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FREQUENCY IN PRODUCTION, COMPREHENSION, AND ACQUISITION

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 July 2002

Robert Bley-Vroman
Affiliation:
University of Hawai'i Robert Bley-Vroman, Department of Second Language Studies, University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, HI 96822; e-mail: vroman@hawaii.edu.

Extract

Although there are certainly observable frequency effects in language, in most cases, there are alternative approaches to explanation that more directly relate to the essential characteristic of language—that it is a system relating form to meaning. For example, for both word choice in production and ambiguity resolution in comprehension, meaning-based approaches can often provide equally satisfying, or more satisfying, explanations. In the meaning-based approach, the statistical structure of the language can affect the development of linguistic knowledge (for example, by influencing acquisition order or providing evidence for developing grammars); however, linguistic knowledge is not itself knowledge of the statistical structure of language. An example is provided of how frequency may relate to grammaticality judgments of nonnative speakers acquiring multiple wh-questions.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2002 Cambridge University Press

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