Eve Vivienne Clark
2020
Clark, Eve Vivienne
Conversational Repair and the Acquisition of Language Journal Article
In: Discourse Processes, vol. 57, no. 5-6, pp. 1-19, 2020.
@article{Clark2020,
title = {Conversational Repair and the Acquisition of Language},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark},
doi = {10.1080/0163853X.2020.1719795},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-02-12},
urldate = {2020-02-12},
journal = {Discourse Processes},
volume = {57},
number = {5-6},
pages = {1-19},
abstract = {In this article, I examine how repairs in adult-child conversations guide children’s acquisition of language. Children make unprompted self-repairs to their utterances. They also respond to prompts for repair, whether open (Hm?, What?) or restricted (You hid what?), and to restricted offers (Child: I falled, Adult: You fell?). Children respond to clarification requests with self-repairs in the next turn, and make use of the feedback offered. The contrast between their utterance and the adult utterance identifies the locus of the error (negative feedback), while the adult’s offer presents a conventional version of the child’s utterance (positive feedback). I describe the use of restricted offers in conversations with children acquiring English and French, then present two case studies of how these inform children about homophonous French verb forms and early opaque Hebrew verb uses. These findings demonstrate the fundamental role of repair in the acquisition of a first language.},
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In this article, I examine how repairs in adult-child conversations guide children’s acquisition of language. Children make unprompted self-repairs to their utterances. They also respond to prompts for repair, whether open (Hm?, What?) or restricted (You hid what?), and to restricted offers (Child: I falled, Adult: You fell?). Children respond to clarification requests with self-repairs in the next turn, and make use of the feedback offered. The contrast between their utterance and the adult utterance identifies the locus of the error (negative feedback), while the adult’s offer presents a conventional version of the child’s utterance (positive feedback). I describe the use of restricted offers in conversations with children acquiring English and French, then present two case studies of how these inform children about homophonous French verb forms and early opaque Hebrew verb uses. These findings demonstrate the fundamental role of repair in the acquisition of a first language.
2019
Clark, Eve Vivienne; Lustigman, Lyle
Exposure and feedback in language acquisition: Adult construals of children's early verb-form use in Hebrew Journal Article
In: Journal of Child Language, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 241-264, 2019.
@article{Clark2019b,
title = {Exposure and feedback in language acquisition: Adult construals of children's early verb-form use in Hebrew},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark and Lyle Lustigman},
doi = {10.1017/S0305000918000405},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-03-01},
journal = {Journal of Child Language},
volume = {46},
number = {2},
pages = {241-264},
abstract = {This study focuses on adult responses to children's verb uses, the information they provide, and how they change over time. We analyzed longitudinal samples from four children acquiring Hebrew (age-range: 1;4–2;5; child verb-forms = 8,337). All child verbs were coded for inflectional category, and for whether and how adults responded to them. Our findings show that: (a) children's early verbs were opaque with no clear inflectional target (e.g., the child-form tapes corresponds to le tapes ‘to-climb’, me tapes ‘is-climbing’, ye tapes ‘will-climb’), with inflections added gradually; (b) most early verbs were followed by adult responses using the same lexeme; and (c) as opacity in children's verbs decreased, adults made fewer uses of the same lexeme in their responses, and produced a broader array of inflections and inflectional shifts. In short, adults are attuned to what their children know and respond to their early productions accordingly, with extensive ‘tailor-made’ feedback on their verb uses.},
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pubstate = {published},
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This study focuses on adult responses to children's verb uses, the information they provide, and how they change over time. We analyzed longitudinal samples from four children acquiring Hebrew (age-range: 1;4–2;5; child verb-forms = 8,337). All child verbs were coded for inflectional category, and for whether and how adults responded to them. Our findings show that: (a) children's early verbs were opaque with no clear inflectional target (e.g., the child-form tapes corresponds to le tapes ‘to-climb’, me tapes ‘is-climbing’, ye tapes ‘will-climb’), with inflections added gradually; (b) most early verbs were followed by adult responses using the same lexeme; and (c) as opacity in children's verbs decreased, adults made fewer uses of the same lexeme in their responses, and produced a broader array of inflections and inflectional shifts. In short, adults are attuned to what their children know and respond to their early productions accordingly, with extensive ‘tailor-made’ feedback on their verb uses.
Clark, Eve Vivienne; Lustigman, Lyle
Exposure and feedback in language acquisition: Adult construals of children's early verb-form use in Hebrew Journal Article
In: Journal of Child Language, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 241-264, 2019.
