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Young children's overgeneralizations with fixed transitivity verbs
P J Brooks1, M Tomasello, K Dodson
1Department of Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, College of Staten Island, City University of New York 10314, USA. pbrooks@postbox.csi.cuny.edu
Child Development
|January 6, 2000
Summary
Children are more likely to misuse verbs they are less familiar with, demonstrating how verb usage becomes fixed over time. This research explores argument structure overgeneralization errors in young English speakers.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Linguistics
- Child Language Acquisition
Background:
- Children acquiring language often make argument structure overgeneralization errors.
- Understanding the factors influencing these errors is crucial for language development theories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate English-speaking children's tendency for argument structure overgeneralization errors.
- To examine the role of verb familiarity in overgeneralization patterns.
Main Methods:
- Seventy-two children aged 3, 4/5, and 8 years participated.
- Children were exposed to verbs with fixed transitivity and encouraged to overgeneralize.
- Verb familiarity (common vs. less common) was manipulated.
Main Results:
- Children across all age groups overgeneralized less familiar verbs more frequently.
- This finding supports the hypothesis that verb usage becomes entrenched with learning.
Conclusions:
- Verb familiarity significantly influences argument structure overgeneralization in children.
- As children learn verb transitivity, they become less likely to misuse them in novel constructions.
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