Vera Kempe
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 229551 |
|---|---|
| NOME | Vera Kempe |
| PRENOMES | Vera |
| SOBRENOME | Kempe |
| ASSINATURA | KEMPE V |
| AFILIAÇÕES | Abertay University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5649-4351 |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 18 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 49 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 18 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 1999 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2024 |
| ÍNDICE H | 5 |
Does child-directed speech facilitate language development in all domains? A study space analysis of the existing evidence
Because child-directed speech (CDS) is ubiquitous in some cultures and because positive associations between certain features of the language input and certain learning outcomes have been attested it has often been claimed that the function of CDS is to aid children’s language development in general. We argue that for this claim to be generalisable, superior learning from CDS compared to non-CDS, such as adult-directed speech (ADS), must be demon…
Language control in regional dialect speakers – monolingual by name, bilingual by nature
While research on bilingual language processing is sensitive to different usage contexts, monolinguals are still often treated as a homogeneous control group, despite frequently using multiple varieties that may require engagement of control mechanisms during lexical access. Adapting a language-switching task for speakers of (Scottish) Standard English and Orcadian Scots, we demonstrate switch cost asymmetries with longer naming latencies when sw…
How are exemplar representations transformed by encoding, retrieval, and explicit knowledge? A commentary on Ambridge (2020)
The radical exemplar model resonates with work on perceptual classification and categorization highlighting the role of exemplars in memory representations. Retrieval operations potentially serve as a mechanism for abstraction as representations of exemplars are distorted through reconstructive processes. As a framework applicable to both first and second language acquisition, the model needs to account for how explicit knowledge arises and its r…
Playing with language, creating complexity
We argue that enhanced play may have contributed to the emergence of complex language systems in modern humans ( Homo sapiens ). To support this idea, we first discuss evidence for an expansion of playing behavior connected to the extended childhood of modern human children, and the potential of this period for the transmission of complex cultural traits, including language. We then link two of the most important functions of play—exploration and…
More Is More in Language Learning
The Less-Is-More hypothesis was proposed to explain age-of-acquisition effects in first language (L1) and second language (L2) learning. We scrutinize different renditions of the hypothesis by examining how learning outcomes are affected by (a) limited cognitive capacity, (b) reduced interference resulting from less prior knowledge, and (c) simplified language input. While there is little to no evidence of benefits of limited cognitive capacity, …
Distributional Effects and Individual Differences in L2 Morphology Learning
Second language (L2) learning outcomes may depend on the structure of the input and learners' cognitive abilities. This study tested whether less predictable input might facilitate learning and generalization of L2 morphology while evaluating contributions of statistical learning ability, nonverbal intelligence, phonological short-term memory, and verbal working memory. Over three sessions, 54 adults were exposed to a Russian case-marking paradig…
Modern Theories of Language
Musical ability and non-native speech-sound processing are linked through sensitivity to pitch and spectral information
Is the observed link between musical ability and non-native speech-sound processing due to enhanced sensitivity to acoustic features underlying both musical and linguistic processing? To address this question, native English speakers (N = 118) discriminated Norwegian tonal contrasts and Norwegian vowels. Short tones differing in temporal, pitch, and spectral characteristics were used to measure sensitivity to the various acoustic features implica…
Masculine Men Articulate Less Clearly
Second Language Learning Benefits from Similarity in Word Endings
Diminutive derivations (e.g., froggy, bootie) constitute morphophonologically similar clusters of words in child-directed speech and serve as low-level schema for learning morphological regularities. Previous research has demonstrated that by regularizing noun endings, diminutives (e.g., Russian: domik, svechka) facilitate word-boundary identification and the acquisition of inflectional morphology. In this study, adult native speakers of English …
