Computational Linguistics, Predictor Variables, Accuracy, Evaluation Methods, Statistical Analysis, Age Differences
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A