'Sneak-Shoes', 'Sworders' and 'Nose-Beards': A Case Study of Lexical Innovation

An investigation of the development of spontaneous lexical innovations during the preschool years. Instances of lexical innovations were identified in transcripts of 210 naturalistic conversations between an American English-speaking boy from age 2:4 to 5:0 & his parents. His innovations general...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:First language 1994-06, Vol.14 (2), p.195-211
Main Author: Becker, Judith A
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:An investigation of the development of spontaneous lexical innovations during the preschool years. Instances of lexical innovations were identified in transcripts of 210 naturalistic conversations between an American English-speaking boy from age 2:4 to 5:0 & his parents. His innovations generally support & extend E. Clark's findings regarding categories of innovations (1981) & provide some support for her developmental predictions based on the principle of simplicity. Many usages seem to be based on common, productive word-formation devices in English, particularly compounding; others appear to be based on novel rules & language play. Various influences on the development of lexical innovation are discussed. 6 Tables, 20 References. Adapted from the source document
ISSN:0142-7237