Anti-representationalism in language development research: A commentary on Ambridge (2020)

Knabe, Melina L.; Vlach, Haley A.

doi:10.1177/0142723720905918

Cited by 3 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…So I don’t think (contra Knabe & Vlach, 2020) that I was making a strawman argument. My perception of the word-learning literature (albeit as an outsider) is that the prototype view is the mainstream, textbook, ‘common-sense’ view, with the anti-representationalist positions adopted by researchers such as Linda Smith and Larissa Samuelson generally considered to be too radical.…”

Section: Word Meaningsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Three commentators – Messenger et al (2020), Knabe and Vlach (2020) and Brooks and Kempe (2020) – challenged my dismissal of forgetting-as-abstraction accounts. I agree that the issue is dealt with unsatisfactorily by classic exemplar accounts of the type I originally advocated, and – like with so much else in this response – see BERT-type models as the perfect way to bridge the gap.…”

Section: Bringing It All Togethermentioning

confidence: 99%

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Abstractions made of exemplars or ‘You’re all right, and I’ve changed my mind’: Response to commentators

Ambridge

2020

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In this response to commentators, I agree with those who suggested that the distinction between exemplar- and abstraction-based accounts is something of a false dichotomy and therefore move to an abstractions-made-of-exemplars account under which (a) we store all the exemplars that we hear (subject to attention, decay, interference, etc.) but (b) in the service of language use, re-represent these exemplars at multiple levels of abstraction, as simulated by computational neural-network models such as BERT, ELMo and GPT-3. Whilst I maintain that traditional linguistic abstractions (e.g. a DETERMINER category; SUBJECT VERB OBJECT word order) are no more than human-readable approximations of the type of abstractions formed by both human and artificial multiple-layer networks, I express hope that the abstractions-made-of-exemplars position can point the way towards a truce in the language acquisition wars: We were all right all along, just focusing on different levels of abstraction.

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Section: Word Meaningsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Bringing It All Togethermentioning

confidence: 99%

Abstractions made of exemplars or ‘You’re all right, and I’ve changed my mind’: Response to commentators

Ambridge

2020

First Language

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“…An alternate view that may be worthy of further inquiry is that of anti‐representationalism (e.g., Ambridge, 2020; Knabe & Vlach, 2020). The anti‐representationalist view posits that knowledge of words does not require stored abstractions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The anti‐representationalist view posits that knowledge of words does not require stored abstractions. Instead, language knowledge involves only stored exemplars and processes such as memory, attention, and perception (Ambridge, 2020; Knabe & Vlach, 2020). These views also present language as processes that are dynamic and influenced by prior learning (Ambridge, 2020; Knabe & Vlach, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Instead, language knowledge involves only stored exemplars and processes such as memory, attention, and perception (Ambridge, 2020; Knabe & Vlach, 2020). These views also present language as processes that are dynamic and influenced by prior learning (Ambridge, 2020; Knabe & Vlach, 2020). Views from anti‐representationalism have been considered in language, and more specifically, word learning research (Knabe & Vlach, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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I remembered the chorm! Word learning abilities of children with and without phonological impairment

