scholarly journals Against stored abstractions: A radical exemplar model of language acquisition

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Ambridge
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Word Meaning ◽  
Computational Modelling ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Sentence Level ◽  
Child Language Acquisition ◽  
Data Tables ◽  
Meaning Category ◽  
Degree Of Similarity ◽  
Rule Out

The goal of this paper is to make the case for a radical exemplar account of child language acquisition, under which unwitnessed forms are produced and comprehended by on-the-fly analogy across multiple stored exemplars, weighted by their degree of similarity to the target with regard to the task at hand. Across the domains of (1) word meanings, (2) morphologically inflected words, (3) n-grams, (4) sentence-level constructions and (5) phonetics and phonology, accounts based on independently-represented abstractions (whether formal rules or prototype categories) fail for two reasons. First, it is not possible to posit abstractions that delineate possible and impossible form; e.g., that (1) rule in pool tables and data tables, but rule out chairs, (2) rule in the past-tense forms netted and bet but rule out *setted and *jet, (3) rule in the bigram f+t but rule out (probabilistically) v+t, (4) rule in both John feared Bill and John frightened Bill but rule out *John laughed Bill, (5) rule in Speaker A but rule out Speaker B as the person who produced a particular word (e.g., Sa’urday). Second, for each domain, empirical data provide evidence of exemplar storage that cannot be captured by putative abstractions: e.g. speakers prefer and/or show an advantage for (1) exemplar variation even within word-meaning “category boundaries”, (2) novel inflected forms that are similar to existing exemplars, (3) n-grams that have occurred frequently in the input, (4) SVO sentences with he as SUBJECT and it as OBJECT and (5) repeated productions of “the same” word that are phonologically similar or, better still, identical. An exemplar account avoids an intractable lumping-or-splitting dilemma facing abstraction-based accounts and provides a unitary explanation of language acquisition across all domains; one that is consistent with models and empirical findings from the computational modelling and neuroimaging literature.

scholarly journals Against stored abstractions: A radical exemplar model of language acquisition

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 509-559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Ambridge
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Word Meaning ◽  
Computational Modelling ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Sentence Level ◽  
Child Language Acquisition ◽  
Data Tables ◽  
Meaning Category ◽  
Degree Of Similarity ◽  
Rule Out

The goal of this article is to make the case for a radical exemplar account of child language acquisition, under which unwitnessed forms are produced and comprehended by on-the-fly analogy across multiple stored exemplars, weighted by their degree of similarity to the target with regard to the task at hand. Across the domains of (1) word meanings, (2) morphologically inflected words, (3) n-grams, (4) sentence-level constructions and (5) phonetics and phonology, accounts based on independently-represented abstractions (whether formal rules or prototype categories) fail for two reasons. First, it is not possible to posit abstractions that delineate possible and impossible form; e.g. that (1) rule in pool tables and data tables, but rule out chairs, (2) rule in the past-tense forms netted and bet but rule out * setted and * jet, (3) rule in the bigram f+t but rule out (probabilistically) v+t, (4) rule in both John feared Bill and John frightened Bill but rule out * John laughed Bill, (5) rule in Speaker A but rule out Speaker B as the person who produced a particular word (e.g. Sa’urday). Second, for each domain, empirical data provide evidence of exemplar storage that cannot be captured by putative abstractions: e.g. speakers prefer and/or show an advantage for (1) exemplar variation even within word-meaning ‘category boundaries’, (2) novel inflected forms that are similar to existing exemplars, (3) n-grams that have occurred frequently in the input, (4) SVO sentences with he as SUBJECT and it as OBJECT and (5) repeated productions of ‘the same’ word that are phonologically similar or, better still, identical. An exemplar account avoids an intractable lumping-or-splitting dilemma facing abstraction-based accounts and provides a unitary explanation of language acquisition across all domains; one that is consistent with models and empirical findings from the computational modelling and neuroimaging literature.

scholarly journals Prosody and Function Words Cue the Acquisition of Word Meanings in 18-Month-Old Infants

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex de Carvalho ◽  
Angela Xiaoxue He ◽  
Jeffrey Lidz ◽  
Anne Christophe
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
Word Meaning ◽  
Lexical Acquisition ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Syntactic Information ◽  
And Function ◽  
Speech Melody

Language acquisition presents a formidable task for infants, for whom word learning is a crucial yet challenging step. Syntax (the rules for combining words into sentences) has been robustly shown to be a cue to word meaning. But how can infants access syntactic information when they are still acquiring the meanings of words? We investigated the contribution of two cues that may help infants break into the syntax and give a boost to their lexical acquisition: phrasal prosody (speech melody) and function words, both of which are accessible early in life and correlate with syntactic structure in the world’s languages. We show that 18-month-old infants use prosody and function words to recover sentences’ syntactic structure, which in turn constrains the possible meanings of novel words: Participants ( N = 48 in each of two experiments) interpreted a novel word as referring to either an object or an action, given its position within the prosodic-syntactic structure of sentences.

