The Origins of Conventional Understanding in Language

约定俗成是人类交流的中心。为了使交流有效，说话者之间必须有共享的符号。在这项建议中，凯尼格博士研究了理解单词的常规性质作为语言习得的强大工具的可能性。虽然说话者使用的特定语言往往是一致的，但当涉及一种以上的语言系统时，说话者之间存在不同的语言，这就提出了关于儿童常规理解范围的重要问题。只会说一种语言的学步儿童能从讲外语的人那里学到外国语吗？他们把外来词和不准确的词区别对待吗？该项目将比较24个月大的婴儿从说英语准确的人那里学习新单词的能力，以及说英语不准确的人和以荷兰为母语的人学习新单词的能力。鉴于有很有希望的证据表明，孩子们可以学习荷兰语中的外国术语，一个有趣的问题就是，他们在多大程度上概括了他们在说话者中所学到的东西。这项研究将考察学步儿童对不同类型说话者的概括性，包括母语和外语。广义的概括将表明，婴儿已经接受了这个词，但没有区分他们自己的系统与外语的界限。狭义的概括--把英语而不是外来语概括到你自己语言的使用者--表明婴儿已经开始理解不同的系统可以存在。在最后的部分中，这个项目将直接考察观察到的说话者一致的词语使用是否比只有一个说话者表现出的一致性更有力地支持一个词的证据。本研究的主要目标是提供对语言习惯性的不同方面的洞察：(1)了解传统系统原则上可以因说话者而异；(2)了解词汇知识适用于其他说话者，但不是所有说话者；以及(3)了解传统性的基础在于跨说话者一致的用词。每个方面都反映了在将语言理解为一个系统方面的一个重要的概念性成果，这个项目的一个中心目标是确定每个组成部分的出现。因此，它将有助于对传统理解发展的科学认识，并推动当前的语言发展理论。除了阐明语言学习的一个关键方面外，这些研究还将促进未来对双语人群的研究，并阐明更普遍的问题，即儿童如何提取和概括文化和社会规范。

Conventionality lies at the center of human communication. For communication to be effective there must be symbols that are shared among speakers. In this proposal, Dr. Koenig investigates the possibility that understanding the conventional nature of words serves as a powerful tool in language acquisition. While speakers are often consistent in the particular language they use, the presence of different languages across speakers raises important questions about the scope of children's conventional understanding when more than one language system is involved. Can monolingual toddlers learn foreign terms from foreign speakers? Do they treat foreign terms as distinct from inaccurate terms? This project will compare 24-month-olds' ability to learn new words from an accurate English speaker versus an inaccurate English speaker and a native Dutch speaker. Given promising evidence that children can learn foreign terms presented in Dutch, an interesting question arises of how broadly they generalize what they have learned across speakers. This study will examine toddler's generalization across different types of speakers, native and foreign. Broad generalization would indicate that infants have accepted the word, but not demarcated the boundaries of their own system versus a foreign language. Narrow generalization -- generalizing English but not foreign terms to users of your own language -- would suggest that infants have begun to understand that different systems can exist. In the final component, this project will directly examine the possibility that observation of consistent word use across speakers is more powerful evidence in favor of a word than is consistency that is demonstrated by only one speaker.The major goal of this research is to provide insight into different aspects of conventionality in language: (1) knowing that conventional systems can, in principle, vary across speakers; (2) knowing that word knowledge generalizes to other speakers, but not all speakers; and (3) knowing that the basis of conventionality lies in consistent word use across speakers. Each aspect reflects an important conceptual achievement in understanding language as a system, and a central aim of this project is to identify the emergence of each component. As a result, it will contribute to scientific knowledge about the development of conventional understanding, and advance current theories of language development. Beyond elucidating a critical aspect of language learning, these studies will promote future research in bilingual populations and shed light on the more general question of how children extract and generalize cultural and social norms.