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The process of construction of the color lexicon as a collected system

Research Project

Project/Area Number 16K13224
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Research Field Linguistics
Research InstitutionKeio University

Principal Investigator

IMAI Mutsumi  慶應義塾大学, 環境情報学部(藤沢), 教授 (60255601)

Project Period (FY) 2016-04-01 – 2020-03-31
Project Status Completed (Fiscal Year 2019)
Budget Amount *help
¥3,380,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥780,000)
Fiscal Year 2018: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000)
Fiscal Year 2017: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000)
Fiscal Year 2016: ¥2,080,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥480,000)
Keywords心理言語学 / 色語 / 色語彙システム
Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research investigated how children build up the language‐specific system of the adult‐like color lexicon. We had 3‐, 4‐, and 5‐year‐old Japanese‐speaking children and adults produce names for 93 color swatches. The results showed that children of all ages were able to apply most of the chromatic words to the colors close to the center of each category, but even 5‐year‐olds struggle to delineate the boundaries between the words. Furthermore, the model analyses revealed that broad‐covering and high‐frequency words are mapped to the center of the lexical category earlier. However, cross‐individual consistency in adults' use contributed most strongly for the adult‐like boundary delineation. The results suggest that the process of system construction consists of at least two steps (i.e., mapping words to their category center and finding appropriate boundaries between neighboring words), with the quantity and the quality of the input contributing differently to the steps.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

色語の獲得を困難にする要因の一つは、色語の指し示す色カテゴリーの範囲が文化依存であり、状況によって大きく異なることにある。そのため、各色語彙の頻度や使用場面などについても検討に加えて研究に取り組む必要がある。こうした研究に取り組むことで、言語の持つ恣意性という言語獲得の本質に関わる問題がクローズアップされる。こうした問題は、養育の現場において言葉の獲得を促そうとする行為が、単に辞書的に大事な単語を重点的に教えるといった安易な指導では行えないことを示唆している。こうした示唆は、社会的にも還元可能な成果であり、意義あるものと考えられる。

Report

(5 results)
  • 2019 Annual Research Report   Final Research Report ( PDF )
  • 2018 Research-status Report
  • 2017 Research-status Report
  • 2016 Research-status Report
  • Research Products

    (27 results)

All 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 Other

All Int'l Joint Research (7 results) Journal Article (7 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 5 results,  Peer Reviewed: 6 results,  Open Access: 6 results) Presentation (7 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 7 results,  Invited: 2 results) Book (4 results) Remarks (2 results)

  • [Int'l Joint Research] Leipzig University(ドイツ)

    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] University of Warwick(英国)

    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] University of Alberta(カナダ)

    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] Sabanci University(トルコ)

    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] Temple University(米国)

    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] テンプル大学(米国)

    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] ライプツィヒ大学(ドイツ)

    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
  • [Journal Article] Acquisition of the Meaning of the Word Orange Requires Understanding of the Meanings of Red , Pink , and Purple : Constructing a Lexicon as a Connected System2020

    • Author(s)
      Noburo Saji, Mutsumi Imai, Michiko Asano
    • Journal Title

      Cognitive Science

      Volume: 44 Issue: 1

    • DOI

      10.1111/cogs.12813

    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access
  • [Journal Article] Cross-linguistically shared and language-specific sound symbolism in novel words elicited by locomotion videos in Japanese and English2019

    • Author(s)
      Noburo Saji, Kimi Akita, Katerina Kantartzis, Sotaro, Kita, Mutsumi Imai
    • Journal Title

      PLOS ONE

      Volume: - Issue: 7 Pages: e0218707-e0218707

    • DOI

      10.1371/journal.pone.0218707

    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] Sound symbolism processing is lateralized to the right temporal region in the prelinguistic infant brain.2019

    • Author(s)
      Yang, J., Asano, M., Kanazawa, S., Yamaguchi, M. K., & Imai, M.
    • Journal Title

      Scientific Reports

      Volume: 9

    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access
  • [Journal Article] Sound symbolism facilitates long-term retention of the semantic representation of novel verbs in three-year-olds.2019

    • Author(s)
      Kantartzis, K., Imai, M., Evans, D. & Kita, S.
    • Journal Title

      Languages

      Volume: 4 Issue: 2 Pages: 21-21

    • DOI

      10.3390/languages4020021

    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] Symbol Grounding Problem” reinterpreted from the perspective of language acquisition.2017

    • Author(s)
      Imai, M.
    • Journal Title

      In J.Zlatev, Sonesson, G., P. Konderak (Eds.). Meaning, Mind and Communication; Explorations in Cognitive Semiotics.

