Table 1. Sentence with function words and content words deleted. We can observe that, while when function words are deleted we can still understand the meaning of the sentence; when content words are deleted we can not. Function words can also help us categorise content words in their different categories (noun, verb, adjective and adverb). For example, if I say “she blickets”, you will classify ‘blickets’ as a verb, however if I say “the blickets” you will classify ‘blickets’ as an object now. This shows us that the choice of function words creates a syntactic context that helps us categorise novel content words (Bernal et al., 2007; Shi and Melançon 2010; de Carvalho et al., 2016). This process is called syntactic bootstrapping (Gleitman, 1990).
Figure 1. Semantic Seed Hypothesis. By using the semantic seed and some memorised context where this semantic seed appears, the baby can get to know some function words. Then, they will be able to relate these function words to syntactic contexts that will help them to categorise novel words. More precisely, the experiments we are running at the BabyLab (LSCP), in which I take part during my internship, try to test the validity of the Semantic Seed Hypothesis. To know how do we do it, read my next blogpost!
References: Bernal, S., Lidz, J., Millotte, S., & Christophe, A. (2007). Syntax Constrains the Acquisition of Verb Meaning. Language Learning and Development, 3 (4), 325–341. http://doi.org/10.1080/15475440701542609 de Carvalho, A., Lidz, J., Tieu, L., Bleam, T., & Christophe, A. (2016). English-speaking preschoolers can use phrasal prosody for syntactic parsing. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 139(6), EL216-EL222 Christophe, A., Dautriche, I., de Carvalho, A., & Brusini, P. (2016). Bootstrapping the Syntactic Bootstrapper. In Proceedings of the 40th annual Boston University Conference on Language Development. Boston, MA: Cascadilla Press, 75-88. Gleitman, L. (1990). The Structural Sources of Verb Meanings. Language Acquisition, 1, 3–55. Shi, R., & Melançon, A. (2010). Syntactic Categorization in French-Learning Infants. Infancy, 15(5), 517–533. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7078.2009.00022.x
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