@article{Clark2019bb,
title = {Exposure and feedback in language acquisition: Adult construals of children's early verb-form use in Hebrew},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark and Lyle Lustigman},
doi = {10.1017/S0305000918000405},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-03-01},
urldate = {2019-03-01},
journal = {Journal of Child Language},
volume = {46},
number = {2},
pages = {241-264},
abstract = {This study focuses on adult responses to children's verb uses, the information they provide, and how they change over time. We analyzed longitudinal samples from four children acquiring Hebrew (age-range: 1;4–2;5; child verb-forms = 8,337). All child verbs were coded for inflectional category, and for whether and how adults responded to them. Our findings show that: (a) children's early verbs were opaque with no clear inflectional target (e.g., the child-form tapes corresponds to le tapes ‘to-climb’, me tapes ‘is-climbing’, ye tapes ‘will-climb’), with inflections added gradually; (b) most early verbs were followed by adult responses using the same lexeme; and (c) as opacity in children's verbs decreased, adults made fewer uses of the same lexeme in their responses, and produced a broader array of inflections and inflectional shifts. In short, adults are attuned to what their children know and respond to their early productions accordingly, with extensive ‘tailor-made’ feedback on their verb uses.},
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pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This study focuses on adult responses to children's verb uses, the information they provide, and how they change over time. We analyzed longitudinal samples from four children acquiring Hebrew (age-range: 1;4–2;5; child verb-forms = 8,337). All child verbs were coded for inflectional category, and for whether and how adults responded to them. Our findings show that: (a) children's early verbs were opaque with no clear inflectional target (e.g., the child-form tapes corresponds to le tapes ‘to-climb’, me tapes ‘is-climbing’, ye tapes ‘will-climb’), with inflections added gradually; (b) most early verbs were followed by adult responses using the same lexeme; and (c) as opacity in children's verbs decreased, adults made fewer uses of the same lexeme in their responses, and produced a broader array of inflections and inflectional shifts. In short, adults are attuned to what their children know and respond to their early productions accordingly, with extensive ‘tailor-made’ feedback on their verb uses.
Clark, Eve Vivienne
Perspective-taking and pretend-play: Precursors to figurative language use in young children Journal Article
In: Journal of Pragmatics, vol. 156 , 2019.
@article{Clark2019,
title = {Perspective-taking and pretend-play: Precursors to figurative language use in young children},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark},
doi = {10.1016/j.pragma.2018.12.012},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-01-01},
urldate = {2019-01-01},
journal = {Journal of Pragmatics},
volume = {156 },
abstract = {At what point do children move from literal uses of language to figurative ones, making use of metonymy and metaphor, for example? In this paper, I explore the contributions of perspective-taking and pretend-play as precursors to the emergence of figurative language in children. Speakers mark conceptual perspective with lexical choices to indicate kind and level of categorization (for example, Siberian tiger vs. tiger vs. animal), membership in orthogonal domains (bear vs. mailman, in a Richard Scarry book), and re-categorization (waste-basket vs. hat). In pretend-play speakers assign roles and make use of props (e.g., I'm the daddy and this is my baby [holding teddy-bear]; Fill up my cup [holding out a block]; This is my sword [waving paper roll]). In short, pretend play typically involves re-categorization – viewing participants and objects in new roles. This in turn requires that children extend their uses of conventional terms in talk. Perspective-taking emerges in the second year, along with early pretend-play: these abilities, I suggest, provide a foundation for figurative uses of language in children.},
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At what point do children move from literal uses of language to figurative ones, making use of metonymy and metaphor, for example? In this paper, I explore the contributions of perspective-taking and pretend-play as precursors to the emergence of figurative language in children. Speakers mark conceptual perspective with lexical choices to indicate kind and level of categorization (for example, Siberian tiger vs. tiger vs. animal), membership in orthogonal domains (bear vs. mailman, in a Richard Scarry book), and re-categorization (waste-basket vs. hat). In pretend-play speakers assign roles and make use of props (e.g., I'm the daddy and this is my baby [holding teddy-bear]; Fill up my cup [holding out a block]; This is my sword [waving paper roll]). In short, pretend play typically involves re-categorization – viewing participants and objects in new roles. This in turn requires that children extend their uses of conventional terms in talk. Perspective-taking emerges in the second year, along with early pretend-play: these abilities, I suggest, provide a foundation for figurative uses of language in children.
2018
Clark, Eve Vivienne
First Language Vocabulary Acquisition Journal Article
In: pp. 1-6, 2018.
@article{Clark2018,
title = {First Language Vocabulary Acquisition},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark},
doi = {10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0414.pub2},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-12-14},
urldate = {2018-12-14},
pages = {1-6},
abstract = {Children produce their first words between the ages of one and one‐and‐a‐half. They add new words as they gain experience from interaction with adults who talk about new objects, draw attention to their properties, and link the new words to familiar ones the children already know.},
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Children produce their first words between the ages of one and one‐and‐a‐half. They add new words as they gain experience from interaction with adults who talk about new objects, draw attention to their properties, and link the new words to familiar ones the children already know.
