Psychology Department, Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
J Child Lang. 2021 Sep;48(5):937-958. doi: 10.1017/S0305000921000386. Epub 2021 Jul 5.
The study of language acquisition has a long and contentious history: researchers disagree on what drives this process, the relevant data, and the interesting questions. Here, I outline the Starting Big approach to language learning, which emphasizes the role of multiword units in language, and of coarse-to-fine processes in learning. I outline core predictions and supporting evidence. In short, the approach argues that multiword units are integral building blocks in language; that such units can facilitate mastery of semantically opaque relations between words; and that adults rely on them less than children, which can explain (some of) their difficulty in learning a second language. The Starting Big approach is a theory of how children learn language, how language is represented, and how to explain differences between first and second language learning. I discuss the learning and processing models at the heart of the approach and their cross-linguistic implications.
语言习得的研究历史悠久，且颇具争议：研究人员对于是什么驱动了这一过程、相关数据以及有趣的问题存在分歧。在这里，我概述了语言学习的“从大处着手”方法，该方法强调多词单位在语言中的作用，以及学习过程中从粗到细的过程。我概述了核心预测和支持证据。简而言之，该方法认为多词单位是语言的基本组成部分；这样的单位可以促进对词之间语义不透明关系的掌握；成年人比儿童更少依赖它们，这可以解释（部分）他们学习第二语言的困难。“从大处着手”方法是一种关于儿童如何学习语言、语言如何被表示以及如何解释第一语言和第二语言学习之间差异的理论。我讨论了该方法核心的学习和处理模型及其跨语言的意义。
