Graham, SusanWelder, Andrea N.Merrifield, Beverley A.Berman, Jared M. J.2020-04-272020-04-272009-10Graham, S. A., Welder, A. N., Merrifield, B. A., & Berman, J. M. J. (2009). Preschoolers' extension of novel words to animals and artifacts. "Journal of Child Language". 37(2010). 913-927. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S030500090999002Xhttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/11190610.11575/PRISM/43667We examined whether preschoolers' ontological knowledge would influence lexical extension. In Experiment 1, four-year-olds were presented with a novel label for either an object with eyes described as an animal, or the same object without eyes described as a tool. In the animal condition, children extended the label to similar-shaped objects, whereas in the tool condition, children extended the label to similar-function objects. In Experiment 2, when four-year-olds were presented with objects with eyes described as tools, they extended the label on the basis of shared function. These experiments suggest that preschoolers' conceptual knowledge guides their lexical extension.engUnless otherwise indicated, this material is protected by copyright and has been made available with authorization from the copyright owner. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0journal articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S030500090999002X