Clark, Eve Vivienne
Word meanings and semantic domains in acquisition Book Chapter
In: Chapter 2, pp. 22-43, John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2018.
@inbook{Clark2018b,
title = {Word meanings and semantic domains in acquisition},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark},
doi = {10.1075/tilar.24.02cla},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-07-13},
urldate = {2018-07-13},
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abstract = {As children accumulate words, they build up semantic domains. In doing this, they start to link the meanings of words, depending on how they are related to each other. They rely on conceptual representations of objects and events, and on how adults talk about objects and events. Adults typically provide information along with new-word offers: facts about class membership, parts and properties, motion, sound, and function provide a basis for semantic relations. Semantic domains built up early include many general domains as well as some domains of intense interest (e.g., dinosaurs or cars), also elaborated with parental support. As children learn more words, they structure each domain and link new terms to ones they already know.},
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As children accumulate words, they build up semantic domains. In doing this, they start to link the meanings of words, depending on how they are related to each other. They rely on conceptual representations of objects and events, and on how adults talk about objects and events. Adults typically provide information along with new-word offers: facts about class membership, parts and properties, motion, sound, and function provide a basis for semantic relations. Semantic domains built up early include many general domains as well as some domains of intense interest (e.g., dinosaurs or cars), also elaborated with parental support. As children learn more words, they structure each domain and link new terms to ones they already know.
Clark, Eve Vivienne
References Book Chapter
In: pp. 460-544, 2018, ISBN: 9781107143005.
@inbook{Clark2018c,
title = {References},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark},
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Clark, Eve Vivienne
Constructions and meanings Book Chapter
In: pp. 171-172, 2018.
@inbook{Clark2018d,
title = {Constructions and meanings},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark},
doi = {10.1017/cbo9781316534175.008},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-05-01},
urldate = {2018-05-01},
pages = {171-172},
abstract = {How do young children learn language? When does this process start? What does language acquisition involve? Children are exposed to language from birth, surrounded by knowledgeable speakers who offer feedback and provide extensive practice every day. Through conversation and joint activities, children master the language being used around them. This fully revised third edition of Eve V. Clark's bestselling textbook offers comprehensive coverage of language acquisition, from a baby's first sounds to a child's increasing skill in negotiating, explaining and entertaining with language. This book, drawing together the most recent findings in the field, and illustrated with examples from a wide range of experimental and observational studies, including the author's own diary observations, presents an essential and comprehensive guide to first language acquisition. It will be fascinating reading for students of linguistics, developmental psychology and cognitive science.},
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How do young children learn language? When does this process start? What does language acquisition involve? Children are exposed to language from birth, surrounded by knowledgeable speakers who offer feedback and provide extensive practice every day. Through conversation and joint activities, children master the language being used around them. This fully revised third edition of Eve V. Clark's bestselling textbook offers comprehensive coverage of language acquisition, from a baby's first sounds to a child's increasing skill in negotiating, explaining and entertaining with language. This book, drawing together the most recent findings in the field, and illustrated with examples from a wide range of experimental and observational studies, including the author's own diary observations, presents an essential and comprehensive guide to first language acquisition. It will be fascinating reading for students of linguistics, developmental psychology and cognitive science.
Clark, Eve Vivienne
Glossary Book Chapter
In: pp. 452-459, 2018, ISBN: 9781107143005.
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title = {Glossary},
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2017
Clark, Eve Vivienne
Semantic Categories in Acquisition Book Chapter
In: Chapter 16, pp. 459-479, Elsevier, London, 2017.
@inbook{Clark2017,
title = {Semantic Categories in Acquisition},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark},
doi = {10.1016/b978-0-08-101107-2.00017-8},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-12-31},
urldate = {2017-12-31},
pages = {459-479},
publisher = {Elsevier, London},
chapter = {16},
abstract = {Both universal and language-specific meanings play a role as children map semantic categories onto linguistic forms in a first language. What sources do they draw from as they do this mapping? To what extent are their semantic categories informed by universal conceptual categories, and to what extent by the conventions of the language community? In this chapter, I consider some of the contributions of cognitive and social factors in children’s construction of semantic categories.},
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Both universal and language-specific meanings play a role as children map semantic categories onto linguistic forms in a first language. What sources do they draw from as they do this mapping? To what extent are their semantic categories informed by universal conceptual categories, and to what extent by the conventions of the language community? In this chapter, I consider some of the contributions of cognitive and social factors in children’s construction of semantic categories.
