A data base for the study of first language acquisition. Childes: Child language data exchange system

1989 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-265
Author(s):  
Jürgen Weissenborn
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Data Base ◽  
Data Exchange ◽  
Child Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
First Language Acquisition ◽  
Exchange System ◽  
Language Data

From Language Behaviour to Database: Some Comments on Plunkett's Paper

1990 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-205
Author(s):  
Roeland van Hout
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Child Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
First Language Acquisition ◽  
Exchange System ◽  
Computational Tools ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Catalytic Role

It is evident that the Child Language Exchange System—CHILDES—will play a catalytic role in the study of first language acquisition. Plunkett rightly concludes that this system has the potential of bringing together work on first language acquisition from a wide range of theoretical and practical perspectives. The compilation of the CHILDES package, including a workbench with a set of computational tools, is an admirable achievement, which most certainly will have an impact on other branches in the study of language behaviour (e.g. discourse analysis, sociolinguistics).

Machine-Scored Syntax: Comparison of the CLAN Automatic Scoring Program to Manual Scoring

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 479-493
Author(s):  
Jenny A. Roberts ◽  
Evelyn P. Altenberg ◽  
Madison Hunter
Keyword(s):  
Data Exchange ◽  
Child Language ◽  
Exchange System ◽  
Absolute Point ◽  
Language Analysis ◽  
Search Patterns ◽  
Language Data ◽  
Report Accuracy ◽  
Point To Point ◽  
Automatic Scoring

Purpose The results of automatic machine scoring of the Index of Productive Syntax from the Computerized Language ANalysis (CLAN) tools of the Child Language Data Exchange System of TalkBank (MacWhinney, 2000) were compared to manual scoring to determine the accuracy of the machine-scored method. Method Twenty transcripts of 10 children from archival data of the Weismer Corpus from the Child Language Data Exchange System at 30 and 42 months were examined. Measures of absolute point difference and point-to-point accuracy were compared, as well as points erroneously given and missed. Two new measures for evaluating automatic scoring of the Index of Productive Syntax were introduced: Machine Item Accuracy (MIA) and Cascade Failure Rate— these measures further analyze points erroneously given and missed. Differences in total scores, subscale scores, and individual structures were also reported. Results Mean absolute point difference between machine and hand scoring was 3.65, point-to-point agreement was 72.6%, and MIA was 74.9%. There were large differences in subscales, with Noun Phrase and Verb Phrase subscales generally providing greater accuracy and agreement than Question/Negation and Sentence Structures subscales. There were significantly more erroneous than missed items in machine scoring, attributed to problems of mistagging of elements, imprecise search patterns, and other errors. Cascade failure resulted in an average of 4.65 points lost per transcript. Conclusions The CLAN program showed relatively inaccurate outcomes in comparison to manual scoring on both traditional and new measures of accuracy. Recommendations for improvement of the program include accounting for second exemplar violations and applying cascaded credit, among other suggestions. It was proposed that research on machine-scored syntax routinely report accuracy measures detailing erroneous and missed scores, including MIA, so that researchers and clinicians are aware of the limitations of a machine-scoring program. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.11984364

Motion in first language acquisition: Manner and Path in French and English child language*

2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 705-741 ◽  
Author(s):  
MAYA HICKMANN ◽  
PIERRE TARANNE ◽  
PHILIPPE BONNET
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Child Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Cognitive Factors ◽  
First Language Acquisition ◽  
Motion Events ◽  
English Child ◽  
French And English ◽  
Adults And Children

ABSTRACTTwo experiments compared how French vs. English adults and children (three to seven years) described motion events. Given typological properties (Talmy, 2000) and previous results (Choi & Bowerman, 1991; Hickmann, 2003; Slobin, 2003), the main prediction was that Manner should be more salient and therefore more frequently combined with Path (MP) in English than in French, particularly with four types of ‘target’ events, as compared to manner-oriented ‘controls’: motion up/down (Experiment I, N=200) and across (Experiment II, N=120), arrivals and departures (both experiments). Results showed that MP-responses (a) varied with events and increased with age in both languages, but (b) were more frequent in English at all ages with all events, and (c) were age- and event-specific among French speakers, who also frequently expressed Path or Manner alone. The discussion highlights several factors accounting for responses, with particular attention to the interplay between cognitive factors that drive language acquisition and typological properties that constrain this process from early on.

The CHILDES Project: Tools for Analyzing Talk: Vol. 1. Transcription format and programs; Vol. 2. The database (3rd ed.). B. MacWhinney. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2000. Pp. 366 (Vol. 1); Pp. 418 (Vol. 2).

2002 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 304-306
Author(s):  
Diane E. Beals
Keyword(s):  
Data Sharing ◽  
Data Exchange ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Child Language ◽  
The State ◽  
Exchange System ◽  
Language Analysis ◽  
Language Data ◽  
User Friendly

Since the late 1980s, the Child Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES) has defined the state of the art of collection, analysis, archiving, and data sharing of transcriptions of children's language. Starting from scratch in 1987, Brian MacWhinney, along with many other leaders in child language, developed highly useful tools for the computerization of transcripts and their analysis. I have used the transcription conventions and analysis programs since 1989 and have seen the system evolve from a simple DOS-based program to one that handles much broader and more complex analyses within more user-friendly Windows and Macintosh platforms. This latest (third) edition of the manual that accompanies the CHILDES system reflects a more stable version of the Conventions for Human Analysis of Transcripts (CHAT) and Child Language Analysis (CLAN) programs than prior editions, which felt like works in progress. This version is written as a finished product with procedures and programs that have settled down into stable patterns of operation.

Cross-linguistic studies of directionality in first language acquisition: the Japanese data – a response to O'Grady, Suzuki-Wei & Cho 1986

1989 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 665-684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Lust ◽  
Reiko Mazuka
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Child Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Experimental Designs ◽  
First Language Acquisition ◽  
Structure Dependence ◽  
Universal Structure

ABSTRACTElsewhere we have argued on the basis of cross linguistic studies of directionality effects on anaphora in child language, that there is no universal ‘forward directionality preference (FDP)’; rather such a preference is linked to languages with specific grammatical properties. Although such a preference has been attested in English acquisition, matched experimental designs in Japanese, Chinese and Sinhalese, for example, do not show this effect. In this paper we argue that current attempts to show that forward directionality effects can also be induced in Japanese acquisition do not succeed in supporting the FDP. Specifics of the design of stimulus sentences in these experiments vary previous cross-linguistic designs so as to favour forward directionality on independent grounds, and confound cross linguistic comparisons. They in fact support a universal structure dependence in children's hypotheses about directionality of anaphora’.

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