How mothers teach basic-level and situation-restricted count nouns

1994 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 391-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Geoffrey Hall
Keyword(s):  
Book Reading ◽  
Count Noun ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Count Nouns ◽  
Teaching Situation ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Basic Level ◽  
Reading Session ◽  
Ostensive Definition ◽  
Unfamiliar Object

ABSTRACTRecent research suggests that young children assume, as a default, that a word applied ostensively to an unfamiliar object (e.g. a man riding in a car) is a basic-level count noun (e.g. person) rather than a situation-restricted count noun (e.g. passenger). In this experiment, 14 mothers and their children (mean age 3;7; range 3;0 to 4;6) participated in a story-book reading session in which the mothers taught their children both a basic-level count noun and a situation-restricted count noun for a series of object drawings. An analysis of mothers' spontaneous teaching strategies revealed that, for a given object, they typically taught a basic-level count noun before a situation-restricted count noun. Furthermore, they tended to teach basic-level count nouns exclusively through estensive definition, especially when the objects were unfamiliar. Moreover, they were (1) more likely to use estensive definitions and (2) less likely to provide additional information concerning the application of the word, when teaching basic-level count nouns than when teaching situation-restricted count nouns. The results provide new evidence that word teachers, like young word learners, assume that a basic-level count noun is the psychologically-privileged candidate for an ostensive definition involving an (unfamiliar) object.

A little goes a long way: evidence for a perceptual basis of learning for the noun categories COUNT and Mass

1991 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 315-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie Maggie Perrin McPherson
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Perceptual Information ◽  
Count Noun ◽  
Mass Noun ◽  
Mass Nouns ◽  
Count Nouns ◽  
Distinct Individual ◽  
Syntactic Cues

ABSTRACTVarious theories of learning for the categories COUNT NOUN and MASS NOUN are compared. It is argued that children assign words to these categories on the basis of intuitions arising from perception that are relevant to Macnamara's (1986) semantic definitions of the categories. These definitions rest on the centrality of identity in the meaning of nouns and the centrality of individuation in the meaning of count nouns but not mass nouns. Empirical evidence is presented that supports the hypothesis that young children classify words as count nouns or mass nouns on the basis of perceptual information about the extension of the words, that is, whether or not the extension consists exclusively of enduring individuals whose discreteness from one another is perceptually salient (count nouns) or not (mass nouns). In an experiment, 48 children with a mean age of 2;10 (S.D. = 0;5) were taught a word for a kind of object (i.e. a perceptually distinct individual) or for a kind of substance (i.e. a collection of small granules). For some children the word was syntactically COUNT and for others it was syntactically MASS. Half of the children received incongruous perceptual and syntactic cues. For most of these children, classification of the word was guided by the object- or substance-like appearance of the stimulus despite the presence of incongruent syntactic cues. Syntactic cues influenced classification of the word for a minority of subjects, most of whom were among the oldest in the sample. It is concluded that perceptual information is critical in early decisions about membership in the categories COUNT NOUN and MASS NOUN.

scholarly journals Mothers’ Use of Gestures and their Relationship to Children’s Lexical Production

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-200
Author(s):  
Aline Minto-García ◽  
Elda A. Alva Canto ◽  
Natalia Arias-Trejo
Keyword(s):  
Significant Positive Correlation ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Book Reading ◽  
Gestural Communication ◽  
Typical Development ◽  
Mexican Spanish ◽  
Reading Task ◽  
Joint Book Reading ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Reading Session

Abstract This study examines the relationship between mothers’ use of gestures and the lexical production of their children, measured in a joint book-reading task. Fifteen mother-child dyads participated, all monolingual native speakers of Mexican Spanish. Children were boys and girls with typical development, aged 48 months. Each reading session was videotaped and analyzed to calculate the gestural production of mothers and the lexical production of children. The results showed a significant positive correlation between the number of mothers’ gestures and the number of distinct words used by the children. Mothers’ gestural communication was related to the size of the vocabulary children produced in joint book-reading.

No Gender Polarity in Arabic Numeral Phrases

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Muteb Alqarni
Keyword(s):  
Arabic Numeral ◽  
Count Noun ◽  
Count Nouns

Gender polarity is an intriguing morphological phenomenon in Arabic. The numerals 3–10 take the gender opposite to that of their count nouns; that is, when the count noun is feminine, the numerals 3–10 appear in the masculine form, and vice versa. Earlier analyses (see, e.g., Alqassas 2013, 2017, Alqarni 2015) proposed that the numerals 3–10 bear an inherent feminine feature, which is deleted by an impoverishment rule in the presence of a feminine feature on the count noun, yielding gender polarity. This article provides empirical counterevidence to these analyses and the concept of gender polarity on the whole. It shows that the numerals 3–10 do not interact with the gender of the count noun; rather, they interact with the count noun’s morphology—that is, whether the count noun bears the morpheme /at/ or /a:tu/-/a:ti/ in its structure. These findings suggest that gender polarity in Arabic is a misnomer; the phenomenon should instead be termed morpheme polarity. Rather than implementing the impoverishment rules proposed in earlier analyses, this article uses readjustment rules to account for the morpheme polarity at hand.