Cognitive Predictors of Generalization of Russian Grammatical Gender Categories
This study explores how learners generalize grammatical categories such as noun gender. Adult native English speakers with no prior knowledge of Russian (N = 47, ages 17-55 years) were trained to categorize Russian masculine and feminine diminutive nouns according to gender. The training set was morphophonologically homogeneous due to similarities induced by the diminutive suffixes. Generalization was tested using simplex and diminutive nouns wit…
Acquisition of gender agreement in Lithuanian
This study examines Lithuanian children's acquisition of gender agreement using an elicited production task. Lithuanian is a richly inflected Baltic language, with two genders and seven cases. Younger ( N =24, mean 3 ; 1, 2 ; 5–3 ; 8) and older ( N =24, mean 6 ; 3, 5 ; 6–6 ; 9) children were shown pictures of animals and asked to describe them after hearing the animal's name. Animal names differed with respect to familiarity (novel vs. familiar),…
Second Language Learning of Complex Inflectional Systems
This study explored learning and generalization of parts of the Russian case-marking paradigm, an inflecting-fusional system in which affixes simultaneously mark several grammatical features (case, gender, number, animacy). In Experiment 1, adult English speakers (N= 43) were exposed to nouns with transparent gender marking in the nominative case and learned to inflect nouns for two oblique cases. Experiment 2 (N= 44) used nouns that in the nomin…
Male facial attractiveness, perceived personality, and child-directed speech
Crosslinguistic evidence for the diminutive advantage
Our previous research showed that Russian children commit fewer gender-agreement errors with diminutive nouns than with their simplex counterparts. Experiment 1 replicates this finding with Russian children ( N =24, mean 3;7, range 2;10–4;6). Gender agreement was recorded from adjective usage as children described animal pictures given just their names, varying in derivational status (diminutive/simplex), novelty, and gender. Experiment 2 extends…
Diminutivization supports gender acquisition in Russian children
Gender agreement elicitation was used with Russian children to examine how diminutives common in Russian child-directed speech affect gender learning. Forty-six children (2;9–4;8) were shown pictures of familiar and of novel animals and asked to describe them after hearing their names, which all contained regular morphophonological cues to masculine or feminine gender. Half were presented as simplex (e.g. jozh ‘porcupine’) and half as diminutive …
The Role of Diminutives in the Acquisition of Russian Gender
This study investigated second-language (L2) learning to gain a better understanding of learning mechanisms that also operate in child first-language (L1) learners. The research was inspired by research on the beneficial effects of child-directed speech (CDS). We tried to examine whether such benefits can be observed in the domain of inflectional morphology in adult L2 learners. Specifically, we investigated whether one typical feature of CDS, di…
The Role of Sentence Context in Accessing Partial Knowledge of Word Meanings
The Role of Diminutives in the Acquisition of Russian Gender
This study investigated second-language (L2) learning to gain a better understanding of learning mechanisms that also operate in child first-language (L1) learners. The research was inspired by research on the beneficial effects of child-directed speech (CDS). We tried to examine whether such benefits can be observed in the domain of inflectional morphology in adult L2 learners. Specifically, we investigated whether one typical feature of CDS, di…
Second Language Learning of Complex Inflectional Systems
This study explored learning and generalization of parts of the Russian case-marking paradigm, an inflecting-fusional system in which affixes simultaneously mark several grammatical features (case, gender, number, animacy). In Experiment 1, adult English speakers (N= 43) were exposed to nouns with transparent gender marking in the nominative case and learned to inflect nouns for two oblique cases. Experiment 2 (N= 44) used nouns that in the nomin…
Musical ability and non-native speech-sound processing are linked through sensitivity to pitch and spectral information
Is the observed link between musical ability and non-native speech-sound processing due to enhanced sensitivity to acoustic features underlying both musical and linguistic processing? To address this question, native English speakers (N = 118) discriminated Norwegian tonal contrasts and Norwegian vowels. Short tones differing in temporal, pitch, and spectral characteristics were used to measure sensitivity to the various acoustic features implica…
Second Language Learning Benefits from Similarity in Word Endings
