Learning the meaning of change-of-state verbs: A case study of German child language (Studies on Language Acquisition [SOLA] Book 17)

Causative change-of-state verbs like 'to open', 'to fill', and 'to wake' are central to both recent theories of grammatical development and theories of lexical structure. This book focuses on how German-speaking children learn the meaning of change-of-state verbs. It offers a thorough characterization of the acquisition of German, embedded in a crosslinguistic perspective. The author provides a comprehensive review of the acquisition literature on that topic and introduces a new account as to how the meaning of these verbs can be learned. The empirical backbone of the investigation are a set of carefully designed experimental studies. Chapter 1. Introduction 1. What does it take to learn the meaning of a verb? 1.1. Why learning the meaning of verbs is difficult 1.2. Why learning the meaning of change-of-state verbs should be easy, but it isn't – previewing the paradox 2. Goals and organization of this book Chapter 2. A paradox: Learning the meaning of change-of-state verbs should be easy, but it isn't 1. Children are sensitive to state changes from early on 2. The learning problem: Children neglect the endstate in interpreting change-of-state verbs 2.1. Evidence for children’s neglect of the endstate 2.2. Why would children neglect the endstate? 2.3. How to test the scope of the neglect of endstate: The Transparent Endstate Hypothesis 3. Conclusion Chapter 3. Is the learning problem due to mapping problems? Testing the Transparent Endstate Hypothesis 1. How causal state changes are lexicalized in German 2. Experiment 1: Transparent endstates (Type: wachmachen ‘awake-make’) 2.1. Method 2.2. Experimental predictions 2.3. Results 2.4. A tree-based modeling analysis of the data 2.5. Discussion 3. Experiment 2: Transparent endstates (Type: wachklingeln ‘awake-ring’) 3.1. Method 3.2. Experimental predictions 3.3. Results 3.4. Discussion 4. Experiment 3: Transparent endstates made salient (Type: wachmachen ‘awake-make’) 4.1. Method 4.2. Experimental predictions 4.3. Results 4.4. A tree-based modeling analysis of the data 4.5. Discussion 5. General Discussion 6. Conclusion Chapter 4. A subtle learning problem: The Weak Endstate 1. The resolution of the paradox? 1.1. Characterizing children’s interpretation of change-of-state verbs: the Weak Endstate 1.2. “Weak” endstates in the adult language 1.3. Change-of-state verbs in a broader crosslinguistic perspective 1.4. The learning problem is more subtle than we thought 2. How does the child correct inappropriate Weak Endstate interpretations? 2.1. The Syntactic Bootstrapping Hypothesis 2.2. A related proposal: Morphological Bootstrapping 2.3. The Semantic Structure Hypothesis Testing Hypothesis 3. Conclusion Chapter 5. Modifiers as cues to verb meaning 1. How could the learner use modifiers as cues to verb meaning? 1.1. What do modifiers do? 1.2. The Adverbial Modification Cue Hypothesis 2. A candidate solution to the Weak Endstate problem: wieder ‘again’ 2.1. The properties of again 2.2. Restitutive again as an Adverbial Modification Cue 3. Do children have knowledge of restitutive wieder ‘again’, and do caretakers use it in their speech? 3.1. Evidence from previous studies 3.2. A CHILDES search 4. Children’s and adults’ use of restitutive wieder ‘again’ with change-of-state verbs: An exploratory study 4.1. Method 4.2. Predictions 4.3. Results 4.4. Discussion 5. Conclusion Chapter 6. Testing the Adverbial Modification Cue Hypothesis 1. Developing an experimental design to test wieder ‘again’ as an Adverbial Modification Cue 2. Experiment 4: Testing wieder ‘again’ as a cue that a verb entails an endstate 2.1. Method 2.2. Experimental prediction 2.3. Results 2.4. Discussion 3. Experiment 5 (control experiment) 3.1. Method 3.2. Experimental prediction 3.3. Results 3.4. Discussion 4. General Discussion: A broader perspective on the Adverbial Modification Cue Hypothesis 5. Conclusion Chapter 7. Summary: The status of the endstate in children’s semantic representations of change-of-state verbs Appendices Notes References Subject index Author index What Does It Take To Learn The Meaning Of A Verb? -- Why Learning The Meaning Of Verbs Is Difficult -- Why Learning The Meaning Of Change-of-state Verbs Should Be Easy, But It Isn't -- Previewing The Paradox -- A Paradox: Learning The Meaning Of Change-of-state Verbs Should Be Easy, But It Isn't -- Children Are Sensitive To State Changes From Early On -- The Learning Problem: Children Neglect The Endstate In Interpreting Change-of-state Verbs -- Evidence For Children's Neglect Of The Endstate -- Why Would Children Neglect The Endstate? -- How To Test The Scope Of The Neglect Of Endstate: The Transparent Endstate Hypothesis -- Is The Learning Problem Due To Mapping Problems? Testing The Transparent Endstate Hypothesis -- How Causal State Changes Are Lexicalized In German -- Experiment 1: Transparent Endstates (type: Wachmachen 'awake-make') -- A Tree-based Modeling Analysis Of The Data -- Experiment 2: Transparent Endstates (type: Wachklingeln 'awake-ring') -- Experiment 3: Transparent Endstates Made Salient (type: Wachmachen 'awake-make') -- Method -- Experimental Predictions -- Results -- A Tree-based Modeling Analysis Of The Data -- A Subtle Learning Problem: The Weak Endstate -- The Resolution Of The Paradox? -- Characterizing Children's Interpretation Of Change-of-state Verbs: The Weak Endstate -- Weak Endstates In The Adult Language -- Change-of-state Verbs In A Broader Crosslinguistic Perspective -- The Learning Problem Is More Subtle Than We Thought -- How Does The Child Correct Inappropriate Weak Endstate Interpretations? By Angelika Wittek. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [209]-225) And Indexes. Main description: Causative change-of-state verbs like 'to open', 'to fill', and 'to wake' are central to both recent theories of grammatical development and theories of lexical structure. This book focuses on how German-speaking children learn the meaning of change-of-state verbs. It offers a thorough characterization of the acquisition of German, embedded in a crosslinguistic perspective. The author provides a comprehensive review of the acquisition literature on that topic and introduces a new account as to how the meaning of these verbs can be learned. The empirical backbone of the investigation are a set of carefully designed experimental studies Language acquisition is a human endeavor par excellence. As children, all human beings learn to understand and speak at least one language: their mother tongue. It is a process that seems to take place without any obvious effort. Second language learning, particularly among adults, causes more difficulty. The purpose of this series is to compile a collection of high-quality monographs on language acquisition. The series serves the needs of everyone who wants to know more about the problem of language acquisition in general and/or about language acquisition in specific contexts.