Immediate effect of dialogic reading on interactive quality of book sharing among Chinese preschool mother–child dyads

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 173-184
Author(s):  
Jing Zhao ◽  
Huilin Luo ◽  
Yongyan Zhou ◽  
Lixing Zhong ◽  
Jialin Lai
Keyword(s):  
Intervention Group ◽  
Home Literacy Environment ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Dialogic Reading ◽  
Book Reading ◽  
Shared Book Reading ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Language And Literacy ◽  
Book Sharing ◽  
Reading Session

Shared book reading is often used as an educational tool to promote the development of children’s early language and literacy skills. This study aimed to describe and compare the linguistic features of parent–child interactions during two shared book-reading sessions among 45 children (aged 4–6 years old) and their mothers. The dyads were divided into 2 groups: the intervention group ( n = 25), and the control group ( n = 20). In the first reading session, mothers read with their children the way they were most comfortable with and as they would usually do at home. Before the second reading session, we provided a 30-minute intervention on strategies of dialogic reading to the intervention group. Both readings were video-recorded. Mothers completed home literacy environment questionnaires. The results showed that even for mothers who were initially very skillful at reading with their children, this immediate intervention promoted a number of aspects of interactivity between mothers and their children, namely, the number of utterances, completion, open-ended, closed and labeling questions, and type token ratio by mothers, the number of utterances and initiated talk by children, and extra-textual talk and total number of turns by both mother and child. Mothers who received the intervention demonstrated more flexibility and more discursive styles, even though the intervention was short, and the time for them to practice was minimal.

scholarly journals The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Regulatory Comment Letters: Evidence from Iran

2022 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-75
Author(s):  
Reza Hesarzadeh
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Written Responses ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Governance Quality ◽  
Corporate Governance Quality ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
To Receive

Securities commissions regularly review corporate reports, and if the review reveals a possible deficiency— such as a potential accounting error— or requires further clarifications, they send the company a comment letter (CL), including a request for providing written responses and relative additional information. Current study aims to examine whether and how corporate social responsibility (CSR) affects CLs. This empirical study is based on a sample of 437 Iranian firm year observations from 2011 to 2017. Results show that firms with more CSR are less likely to receive CL, that more CSR does not influence the association of managerial misbehavior and CLs, and that the negative association between CSR and CLs is stronger among firms facing higher environmental information asymmetry and firms having higher corporate governance quality. Collectively, this paper contributes to the literature by providing new evidence on the beneficial effect of CSR in the context of CLs. Las comisiones de valores revisan periódicamente los informes de las empresas, y si la revisión revela una posible deficiencia -como un posible error contable- o se requiere más aclaraciones, envían a la empresa una carta de comentarios (CL), que incluye una solicitud de respuesta por escrito y la relativa información adicional. El presente estudio pretende examinar si la Responsabilidad Social de las Empresas (RSE) afecta a las cartas de comentarios y cómo lo hace. Este estudio empírico se basa en una muestra de 437 observaciones anuales de empresas iraníes desde 2011 hasta 2017. Los resultados muestran que las empresas con más RSC tienen menos probabilidades de recibir CL y que más RSC no influye en la asociación entre mal comportamiento de los directivos y CL. También se pone de manifiesto que la asociación negativa entre RSC y CL es más fuerte entre las empresas que enfrentan una mayor asimetría de información ambiental y las empresas que tienen una mayor calidad de gobierno corporativo. En conjunto, este trabajo contribuye a la literatura aportando nuevas pruebas sobre el efecto beneficioso de la RSC en el contexto de las CL.

scholarly journals Bare Singular Count Nouns in Dutch as a Heritage Language in Brazil / Nomes singulares nus em neerlandês como língua de herança

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 631
Author(s):  
Antonio José Maria Codina Bobia
Keyword(s):  
Heritage Language ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Count Noun ◽  
Statistical Regression ◽  
Heritage Languages ◽  
Count Nouns ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Divergent Behavior ◽  
Experimental Group

