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Linguistic input and early word meaning*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2009

Margaret Harris ,
Martyn Barrett ,
David Jones  and
Susan Brookes
Margaret Harris*
Affiliation:
Birkbeck College, University of London
Martyn Barrett
Affiliation:
Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, University of London
David Jones
Affiliation:
Birkbeck College, University of London
Susan Brookes
Affiliation:
Birkbeck College, University of London
*
Department of Psychology, Birkbeck College, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, UK.
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Abstract

Four mother–child dyads were videotaped in a longitudinal study of the relationship between linguistic input to children and early lexical development. Diary records were also kept by the mothers and, together with the videorecordings, were used to identify the contexts in which the children produced their first words. These were compared with the contexts in which the mothers used these same words. It was found that there was a strong relationship between the children's initial use of words and the most frequently occurring use of these words by the mothers. It was also found that although the majority of the children's first words were context-bound, a significant number were referential. The implications of these findings for current theoretical proposals concerning early lexical development are discussed.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , February 1988 , pp. 77 - 94
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

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Footnotes

*

This research was supported by grant number COO232136 from the Economic and Social Research Council to the first three authors. Martyn Barrett is at Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, University of London, Egham Hill, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX.

References

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