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Updated: May 10, 2026
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Published on: April 19, 2017
What influences children's conceptualizations of language input?
Elena Plante1, Rebecca Vance, Amanda Moody
1Correspondence to Elena Plante: eplante@email.arizona.edu.
Summary
Children learning language initially focus on narrow input patterns, preferring familiar sounds. However, their language conceptualization can be influenced by changes in the language input they receive.
Area of Science:
- Child language acquisition
- Developmental psycholinguistics
- Specific language impairment (SLI)
Background:
- Children develop language by forming conceptualizations of input.
- Understanding how children with and without SLI conceptualize language is crucial for intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how children with and without SLI conceptualize artificial language input.
- To determine if children can shift their conceptualizations based on modified input.
Main Methods:
- Preschool children (with and without SLI) were exposed to an artificial language over two studies.
- Children judged test strings based on their understanding of the language's fundamental properties.
Main Results:
- All children initially preferred narrow conceptualizations, favoring input most similar to familiarization examples.
- Children demonstrated a strong preference for phonology as a key language property.
- Input restructuring successfully induced children to track word order.
Conclusions:
- Children naturally gravitate towards narrow conceptualizations of language.
- The nature of language input significantly influences children's conceptualizations.
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