Abstract: The aim of this research was to evaluate the distribution of DPs in generic sentences, in Dutch Heritage Language Speakers (HLS) in Holambra, Brazil, especially regarding the acceptability of Bare Singular Count Nouns (BS). The Distribution of BS is more restricted in Dutch than in Brazilian Portuguese, nonetheless, we raised the hypothesis that, due to the influence of Brazilian Portuguese, these HLS would accept BS in contexts similar to those of Brazilians. We applied an acceptability judgement test to 60 adult HLS from Holambra (experimental group), 30 Brazilian monolinguals and 30 native Dutch speakers (control groups 1 and 2). We presented to each participant in the experimental group 10 Dutch stimulus sentences and 20 filler sentences in order to verify their acceptability on a five-item Likert scale. The results showed that sentences with BS eliciting a generic reading received high acceptability rates from the Experimental Group of Holambra (72% acceptability rate). These responses were more aligned with the Brazilian Control (78% acceptability rate) than with the Dutch Control (96% unacceptability rate). The statistical Regression Analysis of the BS showed that the Dutch Control had a significant divergent behavior (p.value = <2-16) when compared to the Experimental Group. The results seem thus to support our hypothesis that a slightly different grammar has risen in the Dutch HLS of Holambra, suffering attrition due to the influence of Brazilian Portuguese, since they accept Bare Singulars, showing no significant difference with the Brazilian Control Group. We will follow Oosterhof’s proposal (2008) on the distribution of empty determiners in Dutch and assume that the grammar of the Holambra speakers possesses a bundle of features allowing a 0[+R, +count, –pl] combination: That is, a singular count noun DP with an empty determiner, rendering a generic reading. Keywords: language acquisition; heritage languages; bare singular count nouns; Dutch; Brazilian Portuguese.Resumo: O objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar a distribuição de DPs em sentenças genéricas em falantes de neerlandês como língua de herança em Holambra, Brasil, especialmente em relação à aceitabilidade de nomes singulares nus (NNs). A distribuição de NNs é mais restrita em neerlandês do que no Português Brasileiro (PB), no entanto, levantamos a hipótese de que, devido à influência do PB os falantes de Holambra poderiam aceitar NNs em contextos semelhantes aos dos brasileiros. Aplicamos um teste de aceitabilidade em 60 HLS adultos de Holambra (grupo experimental), 30 monolíngues brasileiros e 30 falantes nativos de holandês (grupos de controle 1 e 2). Apresentamos a cada participante do grupo experimental 10 sentenças em neerlandês e 20 distratores, a fim de verificar sua aceitabilidade em uma escala Likert de cinco itens. Os resultados mostraram que sentenças genéricas com NNs receberam alta aceitação do Grupo Experimental de Holambra (72% de aceitabilidade). Essas respostas estão mais alinhadas com o Controle Brasileiro (78% de aceitabilidade) do que com o Controle Holandês (96% de inaceitabilidade). A análise de regressão estatística dos NNs mostrou que o Controle Holandês apresentou comportamento significativamente divergente (p. valor=<2-16) quando comparado com o Grupo Experimental. Os resultados parecem corroborar nossa hipótese de que uma gramática ligeiramente diferente surgiu nos falantes de holandês de Holambra, sofrendo atrito devido à influência do PB, uma vez que aceitam NNs, não mostrando diferença significativa com o Grupo de Controle Brasileiro. Seguiremos a proposta de Oosterhof (2008) sobre a distribuição de determinantes vazios em holandês, e propor que a gramática dos falantes de Holambra possui um conjunto de traços permitindo a combinação 0 [+ R, + count, -pl]: isto é, um nome nu singular contável com uma leitura genérica.Palavras-chave: aquisição de linguagem; línguas de herança; nomes singulares nus; neerlandês; português brasileiro.

scholarly journals The grammatical distinction between count nouns and mass nouns in Mandarin Chinese

2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-76
Author(s):  
Nastazja Stoch
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Count Noun ◽  
Ontological Status ◽  
Mass Noun ◽  
Numeral Classifiers ◽  
Mass Nouns ◽  
Count Nouns ◽  
Classifier Languages

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to prove the Mass Noun Hypothesis wrong. The hypothesis claims that all common nouns in classifier languages like Mandarin Chinese are mass nouns. The objection against it consists in displaying its implausible deduction, where false conclusions have been drawn due to relying on the grammar of English, which is incongruent with the grammar of Chinese. Consequently, this paper defends the Count Noun Thesis, stating that in Chinese there are count as well as mass nouns. In support of this statement, first, the typology of numeral classifiers had to be established, which resulted in gathering and completing all the reasons to distinguish classifiers from measure words. After only this necessary differentiation was made, it was possible to show that the count/mass distinction exists in Mandarin Chinese. That is, count nouns by default have only one classifier, with certain disclaimers. Apart from that, count nouns, as in every language, may undergo some measurement with measure words. Mass nouns, however, in the context of quantification may appear only with measure words, but not with classifiers. These conditions naturally follow from the ontological status of the two types of nouns’ referents, i.e. bounded objects denoted by count nouns, and scattered substances denoted by mass nouns.

