Document Type
Article
Version
Publisher's PDF
Publication Title
Journal of Child Language
Volume
8
Publication Date
1981
Abstract
Developing knowledge of the vehicle, animal, and fruit categories was traced in six children from 0 to 8. Data from mothers’ language diaries and from bi-monthly sessions with the children were pooled to analyse the growth, content, and internal structure of the three categories over time. The children developed some grasp of most of the focal concepts in each category, but they made fewer differentiations than adults do. Overextension of a single concept term to encompass a cluster of related referents was common. The frequent discrepancies between comprehension and production of concept terms highlighted the importance of examining both modes. The data showed marked individual differences in style of category acquisition.
Publisher's Statement
© 1981 by Cambridge University Press. Available on publisher's site at http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0305000900003160.
Citation
Rescorla, Leslie A. "Category Development in Early Language." Journal of Child Language 8, no. 2 (1981): 225-238, doi: 10.1017/S0305000900003160.
DOI
10.1017/S0305000900003160