Study finds that learning language goes beyond imitation

[Francis Hult]

Princeton University

 

Study finds that learning language goes beyond imitation

 

In a language study exploring how people learn correct word use, researchers at Princeton University and the University of Illinois found that language learning goes well beyond simple imitation, and is in fact creative.

 

Adele Goldberg, a professor of linguistics at Princeton, and Jeremy Boyd, a postdoctoral researcher now at the University of Illinois, asked adult speakers to produce sentences containing made-up adjectives, and the researchers found that the speakers carefully evaluated the input they received, and that learning only occurred when the input was deemed informative. The subjects discounted input that seemed irrelevant.

 

Full story:

http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S29/98/77I40/index.xml?section=newsreleases

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/edling/attachments/20110317/77584e0f/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
_______________________________________________
Edling mailing list
Edling at lists.sis.utsa.edu
https://lists.sis.utsa.edu/mailman/listinfo/edling
List Manager: Francis M. Hult