Clark, Eve Vivienne
Conversation and Language Acquisition: A Pragmatic Approach Journal Article
In: Language Learning and Development, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 1-16, 2017.
@article{Clark2017b,
title = {Conversation and Language Acquisition: A Pragmatic Approach},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark},
doi = {10.1080/15475441.2017.1340843},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-10-06},
urldate = {2017-10-06},
journal = {Language Learning and Development},
volume = {14},
number = {3},
pages = {1-16},
abstract = {Children acquire language in conversation. This is where they are exposed to the community language by more expert speakers. This exposure is effectively governed by adult reliance on pragmatic principles in conversation: Cooperation, Conventionality, and Contrast. All three play a central role in speakers’ use of language for communication in conversation. Exposure to language alone, however, is not enough for learning. Children need to practice what they hear, and take account of feedback on their usage. Research shows that adults offer feedback with considerable frequency when young children make errors, whether in pronunciation (phonology), in word-from (morphology), in word choice (lexicon), or in constructions (syntax). Adults also offer children new words for objects, actions, and relations. And, along with new labels for such categories, they also provide supplementary information about the referents of new words—information about parts, properties, characteristic sounds, motion, and function, as well as about related neighboring objects, actions, and relations. All this helps children build up and organize semantic domains as they learn more words and more language.},
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Children acquire language in conversation. This is where they are exposed to the community language by more expert speakers. This exposure is effectively governed by adult reliance on pragmatic principles in conversation: Cooperation, Conventionality, and Contrast. All three play a central role in speakers’ use of language for communication in conversation. Exposure to language alone, however, is not enough for learning. Children need to practice what they hear, and take account of feedback on their usage. Research shows that adults offer feedback with considerable frequency when young children make errors, whether in pronunciation (phonology), in word-from (morphology), in word choice (lexicon), or in constructions (syntax). Adults also offer children new words for objects, actions, and relations. And, along with new labels for such categories, they also provide supplementary information about the referents of new words—information about parts, properties, characteristic sounds, motion, and function, as well as about related neighboring objects, actions, and relations. All this helps children build up and organize semantic domains as they learn more words and more language.
Clark, Eve Vivienne
Morphology in Language Acquisition Book Chapter
In: pp. 374-389, Blackwell, Oxford, UK, 2017.
@inbook{Clark2017c,
title = {Morphology in Language Acquisition},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark},
doi = {10.1002/9781405166348.ch19},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-08-01},
urldate = {2017-08-01},
pages = {374-389},
publisher = {Blackwell, Oxford, UK},
abstract = {Children typically begin to say their first words between twelve and twenty months of age. And they produce systematic morphological modulations of those words within their first year of talking. As they move to more complex expression of their meanings, they add grammatical morphemes – prefixes, suffixes, prepositions, postpositions, and clitics. On nouns, for example, they start to add morphemes to mark such distinctions as gender, number, and case; on verbs, they add markers for aspect, tense, gender, number, and person. Within a particular language, children's mastery of such paradigms may take several years. There are at least three reasons for this: (a) some meaning distinctions appear to be more complex conceptually than others, and so take longer to learn; (b) some paradigms are less regular than others, and they too take longer to learn; and (c) language typology may affect the process of morphological acquisition: suffixes, for instance, are acquired more readily, and earlier, than prefixes.},
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Children typically begin to say their first words between twelve and twenty months of age. And they produce systematic morphological modulations of those words within their first year of talking. As they move to more complex expression of their meanings, they add grammatical morphemes – prefixes, suffixes, prepositions, postpositions, and clitics. On nouns, for example, they start to add morphemes to mark such distinctions as gender, number, and case; on verbs, they add markers for aspect, tense, gender, number, and person. Within a particular language, children's mastery of such paradigms may take several years. There are at least three reasons for this: (a) some meaning distinctions appear to be more complex conceptually than others, and so take longer to learn; (b) some paradigms are less regular than others, and they too take longer to learn; and (c) language typology may affect the process of morphological acquisition: suffixes, for instance, are acquired more readily, and earlier, than prefixes.
Clark, Eve Vivienne
Becoming social and interactive with language: Studies in honor of Ayhan Aksu-Koç Book Chapter
In: Chapter 2, pp. 19-34, 2017.
