ERIC Number: EJ1303275
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 26
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1048-9223
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Revisiting the Epistemic Gap: It's Not the Thought That Counts
Cournane, Ailís
Language Acquisition: A Journal of Developmental Linguistics, v28 n3 p215-240 2021
This paper revisits the longstanding observation that children produce modal verbs (e.g., must, could) with their root meanings (e.g., abilities, obligations) by age 2, typically a year or more earlier than with their epistemic meanings (e.g., inferences). Established explanations for this "Epistemic Gap" argue that epistemic language production is delayed because small children can only reason about root meanings. However, root and epistemic uses of modal verbs also differ syntactically and in input representation. We present a corpus study on 17 English-learning children and their input, exploring early productions with both epistemic modal verbs and grammatically simpler and more frequent epistemic adverbs (e.g., maybe, probably). Results show that children use remarkably adult-like epistemic adverb sentences from even before age 2, when they are only producing modal verbs with root meanings. The Epistemic Gap is not well explained by general conceptual advancements. Instead, our data suggest input attestation and ease of form-to-meaning mapping may influence early child epistemic language. These findings are furthermore consistent with cross-linguistic differences in the timing of first epistemic uses of modal verbs, and with recent advancements in our understanding of infant and toddler modal reasoning abilities.
Descriptors: Verbs, Language Acquisition, Inferences, Syntax, Linguistic Input, Epistemology, Grammar, Form Classes (Languages), Computational Linguistics, Semantics, Child Language, Preschool Children, Infants, Toddlers, Language Usage, Thinking Skills, Linguistic Theory, North American English, Child Development
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: BCS1551628
Author Affiliations: N/A