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Development of Abstract Grammatical Categorization in Infants
Author(s) -
Cyr Marilyn,
Shi Rushen
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01869.x
Subject(s) - categorization , determiner , psychology , grammatical gender , grammatical category , developmental psychology , linguistics , noun , philosophy
This study examined abstract syntactic categorization in infants, using the case of grammatical gender. Ninety‐six French‐learning 14‐, 17‐, 20‐, and 30‐month‐olds completed the study. In a preferential looking procedure infants were tested on their generalized knowledge of grammatical gender involving pseudonouns and gender‐marking determiners. The pseudonouns were controlled to contain no phonological or acoustical cues to gender. The determiner gender feature was the only information available. During familiarization, some pseudonouns followed a masculine determiner and others a feminine determiner. Test trials presented the same pseudonouns with different determiners in correct (consistent with familiarization gender pairing) versus incorrect gender agreement. Twenty‐month‐olds showed emerging knowledge of gender categorization and agreement. This knowledge was robust in 30‐month‐olds. These findings demonstrate that abstract, productive grammatical representations are present early in acquisition.