Redundancy can benefit learning: Evidence from word order and case marking

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Developmental Psychology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Language redundancy is common, yet speakers often omit predictable elements.
• The function of redundancy in language acquisition remains debated.
• The Linguistic Niche Hypothesis suggests redundancy aids child learners.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if redundancy in linguistic cues facilitates language learning.
• To test the hypothesis that redundant cues improve comprehension, especially in children.
• To explore the differential effects of redundancy on language production and comprehension.

Main Methods:

• An artificial language learning experiment involving children and adults.
• Participants learned a novel construction with either word order alone or word order plus case marking (redundancy).
• Comprehension and production accuracy were assessed for thematic assignment.

Main Results:

• Children learning the redundant language showed superior comprehension of thematic assignment.
• Children's production accuracy for word order was similar across conditions.
• Adult learners performed at ceiling, showing no significant benefit from redundancy.

Conclusions:

• Redundant linguistic cues can enhance language acquisition, particularly comprehension in children.
• Redundancy may play a crucial role in the development of morphological complexity.
• Findings suggest redundancy benefits may be age-dependent and impact comprehension more than production.