Spatial Metaphor Facilitates Word Learning

Autor/inn/en	Starr, Ariel; Cirolia, Alagia J.; Tillman, Katharine A.; Srinivasan, Mahesh
Titel	Spatial Metaphor Facilitates Word Learning
Quelle	In: Child Development, 92 (2021) 3, (18 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Starr, Ariel) ORCID (Srinivasan, Mahesh)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0009-3920
DOI	10.1111/cdev.13477
Schlagwörter	Figurative Language; Language Acquisition; Vocabulary Development; Music; Intonation; Preschool Children; Form Classes (Languages); Correlation; Spatial Ability; Comparative Analysis; Feedback (Response); Difficulty Level + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Sprachaneignung; Spracherwerb; Wortschatzarbeit; Musik; Pre-school age; Preschool age; Child; Children; Pre-school education; Preschool education; Vorschulalter; Kind; Kinder; Vorschulkind; Vorschulkinder; Vorschulerziehung; Vorschule; Analytischer Sprachbau; Korrelation; Räumliches Vorstellungsvermögen; Schwierigkeitsgrad
Abstract	Why are spatial metaphors, like the use of "high" to describe a musical pitch, so common? This study tested one hundred and fifty-four 3- to 5-year-old English-learning children on their ability to learn a novel adjective in the domain of space or pitch and to extend this adjective to the untrained dimension. Children were more proficient at learning the word when it described a spatial attribute compared to pitch. However, once children learned the word, they extended it to the untrained dimension without feedback. Thus, children leveraged preexisting associations between space and pitch to spontaneously understand new metaphors. These results suggest that spatial metaphors may be common across languages in part because they scaffold children's acquisition of word meanings that are otherwise difficult to learn. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01