Classifiers augment and maintain shape-based categorization in Mandarin speakers

Sera, Maria D.; Johnson, Kaitlin R.; Kuo, Jenny Yi-Chun

doi:10.1515/langcog-2013-0001

Cited by 8 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…To be sure, there are many exceptions. The relationship between language and thought has long been a topic of philosophical inquiry (see Leavitt, , for review), and a number of psychologists and linguistic anthropologists have taken interest in the relationship between language and the rest of cognition (Boroditsky, ; Bowerman & Levinson, ; H. H. Clark, ; Colunga & Gasser, ; Deák, ; Eckert, ; Elman et al., ; Gentner & Goldin‐Meadow, ; Gumperz & Levinson, ; Luria, ; Sera, Johnson, & Kuo, ; Vygotsky, ; Whorf, ). By and large, however, rather than attempting to argue for the centrality of language in human cognition, empirical studies of language over the past 60 years have marginalized it.…”

Section: What Is the Proper Place For Language In Human Cognition?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Centrality of Language in Human Cognition

Lupyan

2015

Language Learning

110

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The emergence of language—a productive and combinatorial system of communication—has been hailed as one of the major transitions in evolution. By enabling symbolic culture, language allows humans to draw on and expand on the knowledge of their ancestors and peers. A common assumption among linguists and psychologists is that although language is critical to our ability to share our thoughts, it plays a minor, if any, role in generating, controlling, and structuring them. I examine some assumptions that led to this view of language and discuss an alternative according to which normal human cognition is language‐augmented cognition. I focus on one of the fundamental design features of language—the use of words as symbolic cues—and argue that language acts as a high‐level control system for the mind, allowing individuals to sculpt mental representations of others as well as their own.

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Section: What Is the Proper Place For Language In Human Cognition?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Centrality of Language in Human Cognition

Lupyan

2015

Language Learning

110

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“…Sera et al (2013) found that the learning of classifiers had an influence on children’s object categorization preference. The researchers tested 48 Mandarin-speaking and 48 English-speaking children ages at 3, 5, and 7 years old on the categorization of objects to understand the kinds of information children used to classify objects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies consistently revealed age-related changes in classifier comprehension and production among Mandarin-speaking children. In three cross-sectional studies (Chien et al, 2003; Li et al, 2010; Sera et al, 2013), Mandarin-speaking children participated in a forced-choice object or picture-selection task, which was used to examine classifier comprehension. Among the three objects or pictures (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pearson’s correlation) was not used to directly examine the correlation between classifier comprehension accuracy and percentage of shape-based choices in the categorization task. Given that this is a potential flaw of data analysis in Sera et al (2013) and that Uchida and Imai (1999) only provided a speculation without presenting evidence for the correlation, semantic categorization as a learning mechanism of classifier learning warrants further investigation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring influential factors of shape classifier comprehension and production in Mandarin-speaking children

et al. 2021

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Mandarin classifiers are a complex system, but little is known about how Mandarin-speaking children manage to learn the system. Based on the extant literature, we explored potential factors influencing the comprehension and production of Mandarin shape classifiers, including classifier-based semantic categorization and errors pertaining to the semantic strategies, input frequency of classifier-noun combinations, and vocabulary knowledge. In total, 138 typically developing monolingual Mandarin-speaking children between ages 4;1 and 6;5 completed an object categorization task, shape classifier comprehension and production tasks, and a vocabulary test. The results showed that classifier-based categorization did not significantly relate to classifier knowledge, but children’s comprehension errors were mostly selecting an object that is perceptually similar to the target object. Estimated input frequency of classifier-noun combinations was significantly related to classifier comprehension, and there was differential accuracy for different classifier-noun combinations, which may indicate item-by-item learning of individual classifier-noun pairings. Mandarin-speaking children may take a combined approach by sorting semantic features for different classifiers and learning individual classifier-noun combinations. The interplay of the two approaches can be very complex and should be further investigated in future studies. Vocabulary knowledge was significantly related to classifier comprehension and production, indicating common traits between classifier learning and noun learning.

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“…Mandarin-speaking three- and five-year-olds demonstrated more shape-based categorization than German-speaking children. Sera et al (2013) examined the classifier effect developmentally by investigating the relations between shape-based categorization and classifier learning in Mandarin and English speakers from the age of three to adulthood. They found that Mandarin speakers’ knowledge of classifiers developed with age, and classifiers initially augmented Mandarin speakers’ attention to the shape of objects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An empirical study of the classifier effect in advanced L2 users of Chinese

Zhu

2020

International Journal of Bilingualism

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Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: This article examines the classifier effect on categorization among advanced Chinese as a second language (CSL) learners. More specifically, it aims to answer this question: Is non-classifier language speakers’ categorization of objects influenced by the acquisition of the Chinese classifier system? Design/methodology/approach, data and analysis: Native Chinese speakers, advanced CSL learners and non-CSL participants were asked to rate the relatedness of drawing pairs based on either classifier or taxonomy/theme; advanced CSL learners and non-CSL participants were then asked to immediately recall two lists of nouns, one associated with three taxonomic categories and the other with three classifiers. Repeated-measures ANOVA was conducted to examine the major effect between drawing relations (classifier related, taxonomically/thematically related and unrelated) and participant groups. Two measures of NCR (number of correct recall) and RR (ratio of repetition) were calculated and analysed to examine effective memory retrieval as well as subjective clustering. Findings/conclusions: Results showed that preferences for classifier-based and taxonomy/theme -based categorizations differed between advanced CSL learners and non-CSL participants. CSL learners’ knowledge of the classifier system also facilitated their performance in recalling and clustering objects. The findings revealed that concepts in bilingual minds may be language-specific and an alternative interpretation of the real world is internalized by learning a new language. Originality: Unlike previous studies, this article extended the examination of the cognitive consequences of classifiers to late bilinguals whose second language (L2) proficiency was formally assessed. Significance/implications: This study contributes empirical data supporting the importance of nonverbal behavioural evidence in the study of bilingual cognition. The degree and nature of the restructuring of real-world referents as a consequence of acquiring Chinese classifiers is of pedagogical value to second-language acquisition (SLA).

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Classifiers augment and maintain shape-based categorization in Mandarin speakers

Cited by 8 publications

References 52 publications

The Centrality of Language in Human Cognition

The Centrality of Language in Human Cognition

Exploring influential factors of shape classifier comprehension and production in Mandarin-speaking children

An empirical study of the classifier effect in advanced L2 users of Chinese

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