Vocabulary Acquisition in First Language: Can This Be Categorized Under Any Universal Developmental Stages?

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 118-130
Author(s):  
Сікдер Шафіназ
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Child Development ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Vocabulary Acquisition ◽  
First Language ◽  
Word Meaning ◽  
First Language Acquisition ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Acquisition Process ◽  
Study Results

This researched based case study has been conducted to investigate the fact that whether first language acquisition process in case of vocabulary (acquiring word meanings) follows some certain sequential stages despite of specific learners and their particular contexts. That is to say, to challenge the existing idea of having universal developmental patterns in case of vocabulary acquisition which tries to bring all the unique learners under one single umbrella, this study was conducted on an individual to observe whether and to what extent the child is following or conforming up to any idealistic standard of acquiring vocabulary. Therefore the study had some pre-determined questions set which was ask to the randomly selected child within an informal context (her play time). Interestingly, the study results which were analyzed both qualitatively and quantifiably with support of secondary literatures revealed that the child is not following any particular patterns of development at a time.  Rather is developing word meanings by following some random sequences. That is to say, she has developed some features of word meanings which she should have acquired in some later stages (after a particular age) according to the claim of many researchers. On the other hand, she has not yet acquired features which she should have acquired already. Therefore it can be concluded that a child’s first language vocabulary acquisition process (especially acquisition of word meanings) cannot be made generalized under some certain or principled patterns or rules. This is because every learning process is unique since every individual learner is unique. References Cruttenden, Alan. (1985). Language in Infancy and Childhood: A Linguistics Introductionto Language Acquisition. Manchester, Manchester University Press. Dodd, H. David & Tomikawa, A. Sandra (1980). Early Word Meanings: Perceptually orFunctionally Based? Child Development, 51 (4), 1103–1109. Retrieved from:http://www.jstor.org/stable/1129550 Mace-Matluck, J. Betty. (1979). Order of Acquisition: Same or Different in First- andSecond-Language Learning? The Reading Teacher, 32 (6), 696–703. Retrieved from:http://www.jstor.org/stable/20194855. Miller, A. George (1978). The Acquisition of Word Meaning. Child Development, 49 (4),999-1004. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1128739 Ritgerd, B. A. (2014). First Language Acquisition: The Rate and Style of VocabularyGrowth in the First Years. Haskoli Islands, 1–26. Retrieved from:http://skemman.is/stream/get/1946/17417/40471/1/BA_Essay.pdf Scovel, Thomas. (2004). Psycholinguistics (5th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford UniversityPress Smith, D. Michael. (1978). The Acquisition of Word Meaning: An Introduction. ChildDevelopment, 49(4), 950–952. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/11287338. You, Yunjung. (2011). Factors in Vocabulary Acquisition through Reading. ITJ, 8, 43–57Retrieved from: http: //15524-21995-1-PB.pdf

scholarly journals Acquisition, Loss and Innovation in Chuquisaca Quechua—What Happened to Evidential Marking?

Languages ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 76
Author(s):  
Susan E. Kalt
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Child Language ◽  
Epistemic Modality ◽  
Reverse Order ◽  
Related Variety ◽  
Child Language Acquisition ◽  
Statistical Studies ◽  
L1 And L2

Variation among closely related languages may reveal the inner workings of language acquisition, loss and innovation. This study of the existing literature and of selected interviews from recent narrative corpora compares the marking of evidentiality and epistemic modality in Chuquisaca, Bolivian Quechua with its closely related variety in Cuzco, Peru and investigates three hypotheses: that morpho-syntactic attrition proceeds in reverse order of child language acquisition, that convergence characterizes the emergence of grammatical forms different from L1 and L2 in contact situations, and that the Quechua languages are undergoing typological shift toward more isolating morphology. It appears that reportive -sis disappeared first in Bolivia, with eyewitness/validator -min retaining only the validator function. This finding seems to concord with reverse acquisition since it has previously been claimed that epistemic marking is acquired earlier than evidential marking in Cuzco. Meanwhile, Spanish and Quechua in nearby Cochabamba are claimed to mark reportive evidentiality via freestanding verbs of saying. I explore the reportive use of ñiy ‘to say’ in Chuquisaca as compared to Cochabamba and Cuzco and suggest the need for comparative statistical studies of evidential and epistemic marking in Southern Quechua.

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