The role of prosodic and visual information in disambiguating wh-indeterminates

The case of Korean three-year-olds

Dados Bibliográficos

ID20366456
AutoresH J Cho (0000-0002-8790-3987, Seoul National University), Jieun Kiaer (0000-0003-0195-8213, University of Oxford, autor correspondente), Naya Choi (0000-0001-9189-9370, Seoul National University), Jieun Song (0000-0001-6745-1031, Seoul National University)
Ano2022
Volume49
Fascículo2
Páginas326-348
Data de publicação2022-03-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Child Language (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0305-0009 • E-ISSN: 1469-7602
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0305000921000143
PMID33762055
OpenAlexW3136553602
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas21

In Korean language, questions containing ambiguous wh-words may be interpreted as either wh-questions or yes-no questions. This study investigated 43 Korean three-year-olds’ ability to disambiguate eight indeterminate questions using prosodic and visual cues. The intonation of each question provided a cue as to whether it should be interpreted as a wh-question or a yes-no question. The questions were presented alongside picture stimuli, which acted as either a matched (presentation of corresponding auditory-visual stimuli) or a mismatched contextual cue (presentation conflicting auditory-visual stimuli). Like adults, the children preferred to comprehend questions involving ambiguous wh-words as wh-questions, rather than yes-no questions. In addition, children were as effective as adults in disambiguating indeterminate questions using prosodic cues regardless of the visual cue. However, when confronted with conflicting auditory-visual stimuli (mismatched), the quality of children's responses was less accurate than adults’ responses

Cognition · Indeterminate · Nonverbal communication · Prosody · Psycholinguistics · Language Development and Disorders · Multisensory perception and integration · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism