The child's lexical representation: the ‘puzzle-puddle-pickle’ evidence

1980 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlys A. Macken
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Lexical Representation ◽  
Surface Form ◽  
Phonological Development ◽  
Mapping System ◽  
Theory Of Language ◽  
Formal Properties ◽  
Phonological Change ◽  
Do So

Smith (1973) presents a detailed analysis of his son's phonological development between the ages of two and four.1 The book is impressive, not only for the care with which the analysis was done but also, and more importantly, for the clarity with which central acquisition issues were stated. The analysis of the child's productions was done in two ways: first as a mapping from the adult system and second as a self-contained system. In his introduction, Smith raises seven issues that any theory of language acquisition must address; one of these concerns the nature of phonological change. Smith states that when changes occur in the child's output, they do so in an ‘across-the-board’ fashion. On the basis of this (and other) evidence, Smith concludes that the child must have the adult surface form as his underlying lexical representation. The implication is clear: the child must thus perceive in an adult-like fashion and the deviance of his/her output is due to the articulatory difficulty of certain sounds and sound sequences (and in some cases to certain formal properties of his mapping system).

Sentence First, Arguments Afterward

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lila Gleitman
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Noam Chomsky ◽  
Theory Of Language ◽  
Developmental Psycholinguistics

This book collects the most significant papers written by Lila R. Gleitman, spanning 50 years of research on language and its acquisition. The book traces the roots of developmental psycholinguistics while presenting empirically driven arguments in favor of a rationalist theory of language acquisition. Gleitman’s work simultaneously shows how learners acquire knowledge richer than what can be found in the environment and how they use their input to acquire a specific language. The book also includes a foreword by Noam Chomsky and an introductory chapter by Jeffrey Lidz contextualizing Gleitman’s work in the transition from structuralism to mentalist architectures in linguistics.

Stepping backwards in development: integrating developmental speech perception with lexical and phonological development – a commentary on Stoel-Gammon's ‘Relationships between lexical and phonological development in young children’*

2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
TANIA S. ZAMUNER
Keyword(s):  
Speech Perception ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Phonological Development ◽  
Comprehensive Understanding ◽  
Traditional Approaches

Within the subfields of linguistics, traditional approaches tend to examine different phenomena in isolation. As Stoel-Gammon (this issue) correctly states, there is little interaction between the subfields. However, for a more comprehensive understanding of language acquisition in general and, more specifically, lexical and phonological development, we must consider relations between multiple subfields. That is, by examining the interactions between these subfields, a greater understanding of lexical and phonological development can emerge. For instance, the interaction between phonology, syntax and semantics is demonstrated in recent work looking at how phonological patterns can provide a basis for inferring a word's lexical category (such as nouns and verbs) (Christiansen, Onnis & Hockema, 2009; Lany & Saffran, 2010).

scholarly journals Developmental perspectives on the expression of motion in speech and gesture

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maya Hickmann ◽  
Henriette Hendriks ◽  
Marianne Gullberg
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
First Language ◽  
First Language Acquisition ◽  
Complementary Information ◽  
Linguistic Differences ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
French And English ◽  
Gesture Studies ◽  
Adults And Children ◽  
Do So

Recent research shows that adult speakers of verb- vs. satellite-framed languages (Talmy, 2000) express motion events in language-specific ways in speech (Slobin 1996, 2004) and co-verbal gestures (Duncan 2005; Kita & Özyurek 2003; McNeill 1992). Although such findings suggest cross-linguistic differences in the expression of events, little is still known about their implications for first language acquisition. This paper examines how French and English adults and children (ages four and six) express Path and Manner in speech and gesture when describing voluntary motion presented in animated cartoons. The results show that English adults conflate Manner+Path in speech more often than French adults who frequently talk about Path only. Both groups gesture mainly about Path only, but English adults also conflate Manner+Path into single gestures, whereas French adults never do so. Children in both languages are predominantly adult-like in speech and gesture from age four on, but also display developmental progressions with increasing age. Finally, speech and gestures are predominantly co-expressive in both language groups and at all ages. When modalities differ, English adults typically provide less information in gesture (Path) than in speech (Manner+Path; ‘Manner modulation’ phenomenon), whereas French adults express complementary information in speech (Manner) and gesture (Path). The discussion highlights theoretical implications of such bi-modal analyses for acquisition and gesture studies

The Impossibility of Language Acquisition (And How They Do It)

2020 ◽  
pp. 25-56
Author(s):  
Lila R. Gleitman ◽  
Mark Y. Liberman ◽  
Cynthia A. McLemore ◽  
Barbara H. Partee
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Cognitive Science ◽  
Research Community ◽  
Psychological Perspective ◽  
Theory Of Language

This autobiographical article, which began as an interview, reports some reflections by Lila R. Gleitman on the development of her thinking and her research—in concert with a host of esteemed collaborators over the years—on issues of language and mind, focusing on how language is acquired. Gleitman entered the field of linguistics as a student of Zellig Harris and learned first-hand of Noam Chomsky’s early work. She chose the psychological perspective, later helping to found the field of cognitive science. With her husband and long-term collaborator, Henry Gleitman, for more than 50 years, she fostered a continuing research community aimed at answering fundamental questions in the theory of language and its acquisition.

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