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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.
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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