Lexical and Referential Cues to Sentence Interpretation: An Investigation of Children's Interpretations of Ambiguous Sentences
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| Title: | Lexical and Referential Cues to Sentence Interpretation: An Investigation of Children's Interpretations of Ambiguous Sentences |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Kidd, Evan, Bavin, Edith L. |
| Source: | Journal of Child Language. Nov 2005 32(4):855-876. |
| Availability: | Cambridge University Press. The Edinburgh Building, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK. Tel: 800-872-7423; Tel: 845-353-7500; Tel: +44-1223-326070; Fax: 845-353-4141; Fax: +44-1223-325150; e-mail: subscriptions_newyork@cambridge.org; Web site: http://www.cambridge.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Physical Description: | |
| Page Count: | 22 |
| Publication Date: | 2005 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | Max Planck Inst., Nijmegan (Netherlands). |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Preschool Education |
| Descriptors: | Sentences, Cues, Investigations, Semantics, Form Classes (Languages), Figurative Language, Language Processing, Young Children |
| DOI: | 10.1017/S0305000905007051 |
| ISSN: | 0305-0009 |
| Abstract: | This paper reports on an investigation of children's (aged 3;5-9;8) comprehension of sentences containing ambiguity of prepositional phrase (PP) attachment. Results from a picture selection study (N=90) showed that children use verb semantics and preposition type to resolve the ambiguity, with older children also showing sensitivity to the definiteness of the object NP as a cue to interpretation. Study 2 investigated three- and five-year-old children's (N=47) ability to override an instrumental interpretation of ambiguous PPs in order to process attributes of the referential scene. The results showed that while five-year-olds are capable of incorporating aspects of the referential scene into their interpretations, three-year-olds are not as successful. Overall, the results suggest that children are attuned very early to the lexico-semantic co-occurrences that have been shown to aid ambiguity resolution in adults, but that more diffuse cues to interpretation are used only later in development. [This research was partially funded by an Australian Postgraduate Award.] |
| Abstractor: | Author |
| Entry Date: | 2007 |
| Accession Number: | EJ777487 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | This paper reports on an investigation of children's (aged 3;5-9;8) comprehension of sentences containing ambiguity of prepositional phrase (PP) attachment. Results from a picture selection study (N=90) showed that children use verb semantics and preposition type to resolve the ambiguity, with older children also showing sensitivity to the definiteness of the object NP as a cue to interpretation. Study 2 investigated three- and five-year-old children's (N=47) ability to override an instrumental interpretation of ambiguous PPs in order to process attributes of the referential scene. The results showed that while five-year-olds are capable of incorporating aspects of the referential scene into their interpretations, three-year-olds are not as successful. Overall, the results suggest that children are attuned very early to the lexico-semantic co-occurrences that have been shown to aid ambiguity resolution in adults, but that more diffuse cues to interpretation are used only later in development. [This research was partially funded by an Australian Postgraduate Award.] |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0305-0009 |
| DOI: | 10.1017/S0305000905007051 |