@inbook{Clark2017d,
title = {Becoming social and interactive with language: Studies in honor of Ayhan Aksu-Koç},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark},
doi = {10.1075/tilar.21.02cla},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-07-07},
urldate = {2017-07-07},
pages = {19-34},
chapter = {2},
abstract = {Children interact with others from early in infancy: They smile in response to smiles, follow adult gaze, attend to objects others are looking at, mimic adult intonation contours in their babbling, and make use of gestures and actions to attract attention. They interact more intensively as they advance from crawling to walking. When they begin to talk, they add words to their gestures and gradually move on to more complex utterances. But to communicate content effectively, children must take turns in conversational exchanges. For this, they need to contribute appropriate content and get the timing right so that they come in on time when they answer a question or make a further contribution to the ongoing conversation.},
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Children interact with others from early in infancy: They smile in response to smiles, follow adult gaze, attend to objects others are looking at, mimic adult intonation contours in their babbling, and make use of gestures and actions to attract attention. They interact more intensively as they advance from crawling to walking. When they begin to talk, they add words to their gestures and gradually move on to more complex utterances. But to communicate content effectively, children must take turns in conversational exchanges. For this, they need to contribute appropriate content and get the timing right so that they come in on time when they answer a question or make a further contribution to the ongoing conversation.
2016
Clark, Eve Vivienne; Kurumada, Chigusa
Pragmatic inferences in context: Learning to interpret contrastive prosody Journal Article
In: Journal of Child Language, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 1-31, 2016.
@article{Clark2016,
title = {Pragmatic inferences in context: Learning to interpret contrastive prosody},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark and Chigusa Kurumada},
doi = {10.1017/S0305000916000246},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-05-26},
urldate = {2016-05-26},
journal = {Journal of Child Language},
volume = {1},
number = {4},
pages = {1-31},
abstract = {Can preschoolers make pragmatic inferences based on the intonation of an utterance? Previous work has found that young children appear to ignore intonational meanings and come to understand contrastive intonation contours only after age six. We show that four-year-olds succeed in interpreting an English utterance, such as "It LOOKS like a zebra", to derive a conversational implicature, namely [but it isn't one], as long as they can access a semantically stronger alternative, in this case "It's a zebra". We propose that children arrive at the implicature by comparing such contextually provided alternatives. Contextually leveraged inferences generalize across speakers and contexts, and thus drive the acquisition of intonational meanings. Our findings show that four-year-olds and adults are able to bootstrap their interpretation of the contrast-marking intonation by taking into account alternative utterances produced in the same context.},
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Can preschoolers make pragmatic inferences based on the intonation of an utterance? Previous work has found that young children appear to ignore intonational meanings and come to understand contrastive intonation contours only after age six. We show that four-year-olds succeed in interpreting an English utterance, such as "It LOOKS like a zebra", to derive a conversational implicature, namely [but it isn't one], as long as they can access a semantically stronger alternative, in this case "It's a zebra". We propose that children arrive at the implicature by comparing such contextually provided alternatives. Contextually leveraged inferences generalize across speakers and contexts, and thus drive the acquisition of intonational meanings. Our findings show that four-year-olds and adults are able to bootstrap their interpretation of the contrast-marking intonation by taking into account alternative utterances produced in the same context.
Clark, Eve Vivienne
First Language Acquisition Book Chapter
In: Cambridge University Press, 2016, ISBN: 9781107143005.
@inbook{Clark2016b,
title = {First Language Acquisition},
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Clark, Eve Vivienne; Falkum, Ingrid L; Recasens, Marta
The moustache sits down first: on the acquisition of metonymy Journal Article
In: Journal of Child Language, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 1-33, 2016.
@article{Clark2016c,
title = {The moustache sits down first: on the acquisition of metonymy},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark and Ingrid L Falkum and Marta Recasens},
doi = {10.1017/S0305000915000720},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-01-19},
urldate = {2016-01-19},
journal = {Journal of Child Language},
volume = {1},
number = {1},
pages = {1-33},
abstract = {This study investigates preschoolers' ability to understand and produce novel metonyms. We gave forty-seven children (aged 2;9-5;9) and twenty-seven adults one comprehension task and two elicitation tasks. The first elicitation task investigated their ability to use metonyms as referential shorthands, and the second their willingness to name animates metonymically on the basis of a salient property. Although children were outperformed by adults, even three-year-olds could understand and produce metonyms in certain circumstances. Our results suggest that young children may find it easier to produce a metonym than a more elaborate referential description in certain contexts, and that metonymy may serve as a useful strategy in referring to entities that lack a conventional label. However, metonymy comprehension appeared to decrease with age, with older children tending to choose literal interpretations of some metonyms. This could be a result of growing metalinguistic awareness, which leads children to overemphasize literal meanings.
