the fis phenomenon and the wug test Flashcards
🐠 The “Fis” Phenomenon
A phenomenon in child language acquisition where a child can perceive the correct pronunciation of a word but cannot yet produce it correctly.
Example:
Child says: “fis”
Adult asks: “Did you say fis?”
Child replies: “No, fis!”
Adult says: “Oh, fish?”
Child: “Yes, fish!”
What it shows:
Children’s speech perception develops before their ability to produce certain sounds.
They can hear the difference between correct and incorrect pronunciation—even if they can’t say it right themselves
the wug test
The Wug Test is a famous experiment created by psychologist Jean Berko Gleason in 1958 to show how children understand and apply grammar rules, even to words they’ve never heard before.
How it works:
Children are shown a made-up creature called a “wug.”
Then they are shown two of them and asked:
➡️ “Now there are two…?”
👧 Child answers: “Wugs”
What it shows:
Children can apply plural rules (adding -s) to new words, not just words they’ve memorized.
This means they’ve learned the rule, not just copied adults.
Why it matters:
It proves that children actively construct grammar during language development.
