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Temporal and spatial concepts in child language: conventional and configurational
1Department of Psychology, SUNY College, Fredonia, NY 14063, USA.
Journal of Psycholinguistic Research
|July 3, 2002
Summary
Children’s understanding of time and space in language develops in stages. Configurational concepts are grasped before conventional ones, with simpler spatial arrangements being easier to comprehend.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Child language acquisition involves understanding complex concepts like time and space.
- Distinguishing between configurational (relative) and conventional (absolute) temporal and spatial systems is crucial for language development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the emergence of configurational and conventional temporal and spatial systems in child language.
- To analyze how children comprehend different types of spatial and temporal references.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study was conducted with children aged 3 years 9 months, 6 years 7 months, and 8 years 7 months.
- A comprehension test involved matching sentences describing temporal/spatial relations with corresponding pictures.
Main Results:
- Configurational contrasts in time and space were generally easier for children to comprehend than conventional contrasts.
- Within configurational contrasts, locating objects relative to a single referent was simpler than with multiple referents.
- No significant difference was found between the comprehension of temporal and spatial dimensions.
Conclusions:
- The findings suggest a developmental progression in understanding temporal and spatial language, with configurational aspects emerging earlier.
- Conceptual development plays a significant role, with implications for comparing first and second language acquisition.