Children's sensitivity to phonological and semantic cues during noun class learning
Evidence for a phonological bias
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2964022 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jennifer Culbertson (0000-0002-1737-6296, University of Edinburgh), Hanna Järvinen (0000-0001-9081-9906, University of Edinburgh), Frances Haggarty (University of Edinburgh), Kenny Smith (0000-0002-4530-6914, University of Edinburgh) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 95 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 268-293 |
| Publication date | 2019-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Language (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0097-8507 • E-ISSN: 1535-0665 |
| Publisher | Project MUSE (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1353/lan.2019.0031 |
| OpenAlex | W4231105893 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 17 |
| References cited | 23 |
Previous research on the acquisition of noun classification systems (e.g. grammatical gender) has found that child learners rely disproportionately on phonological cues to determine the class of a new noun, even when competing semantic cues are more reliable in their language. Culbertson, Gagliardi, and Smith (2017) use artificial language learning experiments with adults to argue that this likely results from the early availability of phonological information during acquisition. Learners base their initial representations on formal features of nouns, only later integrating semantic cues from noun meanings. Here, we use these same methods to show that early availability affects cue use in children (six- to seven-year-olds) as well. However, we also find evidence of developmental changes in sensitivity to semantics; when both cue types are simultaneously available, children are more likely to rely on phonology than adults are. Our results suggest that both early availability and a bias favoring phonological cues contribute to children's overreliance on phonology in natural language acquisition
Class (philosophy · Cognitive psychology · Language acquisition · Linguistics · Noun · Phonology · Semantics (computer science · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Language Development and Disorders · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism · Psychology · Reading and Literacy Development
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| Unique citing works | 17 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,83 |
| Citation span | 2020 - 2026 (7) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 17 |