},
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This study investigates preschoolers' ability to understand and produce novel metonyms. We gave forty-seven children (aged 2;9-5;9) and twenty-seven adults one comprehension task and two elicitation tasks. The first elicitation task investigated their ability to use metonyms as referential shorthands, and the second their willingness to name animates metonymically on the basis of a salient property. Although children were outperformed by adults, even three-year-olds could understand and produce metonyms in certain circumstances. Our results suggest that young children may find it easier to produce a metonym than a more elaborate referential description in certain contexts, and that metonymy may serve as a useful strategy in referring to entities that lack a conventional label. However, metonymy comprehension appeared to decrease with age, with older children tending to choose literal interpretations of some metonyms. This could be a result of growing metalinguistic awareness, which leads children to overemphasize literal meanings.
2015
Clark, Eve Vivienne; Casillas, Marisa; Bobb, Susan C
Turn-taking, timing, and planning in early language acquisition Journal Article
In: Journal of Child Language, vol. 1, no. 6, pp. 1-28, 2015.
@article{Clark2015,
title = {Turn-taking, timing, and planning in early language acquisition},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark and Marisa Casillas and Susan C Bobb},
doi = {10.1017/S0305000915000689},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-11-25},
urldate = {2015-11-25},
journal = {Journal of Child Language},
volume = {1},
number = {6},
pages = {1-28},
abstract = {Young children answer questions with longer delays than adults do, and they don't reach typical adult response times until several years later. We hypothesized that this prolonged pattern of delay in children's timing results from competing demands: to give an answer, children must understand a question while simultaneously planning and initiating their response. Even as children get older and more efficient in this process, the demands on them increase because their verbal responses become more complex. We analyzed conversational question-answer sequences between caregivers and their children from ages 1;8 to 3;5, finding that children (1) initiate simple answers more quickly than complex ones, (2) initiate simple answers quickly from an early age, and (3) initiate complex answers more quickly as they grow older. Our results suggest that children aim to respond quickly from the start, improving on earlier-acquired answer types while they begin to practice later-acquired, slower ones.},
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Young children answer questions with longer delays than adults do, and they don't reach typical adult response times until several years later. We hypothesized that this prolonged pattern of delay in children's timing results from competing demands: to give an answer, children must understand a question while simultaneously planning and initiating their response. Even as children get older and more efficient in this process, the demands on them increase because their verbal responses become more complex. We analyzed conversational question-answer sequences between caregivers and their children from ages 1;8 to 3;5, finding that children (1) initiate simple answers more quickly than complex ones, (2) initiate simple answers quickly from an early age, and (3) initiate complex answers more quickly as they grow older. Our results suggest that children aim to respond quickly from the start, improving on earlier-acquired answer types while they begin to practice later-acquired, slower ones.
Clark, Eve Vivienne
Early Verb Constructions in French: Adjacency on the Left Edge Journal Article
In: Journal of Child Language, vol. 1, no. 6, 2015.
@article{Clark2015b,
title = {Early Verb Constructions in French: Adjacency on the Left Edge},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark},
doi = {10.1017/S0305000915000471},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-10-21},
urldate = {2015-10-21},
journal = {Journal of Child Language},
volume = {1},
number = {6},
abstract = {Children acquiring French elaborate their early verb constructions by adding adjacent morphemes incrementally at the left edge of core verbs. This hypothesis was tested with 2657 verb uses from four children between 1;3 and 2;7. Consistent with the Adjacency Hypothesis, children added clitic subjects first only to present tense forms (as in il saute ‘he jumps’); modals to infinitives (as in faut sauter ‘has to jump’); and auxiliaries to past participles (as in a sauté ‘has jumped’). Only after this did the children add subjects to the left of a modal or auxiliary, as in elle veut sauter ‘she wants to jump’, or elle a sauté ‘she has jumped’. The order in which these elements were added, and the development in the frequencies of the constructions, all support the predictions of the Adjacency Hypothesis for left edge development in early verb constructions.},
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Children acquiring French elaborate their early verb constructions by adding adjacent morphemes incrementally at the left edge of core verbs. This hypothesis was tested with 2657 verb uses from four children between 1;3 and 2;7. Consistent with the Adjacency Hypothesis, children added clitic subjects first only to present tense forms (as in il saute ‘he jumps’); modals to infinitives (as in faut sauter ‘has to jump’); and auxiliaries to past participles (as in a sauté ‘has jumped’). Only after this did the children add subjects to the left of a modal or auxiliary, as in elle veut sauter ‘she wants to jump’, or elle a sauté ‘she has jumped’. The order in which these elements were added, and the development in the frequencies of the constructions, all support the predictions of the Adjacency Hypothesis for left edge development in early verb constructions.
Clark, Eve Vivienne; Lindsey, Kate L
Turn-taking: A case study of early gesture and word use in answering WHERE and WHICH questions Journal Article
In: Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 6, no. 890, 2015.
