Disambiguation of novel labels and referential facts: A developmental perspective

Psychology

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https://doi.org/10.1177/0142723714525946
Final published version

Keywords

Disambiguation effect, lexical acquisition, mutual exclusivity, social-pragmatic approach, word learning, MUTUAL EXCLUSIVITY, WORD MEANINGS, OBJECT LABELS, CHILDREN, ACQUISITION, PRINCIPLES, CONVENTIONALITY, CONSTRAINTS, LANGUAGE, CONTRAST

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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

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Disambiguation of novel labels and referential facts: A developmental perspective. / Kalashnikova, Marina; Mattock, Karen ; Monaghan, Padraic.
In: First Language, Vol. 34, No. 2, 04.2014, p. 125-135.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Bibtex

@article{75bd3d09bc894704bebdc03fff338abd,

title = "Disambiguation of novel labels and referential facts: A developmental perspective",

abstract = "Disambiguation refers to children's tendency to assign novel labels to unfamiliar rather than familiar referents. It is employed as a word-learning strategy, but it remains unknown whether it is a domain-specific phenomenon or a manifestation of more general pragmatic competence. To assess the domain-specificity and development of disambiguation, this study tested children from two age groups (ages 3;7-4;6 and 4;7-5;7) and adults on a disambiguation of novel labels and referential facts paradigm. A linear contrast analysis showed that the difference between disambiguation from labels and disambiguation from facts increased significantly as the participants' age increased. The results indicate that at the early stages of word learning, children reason by exclusion to disambiguate the meaning of a variety of referential actions, but with increasing understanding about the communicative process, this inferential reasoning develops into a strategy limited to lexical acquisition.",

keywords = "Disambiguation effect, lexical acquisition, mutual exclusivity, social-pragmatic approach, word learning, MUTUAL EXCLUSIVITY, WORD MEANINGS, OBJECT LABELS, CHILDREN, ACQUISITION, PRINCIPLES, CONVENTIONALITY, CONSTRAINTS, LANGUAGE, CONTRAST",

author = "Marina Kalashnikova and Karen Mattock and Padraic Monaghan",

year = "2014",

month = apr,

doi = "10.1177/0142723714525946",

language = "English",

volume = "34",

pages = "125--135",

journal = "First Language",

issn = "0142-7237",

publisher = "SAGE Publications Ltd",

number = "2",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Disambiguation of novel labels and referential facts: A developmental perspective

AU - Kalashnikova, Marina

AU - Mattock, Karen

AU - Monaghan, Padraic

PY - 2014/4

Y1 - 2014/4

N2 - Disambiguation refers to children's tendency to assign novel labels to unfamiliar rather than familiar referents. It is employed as a word-learning strategy, but it remains unknown whether it is a domain-specific phenomenon or a manifestation of more general pragmatic competence. To assess the domain-specificity and development of disambiguation, this study tested children from two age groups (ages 3;7-4;6 and 4;7-5;7) and adults on a disambiguation of novel labels and referential facts paradigm. A linear contrast analysis showed that the difference between disambiguation from labels and disambiguation from facts increased significantly as the participants' age increased. The results indicate that at the early stages of word learning, children reason by exclusion to disambiguate the meaning of a variety of referential actions, but with increasing understanding about the communicative process, this inferential reasoning develops into a strategy limited to lexical acquisition.

AB - Disambiguation refers to children's tendency to assign novel labels to unfamiliar rather than familiar referents. It is employed as a word-learning strategy, but it remains unknown whether it is a domain-specific phenomenon or a manifestation of more general pragmatic competence. To assess the domain-specificity and development of disambiguation, this study tested children from two age groups (ages 3;7-4;6 and 4;7-5;7) and adults on a disambiguation of novel labels and referential facts paradigm. A linear contrast analysis showed that the difference between disambiguation from labels and disambiguation from facts increased significantly as the participants' age increased. The results indicate that at the early stages of word learning, children reason by exclusion to disambiguate the meaning of a variety of referential actions, but with increasing understanding about the communicative process, this inferential reasoning develops into a strategy limited to lexical acquisition.

KW - Disambiguation effect

KW - lexical acquisition

KW - mutual exclusivity

KW - social-pragmatic approach

KW - word learning

KW - MUTUAL EXCLUSIVITY

KW - WORD MEANINGS

KW - OBJECT LABELS

KW - CHILDREN

KW - ACQUISITION

KW - PRINCIPLES

KW - CONVENTIONALITY

KW - CONSTRAINTS

KW - LANGUAGE

KW - CONTRAST

U2 - 10.1177/0142723714525946

DO - 10.1177/0142723714525946

M3 - Journal article

VL - 34

SP - 125

EP - 135

JO - First Language

JF - First Language

SN - 0142-7237

IS - 2

ER -

Research

Associated organisational units

Text available via DOI:

Keywords