ERIC Number: EJ839234
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0885-2014
EISSN: N/A
Vacuuming with My "Mouth"?: Children's Ability to Comprehend Novel Extensions of Familiar Verbs
Seston, Rebecca; Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick; Ma, Weiyi; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy
Cognitive Development, v24 n2 p113-124 Apr-Jun 2009
Can 6- and 8-year-olds (and adults) comprehend common instrument verbs when extended to novel situations? Participants heard eight unusual extensions of common verbs and were asked to paraphrase the verbs' meanings. Half of the verbs used were "specified instrument" verbs that include the name of the instrument used to perform the action (e.g., a "vacuum" is used to "vacuum"); the other half were "open instrument" verbs (e.g., "write") whose function can be performed with a range of objects. Results suggest that children's ability to interpret verb extensions increases with age, that open instrument verb extensions were more difficult to comprehend than specified instrument verb extensions and that performance on verb extension correlates with scores on a standardized test of language acquisition. Verb knowledge continues to develop well beyond the preschool years. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)
Descriptors: Verbs, Standardized Tests, Novels, Language Acquisition, Children, Cognitive Development, Scores, Age Differences
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A