@article{Clark2015c,
title = {Turn-taking: A case study of early gesture and word use in answering WHERE and WHICH questions},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark and Kate L Lindsey},
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00890},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-07-01},
urldate = {2015-07-01},
journal = {Frontiers in Psychology},
volume = {6},
number = {890},
abstract = {When young children answer questions, they do so more slowly than adults and appear to have difficulty finding the appropriate words. Because children leave gaps before they respond, it is possible that they could answer faster with gestures than with words. In this study, we compare gestural and verbal responses from one child between the ages of 1;4 and 3;5, to adult Where and Which questions, which can be answered with gestures and/or words. After extracting all adult Where and Which questions and child answers from longitudinal videotaped sessions, we examined the timing from the end of each question to the start of the response, and compared the timing for gestures and words. Child responses could take the form of a gesture or word(s); the latter could be words repeated from the adult question or new words retrieved by the child. Or responses could be complex: a gesture + word repeat, gesture + new word, or word repeat + new word. Gestures were the fastest overall, followed successively by word-repeats, then new-word responses. This ordering, with gestures ahead of words, suggests that the child knows what to answer but needs more time to retrieve any relevant words. In short, word retrieval and articulation appear to be bottlenecks in the timing of responses: both add to the planning required in answering a question.},
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When young children answer questions, they do so more slowly than adults and appear to have difficulty finding the appropriate words. Because children leave gaps before they respond, it is possible that they could answer faster with gestures than with words. In this study, we compare gestural and verbal responses from one child between the ages of 1;4 and 3;5, to adult Where and Which questions, which can be answered with gestures and/or words. After extracting all adult Where and Which questions and child answers from longitudinal videotaped sessions, we examined the timing from the end of each question to the start of the response, and compared the timing for gestures and words. Child responses could take the form of a gesture or word(s); the latter could be words repeated from the adult question or new words retrieved by the child. Or responses could be complex: a gesture + word repeat, gesture + new word, or word repeat + new word. Gestures were the fastest overall, followed successively by word-repeats, then new-word responses. This ordering, with gestures ahead of words, suggests that the child knows what to answer but needs more time to retrieve any relevant words. In short, word retrieval and articulation appear to be bottlenecks in the timing of responses: both add to the planning required in answering a question.
Clark, Eve Vivienne
Common Ground Book Chapter
In: pp. 328-353, 2015.
@inbook{Clark2015d,
title = {Common Ground},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-01-02},
urldate = {2015-01-02},
pages = {328-353},
abstract = {Where does common ground come from? When do infants and young children start to make use of common ground as they communicate? How do they assess what their interlocutor knows? And how do they mark information as given (in common ground) vs. new (to be added to common ground)? These are some of the questions addressed in the present chapter. Common ground, I suggest, originates in infants' everyday settings and routines where they can rely on caregivers' knowledge. Common ground depends from the first on joint attention, physical co-presence, and conversational co-presence, so it is intrinsic to communication from the start. But children have to learn how to indicate linguistically that information is given or new, how to assess what their addressees do and don't know on each occasion, and how to design utterances based on such assessments.},
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Where does common ground come from? When do infants and young children start to make use of common ground as they communicate? How do they assess what their interlocutor knows? And how do they mark information as given (in common ground) vs. new (to be added to common ground)? These are some of the questions addressed in the present chapter. Common ground, I suggest, originates in infants' everyday settings and routines where they can rely on caregivers' knowledge. Common ground depends from the first on joint attention, physical co-presence, and conversational co-presence, so it is intrinsic to communication from the start. But children have to learn how to indicate linguistically that information is given or new, how to assess what their addressees do and don't know on each occasion, and how to design utterances based on such assessments.
Clark, Eve Vivienne; Casillas, M.
First language acquisition Book
Cornell University Press, 2015.
@book{Clark2015e,
title = {First language acquisition},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark and M. Casillas},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-01-01},
urldate = {2015-01-01},
publisher = {Cornell University Press},
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2014
Clark, Eve Vivienne
Pragmatics in acquisition Journal Article
In: Journal of Child Language 41 Suppl , vol. 1, no. 41 Suppl 1, pp. 105-116, 2014.