Diminutive derivations (e.g., froggy, bootie) constitute morphophonologically similar clusters of words in child-directed speech and serve as low-level schema for learning morphological regularities. Previous research has demonstrated that by regularizing noun endings, diminutives (e.g., Russian: domik, svechka) facilitate word-boundary identification and the acquisition of inflectional morphology. In this study, adult native speakers of English …
Cognitive Predictors of Generalization of Russian Grammatical Gender Categories
This study explores how learners generalize grammatical categories such as noun gender. Adult native English speakers with no prior knowledge of Russian (N = 47, ages 17-55 years) were trained to categorize Russian masculine and feminine diminutive nouns according to gender. The training set was morphophonologically homogeneous due to similarities induced by the diminutive suffixes. Generalization was tested using simplex and diminutive nouns wit…
The Role of Sentence Context in Accessing Partial Knowledge of Word Meanings
More Is More in Language Learning
The Less-Is-More hypothesis was proposed to explain age-of-acquisition effects in first language (L1) and second language (L2) learning. We scrutinize different renditions of the hypothesis by examining how learning outcomes are affected by (a) limited cognitive capacity, (b) reduced interference resulting from less prior knowledge, and (c) simplified language input. While there is little to no evidence of benefits of limited cognitive capacity, …
Distributional Effects and Individual Differences in L2 Morphology Learning
Second language (L2) learning outcomes may depend on the structure of the input and learners' cognitive abilities. This study tested whether less predictable input might facilitate learning and generalization of L2 morphology while evaluating contributions of statistical learning ability, nonverbal intelligence, phonological short-term memory, and verbal working memory. Over three sessions, 54 adults were exposed to a Russian case-marking paradig…
Masculine Men Articulate Less Clearly
The Role of Sentence Context in Accessing Partial Knowledge of Word Meanings
The Role of Diminutives in the Acquisition of Russian Gender
This study investigated second-language (L2) learning to gain a better understanding of learning mechanisms that also operate in child first-language (L1) learners. The research was inspired by research on the beneficial effects of child-directed speech (CDS). We tried to examine whether such benefits can be observed in the domain of inflectional morphology in adult L2 learners. Specifically, we investigated whether one typical feature of CDS, di…
Diminutivization supports gender acquisition in Russian children
Gender agreement elicitation was used with Russian children to examine how diminutives common in Russian child-directed speech affect gender learning. Forty-six children (2;9–4;8) were shown pictures of familiar and of novel animals and asked to describe them after hearing their names, which all contained regular morphophonological cues to masculine or feminine gender. Half were presented as simplex (e.g. jozh ‘porcupine’) and half as diminutive …
Male facial attractiveness, perceived personality, and child-directed speech
Crosslinguistic evidence for the diminutive advantage
Our previous research showed that Russian children commit fewer gender-agreement errors with diminutive nouns than with their simplex counterparts. Experiment 1 replicates this finding with Russian children ( N =24, mean 3;7, range 2;10–4;6). Gender agreement was recorded from adjective usage as children described animal pictures given just their names, varying in derivational status (diminutive/simplex), novelty, and gender. Experiment 2 extends…
Second Language Learning of Complex Inflectional Systems
This study explored learning and generalization of parts of the Russian case-marking paradigm, an inflecting-fusional system in which affixes simultaneously mark several grammatical features (case, gender, number, animacy). In Experiment 1, adult English speakers (N= 43) were exposed to nouns with transparent gender marking in the nominative case and learned to inflect nouns for two oblique cases. Experiment 2 (N= 44) used nouns that in the nomin…
Acquisition of gender agreement in Lithuanian
This study examines Lithuanian children's acquisition of gender agreement using an elicited production task. Lithuanian is a richly inflected Baltic language, with two genders and seven cases. Younger ( N =24, mean 3 ; 1, 2 ; 5–3 ; 8) and older ( N =24, mean 6 ; 3, 5 ; 6–6 ; 9) children were shown pictures of animals and asked to describe them after hearing the animal's name. Animal names differed with respect to familiarity (novel vs. familiar),…
Cognitive Predictors of Generalization of Russian Grammatical Gender Categories
