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Context effects on lexical specificity in maternal and child discourse*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2008

Joan Lucariello and
Katherine Nelson
Joan Lucariello
Affiliation:
City University of New York Graduate Center
Katherine Nelson
Affiliation:
City University of New York Graduate Center
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Abstract

Mother–child (two-year-old) object labelling was studied in three natural discourse settings: (1) routine, caretaking; (2) free play; and (3) novel. Object labelling was found to be considerably more varied in these natural discourse settings than in experimental situations. While basic level tokens predominated in the free play context, they were significantly less prevalent in the routine and novel contexts. Additionally, subordinate level term usage was more common in the routine and novel contexts. The relation between mother and child labelling was also investigated and results indicated that context may be more important in determining level of labels than maternal modelling. Analyses of the discourse uses of non-basic level terms revealed that mothers were organizing the social-interactive context in ways that may facilitate child category formation.

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Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , October 1986, pp. 507 - 522
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

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