TWO SORTS OF BARE NOUNS IN BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Pires de Oliveira ◽  
Susan Rothstein
Keyword(s):  
Prima Facie ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Atomic Mass ◽  
Count Noun ◽  
Bare Mass ◽  
Mass Noun ◽  
Mass Nouns ◽  
Bare Plural ◽  
Count Nouns ◽  
Bare Nouns

It is a consensus in the literature that the so called Bare Singular (BS, from now on) in Brazilian Portuguese (BrP) is not semantically singular (Munn & Schmitt 1999, a.o.), but a number neutral count noun. In this paper, we explore the hypothesis that it is not a count noun. We reach such a conclusion by comparing the bare singular with both the bare mass noun and the bare plural count noun. We show that the behavior of the bare singular in BrP does not parallel that of the bare plural, but strongly parallels that of the bare mass noun. Based on such facts we propose that there are just two sorts of bare nouns in BrP: Bare Mass and Bare Plural. The Bare Mass denotes either the kind or a mass predicate, whereas the Bare Plural always denotes a plural predicate. These different semantics explain their different behavior. As conclusion, we show some unexpected results from our approach. The outline of the paper is as follows. We begin by showing that the prima facie arguments against treating bare singulars as mass nouns are not valid. Our claims are based on the fact that the literature has compared bare singular nouns with non-atomic mass nouns, and has shown that they behave differently with respect to the relevant tests. However, comparing bare singulars with naturally atomic mass nouns such as mobília ‘furniture’ gives different results. We then show, in section 2, that the bare singular displays the same distributional restrictions as the bare mass noun both in episodic and generic contexts, a fact that, as far as we know, has gone unnoticed in the literature. This strengthens the case for treating them alike. In section 3 we give a semantics for mass nouns and count nouns in the framework of Rothstein 2010a, b which allows for a unified analysis of bare singulars and mass terms, that differs from that attributed to the bare plural. In section 4, we explain the data from earlier sections in the light of the analysis, and propose a semantics for bare plurals which explains their behavior in BrP. Finally, we also show that our account predicts that so called ‘bare singulars’ can occur with mass determiners, and we give arguments to show that this prediction is correct. Moreover its behavior in comparative contexts also supports our hypothesis that it is a mass.

Count Nouns and Mass Nouns: Crops, Produce, and the Plural of Seed

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-223
Author(s):  
Charles L. Mohler ◽  
Linda A. Heyne
Keyword(s):  
Count Noun ◽  
Mass Noun ◽  
Mass Nouns ◽  
Count Nouns

AbstractThe distinction between count nouns and mass nouns affects thinking and writing about various types of crops and produce. Count nouns are words that indicate discrete, countable objects (e.g., forks, viewpoints), whereas mass nouns are words that indicate some relatively undifferentiated substance (e.g., water, energy). We explain the grammar of these two forms and point out some writing pitfalls to avoid. The word seed is one of the few English nouns that is both a count noun and a mass noun. An argument is presented for using seeds as the plural when several individuals are counted and for using seed as the singular when referring to seeds in the aggregate.

scholarly journals Context sensitivity and the semantics of count nouns in the evaluation of partial objects by children and adults

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Kristen SYRETT ◽  
Athulya ARAVIND
Keyword(s):  
Context Sensitivity ◽  
Context Dependence ◽  
Count Noun ◽  
Discourse Context ◽  
Conceptual Representations ◽  
Children's Behavior ◽  
Count Nouns ◽  
Adult Performance ◽  
Multiple Accounts

Abstract Previous research has documented that children count spatiotemporally-distinct partial objects as if they were whole objects. This behavior extends beyond counting to inclusion of partial objects in assessment and comparisons of quantities. Multiple accounts of this performance have been proposed: children and adults differ qualitatively in their conceptual representations, children lack the processing skills to immediately individuate entities in a given domain, or children cannot readily access relevant linguistic alternatives for the target count noun. We advance a new account, appealing to theoretical proposals about underspecification in nominal semantics and the role of the discourse context. Our results demonstrate that there are limits to which children allow partial objects to serve as wholes, and that under certain conditions, adult performance resembles that of children by allowing in partial objects. We propose that children's behavior is in fact licensed by the inherent context dependence of count nouns.

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