PsyArXiv
From what they hear to what they say: The distribution of word classes in the output of young English-speaking children and their caregivers
By Quick AE and Schmidtke-Bode K.
Abstract
Usage-based approaches propose that children assimilate the statistical regularities of their input. While prior studies have documented such input–output correlations for specific constructions, more systemic properties like word-class distributions have received less attention. The present study examines twelve English-speaking children aged two to three from the Manchester Corpus, comparing their part-of-speech (POS) distributions with their mothers' at three time points. Maternal distributions remain highly stable; children's speech is initially noun-heavy but approaches maternal patterns by age 2;9. These findings suggest that, even at more abstract levels of grammatical organization, children's developing grammars reflect the distributional properties of their input.
Keywords
- Preprint
Source
This is a preprint: it has not been peer reviewed yet, and its findings may change.
Published in PsyArXiv (preprint). The abstract is shown as published and remains the work of its authors; read the full article at the source.
Prognia lists this article for reference and education. It is not medical advice. Always read the original and follow current guidelines and local protocols before acting on it.
