Pappas A, Gelman S A
Wayne State University, USA.
J Child Lang. 1998 Feb;25(1):19-33. doi: 10.1017/s0305000997003292.
Generic noun phrases (e.g. Tigers are fierce) are of interest for their semantic properties: they capture 'essential' properties, are timeless, and are context-free. The present study examines use of generic noun phrases by preschool children and their mothers. Mother-child pairs were videotaped while looking through a book of animal pictures. Each page depicted either a single instance of a particular category (e.g. one crab) or multiple instances of a particular category (e.g. many crabs). The results indicated a striking difference in how generics vs. non-generics were distributed, both in the speech of mothers and in the speech of preschool children. Whereas the form of non-generic noun phrases was closely linked to the structure of the page (i.e. singular noun phrases were used more often when a single instance was presented; plural noun phrases were used more often when multiple instances were presented), the form of generic noun phrases was independent of the information depicted (e.g. plural noun phrases were as frequent when only one instance was presented as when multiple instances were presented). We interpret the data as providing evidence that generic noun phrases differ in their semantics and conceptual organization from non-generic noun phrases, both in the input to young children and in children's own speech. Thus, this simple linguistic device may provide input to, and a reflection of, children's early developing notion of 'kinds'.
类属名词短语（例如“老虎很凶猛”）因其语义属性而备受关注：它们捕捉“本质”属性，不受时间限制，且与上下文无关。本研究考察了学龄前儿童及其母亲对类属名词短语的使用情况。在母子俩翻看一本动物图片书时对他们进行了录像。每一页要么描绘了某一特定类别中的单个实例（例如一只螃蟹），要么描绘了某一特定类别中的多个实例（例如许多螃蟹）。结果表明，无论是在母亲的言语中还是在学龄前儿童的言语中，类属名词短语与非类属名词短语的分布方式都存在显著差异。非类属名词短语的形式与页面结构紧密相关（即当呈现单个实例时，单数名词短语使用得更频繁；当呈现多个实例时，复数名词短语使用得更频繁），而类属名词短语的形式与所描绘的信息无关（例如，当只呈现一个实例时，复数名词短语的使用频率与呈现多个实例时一样高）。我们将这些数据解释为提供了证据，表明类属名词短语在语义和概念组织上与非类属名词短语不同，这在幼儿的输入语言和儿童自己的言语中都有所体现。因此，这种简单的语言手段可能为儿童早期发展的“类别”概念提供输入，并反映这一概念。
