Davies, CN and Kreysa, H (2016) Is children’s referential informativity associated with their visual or linguistic abilities? In: Salfner, F and Sauerland, U, (eds.) Proceedings of Trends in Experimental Pragmatics. Trends in Experimental Pragmatics-TiXPrag1, 18-20 Jan 2016, Zentrum für Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft (ZAS) Berlin, Germany. , pp. 22-30.
Abstract
4-year-old and 7-year-old children took part in a referential communication task. Their referring expressions were measured for informativity, and their eye movements were analysed to investigate whether fixations to a contrast object predict referential informativity. Performance on a battery of standardised tests was also measured. In line with previous work, we found a developmental trajectory towards greater informativity as children mature. The eye tracking data suggest that even though 4-year-olds engage in comparison activity to a similar extent as 7-year-olds and adults, their scanning behaviour is not linked to their ensuing referential informativity. Like adults, older children appear to make greater use of information gleaned from their visual scanning, supported by their more advanced linguistic skills. Results support a processing-based (cf. pragmatic-based) account of referential informativity.
Metadata
Item Type: | Proceedings Paper |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Editors: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) 2016, The Authors. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Proceedings of Trends in Experimental Pragmatics. |
Keywords: | Reference, referential communication, informativity, language production, language acquisition, eye tracking. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Languages Cultures & Societies (Leeds) > Linguistics & Phonetics (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number British Academy SQ120012 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 03 Jun 2016 10:19 |
Last Modified: | 19 Jan 2018 18:13 |
Status: | Published |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:99581 |