When Language Background Does Not Matter: Both Mono- and Bilingual Children Use Mutual Exclusivity and Pragmatic Context to Learn Novel Words.

ABSTRACT: Do mono- and bilingual children differ in the way they learn novel words in ambiguous settings? Listeners may resolve referential ambiguity by assuming that novel words refer to unknown, rather than known, objects-a response known as the mutual exclusivity effect. Past research suggested that mono- and bilinguals differ with regard to this disambiguation strategy, perhaps because, across languages, bilinguals' experience contradicts one-to-one mappings of label and referent. Another line of research suggested a bilingual advantage in resolving referential ambiguity, based on bilinguals' advanced pragmatic skills. Here, we examine both these claims in a preregistered study with comparable samples of mono- and bilingual 3-year-olds (n = 74) and adults (n = 86). We tested referent disambiguat

SUBMITTER: Bleijlevens N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11894922 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature