What Young Children’s Processing and Understanding of Compound Words Can Tell Us About Their Pragmatic Development

What can we learn by observing how children process and interpret compound terms? By integrating both linguistic and pragmatic factors, typically studied in isolation, the current study revealed children’s growing adherence to linguistic norms, but also their increasing openness to unconventional reference. Across three experiments employing a picture selection task for referent selection, young children were presented with lexicalized and novel exocentric and endocentric compound nouns. Examining age-related differences in referent selection, Experiment 1 (baseline), found a preference for conventional and semantically transparent referents, increasing with age. Experiment 2 showed that an individual speaker influenced referent selection across both age groups, with 5-year-olds showing more accommodation of the speaker’s intended meaning. Experiment 3, examining gaze behaviour, indicated that both 3- and 5-year-olds decompose lexicalized compound terms similarly to novel compounds. This research highlights the interplay between language and social development, showcasing key stages in children's pragmatic development.