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Related Experiment Videos

Semantic generality, input frequency and the acquisition of syntax.

Anna L Theakston1, Elena V M Lieven, Julian M Pine

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Manchester, United Kingdom. theaksto@psy.man.ac.uk

Journal of Child Language
|April 1, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Semantic generality does not significantly predict early verb acquisition in children. Input frequency, not semantic status, is the key factor in learning new words and structures.

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Area of Science:

  • Linguistics
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Semantic generality is proposed as a key factor in language acquisition order.
  • Input frequency often confounds the assessment of semantic generality's role.
  • The precise influence of semantic status versus input properties on early lexical acquisition remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the relative impact of semantic status and input properties on children's acquisition of verbs and argument structures.
  • To investigate how semantic generality and input frequency influence the early use of lexical items.
  • To examine the relationship between semantic generality and various measures of early verb usage.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of early verb utterances from 9 English-speaking children aged 2;0 to 3;0.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Examination of verb acquisition order across three constructions.
  • Assessment of syntactic diversity, proportional use of general verbs, and grammatical accuracy.

    • Main Results:

    • Measures of semantic generality showed a correlation with early verb use.
    • Once input verb frequency effects were controlled, semantic generality was not a significant predictor of early verb use.
    • Input frequency appears to be a more critical factor than semantic generality in early lexical acquisition.

    Conclusions:

    • Semantic generality alone does not significantly predict the order of verb acquisition in early child language.
    • Input frequency plays a more substantial role in the early acquisition of verbs and their argument structures.
    • Findings challenge purely semantic-based theories of verb argument structure acquisition.