This study explores how learners generalize grammatical categories such as noun gender. Adult native English speakers with no prior knowledge of Russian (N = 47, ages 17-55 years) were trained to categorize Russian masculine and feminine diminutive nouns according to gender. The training set was morphophonologically homogeneous due to similarities induced by the diminutive suffixes. Generalization was tested using simplex and diminutive nouns wit…
Second Language Learning Benefits from Similarity in Word Endings
Diminutive derivations (e.g., froggy, bootie) constitute morphophonologically similar clusters of words in child-directed speech and serve as low-level schema for learning morphological regularities. Previous research has demonstrated that by regularizing noun endings, diminutives (e.g., Russian: domik, svechka) facilitate word-boundary identification and the acquisition of inflectional morphology. In this study, adult native speakers of English …
Masculine Men Articulate Less Clearly
Musical ability and non-native speech-sound processing are linked through sensitivity to pitch and spectral information
Is the observed link between musical ability and non-native speech-sound processing due to enhanced sensitivity to acoustic features underlying both musical and linguistic processing? To address this question, native English speakers (N = 118) discriminated Norwegian tonal contrasts and Norwegian vowels. Short tones differing in temporal, pitch, and spectral characteristics were used to measure sensitivity to the various acoustic features implica…
Modern Theories of Language
Distributional Effects and Individual Differences in L2 Morphology Learning
Second language (L2) learning outcomes may depend on the structure of the input and learners' cognitive abilities. This study tested whether less predictable input might facilitate learning and generalization of L2 morphology while evaluating contributions of statistical learning ability, nonverbal intelligence, phonological short-term memory, and verbal working memory. Over three sessions, 54 adults were exposed to a Russian case-marking paradig…
More Is More in Language Learning
The Less-Is-More hypothesis was proposed to explain age-of-acquisition effects in first language (L1) and second language (L2) learning. We scrutinize different renditions of the hypothesis by examining how learning outcomes are affected by (a) limited cognitive capacity, (b) reduced interference resulting from less prior knowledge, and (c) simplified language input. While there is little to no evidence of benefits of limited cognitive capacity, …
How are exemplar representations transformed by encoding, retrieval, and explicit knowledge? A commentary on Ambridge (2020)
The radical exemplar model resonates with work on perceptual classification and categorization highlighting the role of exemplars in memory representations. Retrieval operations potentially serve as a mechanism for abstraction as representations of exemplars are distorted through reconstructive processes. As a framework applicable to both first and second language acquisition, the model needs to account for how explicit knowledge arises and its r…
Playing with language, creating complexity
We argue that enhanced play may have contributed to the emergence of complex language systems in modern humans ( Homo sapiens ). To support this idea, we first discuss evidence for an expansion of playing behavior connected to the extended childhood of modern human children, and the potential of this period for the transmission of complex cultural traits, including language. We then link two of the most important functions of play—exploration and…
Language control in regional dialect speakers – monolingual by name, bilingual by nature
While research on bilingual language processing is sensitive to different usage contexts, monolinguals are still often treated as a homogeneous control group, despite frequently using multiple varieties that may require engagement of control mechanisms during lexical access. Adapting a language-switching task for speakers of (Scottish) Standard English and Orcadian Scots, we demonstrate switch cost asymmetries with longer naming latencies when sw…
Does child-directed speech facilitate language development in all domains? A study space analysis of the existing evidence
Because child-directed speech (CDS) is ubiquitous in some cultures and because positive associations between certain features of the language input and certain learning outcomes have been attested it has often been claimed that the function of CDS is to aid children’s language development in general. We argue that for this claim to be generalisable, superior learning from CDS compared to non-CDS, such as adult-directed speech (ADS), must be demon…
Psychology (18 obras) · Linguistics (15 obras) · Computer Science (10 obras) · Cognitive psychology (9 obras) · Language acquisition (8 obras) · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism (8 obras) · Noun (7 obras) · Diminutive (6 obras) · Communication (5 obras) · Grammatical Gender (5 obras)