      Volume: - Pages: 145-160

    • Related Report
      2016 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] The role of timing and prototypical causality on how preschoolers fast-map novel verb meanings.2017

    • Author(s)
      Abbot-Smith, K., Imai,M. Durrant,S. & Nurmsoo, E.
    • Journal Title

      First Language

      Volume: 37 Issue: 2 Pages: 186-204

    • DOI

      10.1177/0142723716679800

    • Related Report
      2016 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] The Relation between Language, Culture and Thought.2016

    • Author(s)
      Imai, M., Kanero, J., & Masuda, T.
    • Journal Title

      Current Opinion in Psychology

      Volume: 8 Pages: 70-77

    • DOI

      10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.10.011

    • Related Report
      2016 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] How do children learn difficult words?: Unraveling complex processes of lexical acquisition2019

    • Author(s)
      Mutsumi Imai
    • Organizer
      paEpsy
    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
  • [Presentation] Sensitivity to sound symbolism in Japanese Hard-of-Hearing children.2019

    • Author(s)
      Imai, M., & Kimura, J.
    • Organizer
      15th International Cognitive Linguistics Conference (ICLC 15)
    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] The role of iconicity in language acquisition and evolution.2019

    • Author(s)
      Mutsumi Imai
    • Organizer
      Plenary lecture at The 12th International Symposium on Iconicity in Language and Literature
    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
  • [Presentation] Symbol grounding and system construction in the color lexicon.2018

    • Author(s)
      Imai, M. Hidaka, S. Saji, N. & Ohba, M.
    • Organizer
      The 40th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society
    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] The role of contrast in constructing the color lexicon: from the initial mapping to later boundary delineation. Paper presented at the symposium “Multiple perspectives on mechanisms of lexical acquisition.”2017

    • Author(s)
      Imai, M., Saji, N., Asano, M, & Ohba, M.
    • Organizer
      The 14th International Congress of Study in Child Language (IASCL)
    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Young children’s understanding of prosodic cues about speaker confidence: Comparison between Japanese-speaking and French-speaking children.2017

    • Author(s)
      Matsui, T., Imai, M. Mercier, H. Bernard, S. & Castelain, T.
    • Organizer
      The 14th International Congress of Study in Child Language (IASCL)
    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Representation of sound symbolism in the infant brain: Investigation using the near-infrared spectroscopy.2017

    • Author(s)
      Yang, J., Asano, M., Kanazawa, S., Yamaguchi, M. & Imai, M.
    • Organizer
      The18th Auunal International Multisensory Research Forum (IMRF),
    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Book] Language, Culture and Thought.2020

    • Author(s)
      Imai, M., Kanero, J., & Masuda, T.
    • Publisher
      Oxford University Press
    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
  • [Book] How classifiers affect mental representation of entities. In B-Y. Yi & C. Lee (Eds). Numeral Classifiers and Classifier Languages.2020

    • Author(s)
      Imai, M. & Kanero, J.
    • Publisher
      Routledge
    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
  • [Book] Learning Individual Verbs and the Verb System: When Are Multiple Examples Helpful? In J. Childers, S. Graham, L. Namy (Eds.) Language and Concept Acquisition from Infancy Through Childhood2020

    • Author(s)
      Imai, M., & Childers, J. B.
    • Total Pages
      252
    • Publisher
      Springer
    • ISBN
      9783030355937
    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
  • [Book] 『オノマトペの謎』第6章 オノマトペはことばの発達に役にたつの?2017

    • Author(s)
      窪薗晴夫編
    • Total Pages
      176
    • Publisher
      岩波書店
    • ISBN
      4000296612
    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
  • [Remarks] 今井むつみ研究室

    • URL

      https://cogpsy.sfc.keio.ac.jp/imailab/

    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
  • [Remarks] 今井むつみ研究室

    • URL

      http://cogpsy.sfc.keio.ac.jp/imailab/

    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report 2017 Research-status Report 2016 Research-status Report

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Published: 2016-04-21   Modified: 2022-02-21  

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