@article{Clark2014,
title = {Pragmatics in acquisition},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark},
doi = {10.1017/S0305000914000117},
year = {2014},
date = {2014-07-01},
urldate = {2014-07-01},
journal = {Journal of Child Language 41 Suppl },
volume = {1},
number = {41 Suppl 1},
pages = {105-116},
abstract = {ABSTRACT Recent research has highlighted several areas where pragmatics plays a central role in the process of acquiring a first language. In talking with their children, adults display their uses of language in each context, and offer extensive feedback on form, meaning, and usage, within their conversational exchanges. These interactions depend critically on joint attention, physical co-presence, and conversational co-presence - essential factors that help children assign meanings, establish reference, and add to common ground. For young children, getting their meaning across also depends on realizing language is conventional, that words contrast in meaning, and that they need to observe Grice's cooperative principle in conversation. Adults make use of the same pragmatic principles as they solicit repairs to what children say, and thereby offer feedback on both what the language is and how to use it.},
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pubstate = {published},
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ABSTRACT Recent research has highlighted several areas where pragmatics plays a central role in the process of acquiring a first language. In talking with their children, adults display their uses of language in each context, and offer extensive feedback on form, meaning, and usage, within their conversational exchanges. These interactions depend critically on joint attention, physical co-presence, and conversational co-presence - essential factors that help children assign meanings, establish reference, and add to common ground. For young children, getting their meaning across also depends on realizing language is conventional, that words contrast in meaning, and that they need to observe Grice's cooperative principle in conversation. Adults make use of the same pragmatic principles as they solicit repairs to what children say, and thereby offer feedback on both what the language is and how to use it.
Clark, Eve Vivienne
Speaker Perspective and Lexical Acquisition Journal Article
In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society, vol. 20, no. 1, 2014.
@article{Clark2014b,
title = {Speaker Perspective and Lexical Acquisition},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark},
doi = {10.3765/bls.v20i1.1469},
year = {2014},
date = {2014-06-25},
urldate = {2014-06-25},
journal = {Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society},
volume = {20},
number = {1},
abstract = {Speaker perspective and lexical acquisition - Eve V. Clark, Trisha Svaib, 1991 Skip to main content Menus SAGE Journals Profile logged-in Search MENU Search search-icon Browse Resources Authors Librarians Editors Societies Advanced Search IN THIS JOURNAL Journal Home Browse Journal Current Issue OnlineFirst Accepted Manuscripts All Issues Free Sample Journal Info Journal Description Aims and Scope Editorial Board Submission Guidelines Abstracting/Indexing Reprints Journal Permissions Subscribe Recommend to Library Advertising & Promotion Stay Connected Email Alerts RSS Feed Feedback / Contact SAGE Submit Paper Advanced Search SAGE Journals Search search-icon Browse Resources Authors Librarians Editors Societies Advanced Search Sign In Institution Society Access Options You can be signed in via any or all of the methods shown below at the same time.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Speaker perspective and lexical acquisition - Eve V. Clark, Trisha Svaib, 1991 Skip to main content Menus SAGE Journals Profile logged-in Search MENU Search search-icon Browse Resources Authors Librarians Editors Societies Advanced Search IN THIS JOURNAL Journal Home Browse Journal Current Issue OnlineFirst Accepted Manuscripts All Issues Free Sample Journal Info Journal Description Aims and Scope Editorial Board Submission Guidelines Abstracting/Indexing Reprints Journal Permissions Subscribe Recommend to Library Advertising & Promotion Stay Connected Email Alerts RSS Feed Feedback / Contact SAGE Submit Paper Advanced Search SAGE Journals Search search-icon Browse Resources Authors Librarians Editors Societies Advanced Search Sign In Institution Society Access Options You can be signed in via any or all of the methods shown below at the same time.
Clark, Eve Vivienne
Two Pragmatic Principles in Language Use and Acquisition Book Chapter
In: pp. 105-120, 2014.
@inbook{Clark2014c,
title = {Two Pragmatic Principles in Language Use and Acquisition},
author = {Eve Vivienne Clark},
doi = {10.1075/tilar.10.07cla},
year = {2014},
date = {2014-01-01},
urldate = {2014-01-01},
pages = {105-120},
abstract = {Speakers, adults and children, rely on two pragmatic principles in language use: conventionality in the meanings of the words chosen to convey their intentions, and contrast among these meanings. Early recognition of these two principles allows children to add readily to their lexical repertoire on the assumption from contrast that any difference in form marks some difference in meaning. Evidence for the role of these principles in acquisition comes from early word uses, adherence to the word (s) learnt for a category, repairs to lexical choices, the construction of lexical domains, and patterns of acquisition in the uptake of unfamiliar words.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inbook}
}
Speakers, adults and children, rely on two pragmatic principles in language use: conventionality in the meanings of the words chosen to convey their intentions, and contrast among these meanings. Early recognition of these two principles allows children to add readily to their lexical repertoire on the assumption from contrast that any difference in form marks some difference in meaning. Evidence for the role of these principles in acquisition comes from early word uses, adherence to the word (s) learnt for a category, repairs to lexical choices, the construction of lexical domains, and patterns of acquisition in the uptake of unfamiliar words.