From sound to syntax: phonological constraints on children's lexical
categorization of new words.
Journal of child language, 36 (5):
967--97 (November 2009)DOI: 10.1017/S0305000908009252
Abstract
Two studies examined the role of phonological cues in the lexical
categorization of new words when children could also rely on learning
by exclusion and whether the role of phonology depends on extensive
experience with a language. Phonological cues were assessed via phonological
typicality - an aggregate measure of the relationship between the
phonology of a word and the phonology of words in the same lexical
class. Experiment 1 showed that when monolingual English-speaking
seven-year-olds could rely on learning by exclusion, phonological
typicality only affected their initial inferences about the words.
Consistent with recent computational analyses, phonological cues
had stronger impact on the processing of verb-like than noun-like
items. Experiment 2 revealed an impact of French on the performance
of seven-year-olds in French immersion when tested in a French language
environment. Thus, phonological knowledge may affect lexical categorization
even in the absence of extensive experience.