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Cited by 31

What does it take to learn a word?

Samuelson, Larissa K., McMurray, Bob·2017·WIREs Cognitive Science
DOI 10.1002/wcs.1421PMC PMC5182137
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Abstract

Vocabulary learning is deceptively hard, but toddlers often make it look easy. Prior theories proposed that children's rapid acquisition of words is based on language‐specific knowledge and constraints. In contrast, more recent work converges on the view that word learning proceeds via domain‐general processes that are tuned to richly structured—not impoverished—input. We argue that new theoretical insights, coupled with methodological tools, have pushed the field toward an appreciation of simple, content‐free processes working together as a system to support the acquisition of words. We illustrate this by considering three central phenomena of early language development: referential ambiguity, fast‐mapping, and the vocabulary spurt. WIREs Cogn Sci 2017, 8:e1421. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1421 This article is categorized under: Linguistics > Language Acquisition Psychology > Development and Aging

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  • Structural knowledge contributes to vocabulary learning and provides information about the meaning of new words, as well as processing routines that facilitate input processing.

    “Structural knowledge contributes to vocabulary learning and provides information about the meaning of new words (Chemla et al., 2009;Gleitman, 1990;Samuelson & McMurray, 2016), as well as processing routines that facilitate input processing (Lew-Williams & Fernald, 2007).”

    From Cross-language distance influences receptive vocabulary outcomes of bilingual children (2020) · cites this paper as Samuelson & McMurray, 2016

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Cited by

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Authors
Samuelson, L. K., & McMurray, B.
Affiliations
  • School of Psychology University of East Anglia Norwich UK
  • DeLTA Center University of Iowa Iowa City IA USA
Venue
WIREs Cognitive Science
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2016-12
Volume
8
Issue
1-2
ISSN
  • 1939-5078
  • 1939-5086
DOI
10.1002/wcs.1421
PMC
PMC5182137
Cited by
31
References
2
Language
en
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Funders
National Institutes of Health (HD045713, DC008089)

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