Year: 2004
Type: article
Abstract: Languages vary in how they encode motion events.For example, English motion verbs often encode the manner of the motion while Spanish motion verbs encode the path.Efficient verb learning has been argued to involve the acquisition of language specific lexicalization biases.When given a novel verb paired with a single motion event, English speakers interpret it as a manner verb, Spanish speakers as a path verb.The present study examines the nature and plasticity of this lexicalization bias.Do lexicalization biases result in a permanent alteration of the semantic interface?Or are these biases continually shaped through our experiences with word learning?English-speaking adults were taught 12 motion verbs.The composition of the set of verbs was varied from 100% manner to 100% path with 3 levels in between.Lexicalization biases were monitored by testing verb extension after the first ambiguous exemplar of each verb.We replicate the finding that English speakers have an initial manner bias.However, we find that this bias changes over time in response to the input: Participants who learned path verbs developed a path lexicalization bias.Experiment 2 replicates this result with a different syntactic frame.
Authors: Havasi, Catherine, Snedeker, Jesse
Institutions: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: National Science Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W1590763346