Toddlers' representations of verbs: Effects of delay and sleep on verb meaning

描述（由申请人提供）：本提案中描述的实验研究了幼儿学习新单词的过程。两岁大的孩子就能很快地给他们听到的新词赋予意义。有一种强烈的直觉假设认为，要建立这个意义，学习者必须在它的指称物存在的情况下听到这个词，例如，在猫存在的情况下听到[kaet]，或者在踢动作存在的情况下听到[kIk]。然而，在事件的自然过程中，单词，尤其是动词，通常是在没有指称物的情况下引入的（例如，“Let's pack our bag”）。引人注目的是，分析表明，当母亲与年幼的孩子交谈时，大多数母亲使用的动词都是指不存在的事件。那么，它们是如何为新动词建立意义的呢？我们的目标是建立一个范例，并提供一个实证基础来解决这个问题。我们通过只在语言语境中向两岁的孩子展示新动词，而没有相关的视觉场景来做到这一点。延迟一段时间后，我们向他们提供候选视觉事件，以确定他们是否有(a)赋予新动词的意义，以及(b)即使在延迟一段时间后也能回忆起这些意义。我们还评估了在延迟期间的一段睡眠是否有助于幼儿将新动词整合到他们现有的词汇知识中。本研究旨在描述词汇习得的过程。理解语言习得的机制不仅对语言习得和认知发展的理论理解至关重要，而且对帮助发育迟缓儿童具有重要意义。这里描述的研究有助于建立一个关于正常发育儿童学习的知识基础，这是理解语言迟缓和残疾儿童学习差异的关键。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The experiments described in this proposal investigate the process by which young children learn new words. Children as young as two years old can rapidly assign a meaning to a new word that they hear. There is a strong intuitive assumption that to establish this meaning, learners must hear the word in the presence of its referent, for example, hearing [kaet] in the presence of a cat, or [kIk] in the presence of a kickig action. Yet, in the natural course of events, words, especially verbs, are often introduced in the absence of their referents (e.g., "Let's pack our bag"). Strikingly, analyses reveal that when conversing with their young children, most of the verbs produced by mothers refer to absent events. How, then, do they establish meaning for new verbs? We aim to develop a paradigm and offer an empirical foundation to address this issue. We do so by presenting 2-year-olds with novel verbs in linguistic contexts only, without a relevant visual scene. After a delay, we offer them candidate visual events to determine if they have (a) assigned meaning to the novel verbs, and (b) can recall these meanings even after a delay. We also assess whether a period of sleep during the delay helps toddlers integrate the new verb into their existing lexical knowledge. The proposed work aims to characterize the process of vocabulary acquisition. Understanding the mechanisms of language acquisition is crucial not only to a theoretical understanding of language acquisition and cognitive development, but also has implications for helping children with developmental delays. The research described here contributes to a growing base of knowledge about learning in typically-developing children, which is key in understanding how learning may diverge in children with language delays and disabilities. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The proposed work aims to characterize the process of vocabulary acquisition. Understanding the mechanisms of language acquisition is crucial not only to a theoretical understanding of language acquisition and cognitive development, but also has implications for applied research aimed at helping children with developmental and language delays. The research described here contributes to a growing base of knowledge about learning in typically-developing children, which is key in understanding how learning may diverge in children with language delays and disabilities.