Hearnshaw,

Baker,

Pomper

et al. 2023

Intl J Lang & Comm Disor

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BackgroundChildren with phonological impairment present with pattern‐based errors in their speech production. While some children have difficulties with speech perception and/or the establishment of robust underlying phonological representations, the nature of phonological impairment in children is still not well understood. Given that phonological and lexical development are closely linked, one way to better understand the nature of the problem in phonological impairment is to examine word learning abilities in children.AimsTo examine word learning and its relationship with speech perception, speech production and vocabulary knowledge in children aged 4–5 years. There were two variables of interest: speech production abilities ranging from phonological impairment to typical speech; and vocabulary abilities ranging from typical to above average (‘lexically precocious’).Methods & ProceduresParticipants were 49 Australian‐English‐speaking children aged 48–69 months. Children were each taught four novel non‐words (out of a selection of eight) through stories, and word learning was assessed at 1 week post‐initial exposure. Word learning was assessed using two measures: confrontation naming and story retell naming. Data were analysed by group using independent‐samples t‐tests and Mann–Whitney U‐tests, and continuously using multiple linear regression.Outcomes & ResultsThere was no significant difference in word learning ability of children with and without phonological impairment, but regardless of speech group, children with above average vocabulary had significantly better word learning abilities than children with average vocabulary. In multiple linear regression, vocabulary was the only significant predictor of variance in word learning ability.Conclusions & ImplicationsChildren with phonological impairment can be lexically precocious and learn new words like their peers without phonological impairment. Contrary to expectations, vocabulary knowledge rather than expressive phonological ability explained variance in measures of word learning. These findings question an assumption that children with phonological impairment have underspecified phonological representations. They also highlight the heterogeneity among children with phonological impairment and the need to better understand the nature of their difficulty learning the phonological system of the ambient language.WHAT THIS PAPER ADDSWhat is already known on the subject There is limited research examining the word learning abilities of children with phonological impairment. Most previous research focuses on word properties such as phonotactic probability and neighbourhood density. Within the existing literature there are different reports and conclusions regarding the word learning abilities of children with phonological impairment and whether their word learning differs from that of children with typically developing speech.What this study adds to existing knowledge This study found that vocabulary was the strongest predictor of word learning across children with and without phonological impairment. There was no significant difference in word learning ability between children with and without phonological impairment. However, children with lexically precocious vocabulary abilities were significantly better at word learning than children with average vocabulary abilities.What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Findings from this study support the importance of assessing and considering measures of word learning—including vocabulary—when working with children with phonological impairment. This study indicates that it is possible to use stories coupled with measures of confrontation naming and story retell to gain deeper insight into children's word learning abilities.

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Four Cases of Children With Phonological Impairment and Precocious Vocabulary: Making Sense of a Clinical Conundrum

Hearnshaw,

Baker,

Pomper

et al. 2024

Am J Speech Lang Pathol

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the speech production, speech perception, vocabulary, and word learning abilities of lexically precocious 4-year-old children with phonological impairment, in an effort to better understand the underlying nature of phonological impairment in children. Method: Using a case series approach, we identified four children with phonological impairment and precocious vocabulary abilities. Each child completed routine speech production and vocabulary assessments, as well as experimental speech perception and word learning tasks. The results from these tasks were then used to create profiles of each child's individual strengths and needs across the abilities assessed. Results: Although all four children presented with phonological impairment and lexically precocious receptive and expressive vocabulary, they differed in their specific speech errors. One child presented with phonological speech errors only, while the other three children presented with an interdental lisp alongside their phonological errors. Three children presented with average speech perception abilities, and one child presented with poorer speech perception. The same three children also showed some learning of novel nonwords 1 week post–initial exposure, while the other child showed no evidence of word learning 1 week post–initial exposure. Conclusions: The clinical profiles of lexically precocious children with phonological impairment offered different insights into the nature of the problem. Although one child appeared to present with underspecified underlying representations of words, the other three children appeared to present with well-specified underlying representations. Of the three children with well-specified underlying representations, two appeared to have difficulty abstracting particular rules of the ambient phonological system. Further research is needed to improve our understanding of the underlying nature of phonological impairment. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.26307640

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Anti-representationalism in language development research: A commentary on Ambridge (2020)

Cited by 3 publications

References 22 publications

Abstractions made of exemplars or ‘You’re all right, and I’ve changed my mind’: Response to commentators

Abstractions made of exemplars or ‘You’re all right, and I’ve changed my mind’: Response to commentators

I remembered the chorm! Word learning abilities of children with and without phonological impairment

Four Cases of Children With Phonological Impairment and Precocious Vocabulary: Making Sense of a Clinical Conundrum

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