1
|
Motamedi Y, Murgiano M, Grzyb B, Gu Y, Kewenig V, Brieke R, Donnellan E, Marshall C, Wonnacott E, Perniss P, Vigliocco G. Language development beyond the here-and-now: Iconicity and displacement in child-directed communication. Child Dev 2024. [PMID: 38563146 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.14099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Most language use is displaced, referring to past, future, or hypothetical events, posing the challenge of how children learn what words refer to when the referent is not physically available. One possibility is that iconic cues that imagistically evoke properties of absent referents support learning when referents are displaced. In an audio-visual corpus of caregiver-child dyads, English-speaking caregivers interacted with their children (N = 71, 24-58 months) in contexts in which the objects talked about were either familiar or unfamiliar to the child, and either physically present or displaced. The analysis of the range of vocal, manual, and looking behaviors caregivers produced suggests that caregivers used iconic cues especially in displaced contexts and for unfamiliar objects, using other cues when objects were present.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yasamin Motamedi
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Margherita Murgiano
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Beata Grzyb
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Yan Gu
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
| | - Viktor Kewenig
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Ricarda Brieke
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Ed Donnellan
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Chloe Marshall
- Institute of Education, University College London, London, UK
| | - Elizabeth Wonnacott
- Department of Language and Cognition, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Education, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | | - Gabriella Vigliocco
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Winter B, Lupyan G, Perry LK, Dingemanse M, Perlman M. Iconicity ratings for 14,000+ English words. Behav Res Methods 2024; 56:1640-1655. [PMID: 37081237 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-023-02112-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023]
Abstract
Iconic words and signs are characterized by a perceived resemblance between aspects of their form and aspects of their meaning. For example, in English, iconic words include peep and crash, which mimic the sounds they denote, and wiggle and zigzag, which mimic motion. As a semiotic property of words and signs, iconicity has been demonstrated to play a role in word learning, language processing, and language evolution. This paper presents the results of a large-scale norming study for more than 14,000 English words conducted with over 1400 American English speakers. We demonstrate the utility of these ratings by replicating a number of existing findings showing that iconicity ratings are related to age of acquisition, sensory modality, semantic neighborhood density, structural markedness, and playfulness. We discuss possible use cases and limitations of the rating dataset, which is made publicly available.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bodo Winter
- Department of English Language & Linguistics, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
| | - Gary Lupyan
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Lynn K Perry
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Mark Dingemanse
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Marcus Perlman
- Department of English Language & Linguistics, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Seidl AH, Indarjit M, Borovsky A. Touch to learn: Multisensory input supports word learning and processing. Dev Sci 2024; 27:e13419. [PMID: 37291692 PMCID: PMC10704002 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2022] [Revised: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Infants experience language in rich multisensory environments. For example, they may first be exposed to the word applesauce while touching, tasting, smelling, and seeing applesauce. In three experiments using different methods we asked whether the number of distinct senses linked with the semantic features of objects would impact word recognition and learning. Specifically, in Experiment 1 we asked whether words linked with more multisensory experiences were learned earlier than words linked fewer multisensory experiences. In Experiment 2, we asked whether 2-year-olds' known words linked with more multisensory experiences were better recognized than those linked with fewer. Finally, in Experiment 3, we taught 2-year-olds labels for novel objects that were linked with either just visual or visual and tactile experiences and asked whether this impacted their ability to learn the new label-to-object mappings. Results converge to support an account in which richer multisensory experiences better support word learning. We discuss two pathways through which rich multisensory experiences might support word learning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amanda H Seidl
- Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
| | - Michelle Indarjit
- Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
| | - Arielle Borovsky
- Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Gappmayr P, Lieberman AM, Pyers J, Caselli NK. Do parents modify child-directed signing to emphasize iconicity? Front Psychol 2022; 13:920729. [PMID: 36092032 PMCID: PMC9453873 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.920729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Iconic signs are overrepresented in the vocabularies of young deaf children, but it is unclear why. It is possible that iconic signs are easier for children to learn, but it is also possible that adults use iconic signs in child-directed signing in ways that make them more learnable, either by using them more often than less iconic signs or by lengthening them. We analyzed videos of naturalistic play sessions between parents and deaf children (n = 24 dyads) aged 9-60 months. To determine whether iconic signs are overrepresented during child-directed signing, we compared the iconicity of actual parent productions to the iconicity of simulated vocabularies designed to estimate chance levels of iconicity. For almost all dyads, parent sign types and tokens were not more iconic than the simulated vocabularies, suggesting that parents do not select more iconic signs during child-directed signing. To determine whether iconic signs are more likely to be lengthened, we ran a linear regression predicting sign duration, and found an interaction between age and iconicity: while parents of younger children produced non-iconic and iconic signs with similar durations, parents of older children produced non-iconic signs with shorter durations than iconic signs. Thus, parents sign more quickly with older children than younger children, and iconic signs appear to resist that reduction in sign length. It is possible that iconic signs are perceptually available longer, and their availability is a candidate hypothesis as to why iconic signs are overrepresented in children's vocabularies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paris Gappmayr
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Amy M. Lieberman
- Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Jennie Pyers
- Department of Psychology, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, United States
| | - Naomi K. Caselli
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Perry LK, Custode SA, Fasano RM, Gonzalez BM, Valtierra AM. Coordination of Caregiver Naming and Children’s Exploration of Solid Objects and Nonsolid Substances. Front Psychol 2022; 13:945664. [PMID: 35865677 PMCID: PMC9294728 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.945664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
When a caregiver names objects dominating a child’s view, the association between object and name is unambiguous and children are more likely to learn the object’s name. Children also learn to name things other than solid objects, including nonsolid substances like applesauce. However, it is unknown how caregivers structure linguistic and exploratory experiences with nonsolids to support learning. In this exploratory study of caregivers and children (n = 14, 8 girls; M = 20.50 months) we compare caregiver-child free-play with novel solid objects and novel nonsolid substances to identify the linguistic and exploratory experiences associated with children’s word learning. We found systematic differences in interactions with novel objects, such that children performed more manual actions on solids than nonsolids and caregivers named solids more than nonsolids. Additionally, there was less synchrony between caregivers’ naming and children’s manual and visual exploration of nonsolids than solids. Consistent with prior work, we found that synchronous naming was associated with accurate recognition of solid object names. However, naming synchrony was not associated with recognition of nonsolid substance names or with generalization. Together these findings, though exploratory, suggest the coordination of caregiver-child play can shape what children remember about novel word-object associations for solid objects, but not nonsolid substances.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lynn K. Perry
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United States
- *Correspondence: Lynn K. Perry,
| | | | - Regina M. Fasano
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United States
| | | | - Adriana M. Valtierra
- Bill Wilkerson Center for Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| |
Collapse
|