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The role of production in infant word learning| old_uid | 14377 |
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| title | The role of production in infant word learning |
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| start_date | 2014/09/25 |
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| schedule | 13h30 |
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| online | no |
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| location_info | Ampère |
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| summary | Studies of phonological development that combine speech-processing experiments with observation and analysis of production remain rare, despite the fact that production experience is necessarily relevant to developmental advance. This talk will focus on three levels of word learning, at each of which production appears to affect ‘intake’ from the speech stream.
(1) Articulatory filter: The idea that infants ‘select’ first words to say at least partially on the basis of how pronounceable they are derives from the surprising finding that a child’s very first words are relatively accurate. The construct of an ‘articulatory filter’, designed to account for this finding, is supported by several recent experiments.
(2) U-shaped curve: Once a child has established a small expressive lexicon she is able to generalize the production patterns she uses most (whether this is understood as a purely sensorimotor ‘procedure’ or a more abstract process of secondary distributional learning), adapting less accessible target words to her emergent template(s); this results in a regression in accuracy but supports an advance in word learning.
(3) Lexical knowledge facilitates new learning. An effect of expressive vocabulary on new word learning is alluded to in passing in several studies, despite the fact that correlations of word recognition with vocabulary size are rarely seen. The effect is transitory: At given points in lexical development (not at set ages) a child’s productive knowledge of words supports memory for new word forms. I will provide some evidence for this claim, which is congruent with the idea that knowledge is gradient, involving an increase in stability and reliability with repeated exposure and use. |
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| responsibles | Hueber |
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