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How do children restrict their linguistic generalizations? An (un-)grammaticality judgment study
1Institute of Psychology, Health & Society, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZA, UK. Ben.Ambridge@Liverpool.ac.uk
Cognitive Science
|December 21, 2012
Summary
Children learn verb rules by considering word frequency, alternatives, and semantics. This research explains how kids master complex language generalization while avoiding errors.
Area of Science:
- Psycholinguistics
- Developmental Psychology
- Linguistics
Background:
- Children must generalize verbs to non-attested structures for adult-like language competence.
- Learning which verbs accept the 'un-' prefix (e.g., unroll vs. *unclose) presents a challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare theoretical accounts of how children learn verb generalization, specifically for the 'un-' prefix.
- To investigate the roles of entrenchment, pre-emption, and verb semantics in this process.
Main Methods:
- Children (5-6 and 9-10 years) and adults rated the acceptability of 'un-' prefixed verbs.
- Statistical analyses examined correlations between acceptability and word frequency, alternative forms, and semantic properties.
Main Results:
- Acceptability of ungrammatical 'un-' forms negatively correlated with bare form frequency (entrenchment) and alternative form frequency (pre-emption).
- Verb semantics significantly predicted acceptability across all age groups.
- The influence of these factors varied by age and whether 'un-' forms were attested.
Conclusions:
- A hybrid account integrating entrenchment, pre-emption, and verb semantics best explains 'un-' prefix generalization.
- Language acquisition involves a complex interplay of lexical frequency, semantic patterns, and age-dependent processing.
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