The origins of grammar: Evidence from early language comprehension by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff

Language ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 679-680
Author(s):  
J. Daniel May
Keyword(s):  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Early Language

The Origins of Grammar: Evidence from Early Language Comprehension

Language ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 679
Author(s):  
J. Daniel May ◽  
Kathy Hirsh-Pasek ◽  
Roberta Michnick Golinkoff
Keyword(s):  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Early Language

scholarly journals Early comprehension of the Spanish plural

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 1356-1372 ◽  
Author(s):  
NATALIA ARIAS-TREJO ◽  
LISA M. CANTRELL ◽  
LINDA B. SMITH ◽  
ELDA A. ALVA CANTO
Keyword(s):  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Inflectional Morphology ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Verbal Cues ◽  
Novel Object ◽  
Plural Noun ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
Mexican Children ◽  
Linguistic Cues ◽  
Children First

ABSTRACTUnderstanding how linguistic cues map to the environment is crucial for early language comprehension and may provide a way for bootstrapping and learning words. Research has suggested that learning how plural syntax maps to the perceptual environment may show a trajectory in which children first learn surrounding cues (verbs, modifiers) before a full mastery of the noun morpheme alone. The Spanish plural system of simple codas, dominated by one allomorph -s, and with redundant agreement markers, may facilitate early understanding of how plural linguistic cues map to novel referents. Two-year-old Mexican children correctly identified multiple novel object referents when multiple verbal cues in a phrase indicated plurality as well as in instances when the noun morphology in novel nouns was the only indicator of plurality. These results demonstrate Spanish-speaking children's ability to use plural noun inflectional morphology to infer novel word referents which may have implications for their word learning.

Early Cognitive and Environmental Correlates of Language Development at 4 Years

1982 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 433-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda S. Siegel
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Object Permanence ◽  
Cognitive Factors ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Language Abilities ◽  
Environmental Correlates ◽  
Language Measures ◽  
Bayley Scales

Cognitive and environmental factors related to language development were studied in 46 preterm (birthweight less than 1501 grams) and 50 fullterm infants. The children were administered the Bayley Scales at 4, 8, 12, 18, and 24 months, the Uzgiris-Hunt Scales at 4, 8, 12, and 18 months, the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME), a scale that measures the characteristics of the environment, at 12 months and 3 years, and the Reynell Developmental Language Scales at 2, 3, and 4 years. The Bayley Scales, even as early as 4 months, were significantly correlated with Reynell Comprehension and Expression scores at 4 years. In general, the perceptual motor items of the Bayley tended to be most predictive early in development. Later in development items related to conceptual abilities became predictive and, finally, items related to early language abilities predicted subsequent language scores. The Means-End Relationships, Object Permanence, and Space and Scheme scales of the Uzgiris-Hunt were related to language comprehension and expression at 4 years. In addition, Gestural Imitation was related to language expression. Some of the HOME scales at 12 months were significantly correlated with subsequent language comprehension scores, while most of the HOME scores at 3 years were significantly correlated with all language measures. Although both environmental and cognitive factors are significant predictors of language development, the cognitive factors appear to be more significant in the early months and the environmental factors become more significant later in development.

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