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Discourse Coherence as a Cue to Reference in Word Learning: Evidence for Discourse Bootstrapping
Jessica Sullivan1,2, Juliana Boucher1,3, Reina J Kiefer1,4
1Department of Psychology, Skidmore College.
Cognitive Science
|January 17, 2019
Summary
Children use discourse coherence relations, like cause and effect, to learn new words. This study shows how causal and temporal links in language help young children understand novel word meanings.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Developmental Psychology
- Linguistics
Background:
- Word learning relies on linguistic context to narrow down word meanings.
- The precise mechanisms of word meaning inference from context in children are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if adults and children utilize discourse coherence relations to interpret novel words.
- To examine the role of causal and temporal relations in constraining word meaning inference.
Main Methods:
- Participants (58 adults, 180 children aged 2-6) watched videos of novel animals with described events.
- A single word (and vs. because) was manipulated in descriptions to alter discourse relations (causal, temporal).
- Participants identified the referent of a novel word based on the manipulated context.
Main Results:
- Young children demonstrated an ability to use causal and temporal discourse relations to infer novel word meanings.
- Evidence suggests children's word interpretation is constrained by the meaningful relationships between events.
Conclusions:
- Discourse coherence relations play a significant role in children's novel word learning.
- Causal and temporal information within discourse aids young children in understanding new vocabulary.
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