2-4 - Overextensions Flashcards
What are Overextensions?
When a child uses a word in a wider range on contexts than is used in the target language
What is the General Pattern of Word Use?
Underextensions
Overextension
Appropriate Use
What are Underextensions?
Using a word in a narrower sense than the actual meaning of the word
(Only uses “doggie” for the family dog)
Tends to be context sensitive
Do children tend to be pretty conservative learners?
Yes
Do children have a tendancy not to overextend something they are acquiring?
Yes
The child may be able to say: “cookie”, “apple”, & “banana”. The child may still only say “eat cookie” but not “eat apple” nor “eat banana”
What happened when the kid who moved to India and learned to speak Garo, moved back to California?
He would not speak Garo anymore.
He was removed from the context
Kids don’t naturally generalize
How did Piaget’s son use “bowwow” at 1;2 (34)?
To a dog, a hen, a cow-bell, cows, guinea pigs and a cat.
How did Piaget’s son use “bowwow” at 1;3 (5)?
To anything moving
From an ant to a tractor
How did Piaget’s son use “bowwow” at 1;3 (13)?
He differentated
“Moo” for cows & deer
“Kitty” for cats
Pigs were either “moo” or “kitty”
How did Laura use “ball” at 1;0(9)?
Picture of ball in book
How did Laura use “ball” at 1;0(9) - 1;4?
A ball
Round objects (orange, grapefruit, buzzer)
Request for servings of liquid in cup
How did Laura use “cookie” at 1;0(9)?
For cookies
How did Laura use “cookie” at 1;0(9) - 1;4?
Novel round foods (cheerios, cucumber)
Record players or music on hi-fi or car radio
Rocking and/or rocking chair
Ice cream
What are two kinds of Overextensions?
Categorical Overextensions
Analogical Overextensions
What are Categorical Overextensions?
Assigning a word a higher order category/semantic category
Examples:
- ‘dada’ for mother or caregiver - ‘truck’ for bus or vehicle - ‘apple’ for orange or fruit
What are Analogical Overextensions?
There is not a clear categorical relation
More rare
What are three types of Analogical Overextensions?
Perceptual
Functional
Affective
What is a Perceptual Analogical Overextension?
‘tick tock’ for sound of water
What is a Functional Analogical Overextension?
‘hat’ for basket on head
What is a Affective Analogical Overextension?
‘hot’ for objects that are forbidden to touch
What did Leslie Rescorla study in 1980 at Yale?
6 children
First 75 words
Overextensions
Leslie Rescorla found that _____% of words overextended and that ____ words made up ____% of all the overextensions.
33%
12
29%
What sorts of words made up the majority of overextensions?
Categorical Overextensions
Earliest words
What did Thompson & Chapman study in 1977?
5 children
4 overextended words from each child
Picture task to test comprehension
What did Thompson & Chapman find?
That some kids overextend in comprehension but most don’t
What are the 5 possible reasons for overextensions?
- Children have limited symbolic ability
- Incomplete semantics, e.g. (+animate, + 4 legs)
- Limited vocabulary (using a known word for an unknown word)
- Retrieval problems (using an earlier word instead of a later word)
- Phonological simplicity (one word is easier to say)
What did Dr. Ingram and the mother find with Claire?
Evidence for all 5 possible reasons for overextensions.
What is Dr. Ingram’s conclusion on the cause of overextensions?
There may no single reason for overextensions.
All five explanations may play a role
