The development of defining style

Markowitz, Judith; Franz, Susan K.

doi:10.1093/ijl/1.3.253

Cited by 23 publications

(26 citation statements)

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“…Since the coding scheme for definition sophistication used here reflects many of the same distinctions used by other researchers (Feifel & Lorge, 1950;Litowitz, 1977;Watson, 1985 ;Markowitz & Franz, 1988), it was to be expected that the generally reported patterns of growth in definitional sophistication would be replicated. Since the coding scheme for definition sophistication used here reflects many of the same distinctions used by other researchers (Feifel & Lorge, 1950;Litowitz, 1977;Watson, 1985 ;Markowitz & Franz, 1988), it was to be expected that the generally reported patterns of growth in definitional sophistication would be replicated.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…From the beginning, though, it has been clear that, in addition to the developmental changes in definitions associated with increased vocabulary, there are qualitative changes with age in the kinds of information children include in their definitions (Binet & Simon, 1916;Terman, 1916; see Markowitz & Franz, 1988, for a review). From the beginning, though, it has been clear that, in addition to the developmental changes in definitions associated with increased vocabulary, there are qualitative changes with age in the kinds of information children include in their definitions (Binet & Simon, 1916;Terman, 1916; see Markowitz & Franz, 1988, for a review).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Giving definitions for words is a task that has long been exploited as a component of IQ tests, primarily as a way of providing an estimate of vocabulary. From the beginning, though, it has been clear that, in addition to the developmental changes in definitions associated with increased vocabulary, there are qualitative changes with age in the kinds of information children include in their definitions (Binet & Simon, 1916;Terman, 1916; see Markowitz & Franz, 1988, for a review). The nature of the changes with age in definitional forms has been variously characterized (see Markowitz & Franz, 1988), but in general falls into three categories of change: (a) the information offered by young children is more relevant to the object or activity denoted by the word than to the meaning of the word itself; (b) the information offered by older children and adults is more likely to be universal and criterial, whereas the information offered by young children is typically personal and incidental; and (c) the form in which the information is given comes increasingly to conform to the conventions of Aristotelian definitions (Bierwisch & Kiefer, 1969), which for nouns includes a superordinate and a restrictive complement (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The development of definitional skill

Snow¹

1990

J. Child Lang.

175

114

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Giving good definitions requires controlling both word meaning and definitional form. Definitions from 137 second to fifth graders (i.e. aged seven to eleven) were scored to reflect conformity to the classic Aristotelian form and quality of information provided. Comparisons among children with different backgrounds indicated that school exposure to English was strongly related to per cent formal definitions given and their quality. 63 children were also tested in French, their foreign language. Performance in French was lower than in English; exposure to French at home related to the amount of information the children provided in informal definitions, not to quality of formal definitions. The results suggest that performance on definitions is most strongly affected by opportunities to practise the required form.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The development of definitional skill

Snow¹

1990

J. Child Lang.

175

114

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“…A banana is a yellow curved fruit that grows on trees in tropical climates. Formal definitions have also been described by the classical formula X is Y that Z, where X is the definiendum, Y is the superordinate term, and Z is one or more characteristic features of X (Markowitz & Franz, 1988).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early foreign language education and metalinguistic development

Charkova

2003

ARLA

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Studies with bilingual and multilingual subjects suggest that bilingualism and multilingualism foster the development of certain aspects of children's metalinguistic skills. The purpose of the present study was to find out if learning foreign languages facilitates children's metalinguistic ability to define words. It compared Bulgarian monolingual, bilingual and trilingual subjects on their word-definition performance in the L1. The relationship between L1 definition performance, L2/L3 proficiency, and L2/L3 definition performance within the bilingual and trilingual groups was also investigated.The study found that early foreign language education has a positive effect on the quality of children's definitions in their L1. The bilingual and trilingual children performed significantly better than the monolingual children. The results specific to the bilingual and trilingual groups showed that second/third language proficiency was a significant and powerful predictor of the performance of the bilingual and trilingual subjects on the word-definition tasks in their second/third language. L1 word-definition ability was a weaker predictor of the subjects' performance on the word-definition task in their second or third language. However, in the case of genetically closely related languages (Bulgarian and Russian) the transfer was easier as compared to genetically more distanced languages (Bulgarian and English).

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“…Only several of prior studies have explored adult speakers (e.g., Markowitz & Franz, 1988;Nippold, Hegel, Sohlberg, & Schwarz, 1999;Nippold, 1999;Walker, 2001). Their analyses, however, are done on words from noun rather than those from other parts of speech.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Adult Speakers' Definition and Use of Words: An Examination of Plato's Problem as Applied to Knowledge of Word Meaning

Nagata

2003

PSYCHOLOGIA -An International Journal of Psychological Sciences

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Plato's problem that Chomsky applies to speakers' knowledge of word meaning concerns the disparity between impoverished evidence given and perfect knowledge attained. This study explored whether the attained knowledge of word meaning is stable, articulated and known to adult speakers of Japanese. 118 university students judged twice the degree in which they knew the meanings of words (knowledge score) and the degree in which they could use the words in sentences (usage score), with two different intervening tasks being given between the two judgments. Some speakers engaged in a task of defining the meaning of the words and using them in sentences, while others did not. Findings showed that knowledge scores were comparable in the first judgments, while knowledge score decreased in the second judgments only for the speakers given a task of definition. No change was found in usage score regardless of the intervening tasks. Analyses of descriptions provided in the task of definition and use showed that the meanings of words were neither articulated nor known in detail to the speakers. These findings are not compatible with Plato's problem.

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The development of defining style

Cited by 23 publications

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The development of definitional skill

The development of definitional skill

Early foreign language education and metalinguistic development

Adult Speakers' Definition and Use of Words: An Examination of Plato's Problem as Applied to Knowledge of Word Meaning

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