title: Children's Faithfulness in Imitating Language Use Varies Cross-Culturally, Contingent on Prior Experience.
abstract: Despite its recognized importance for cultural transmission, little is known about the role imitation plays in language learning. Three experiments examine how rates of imitation vary as a function of qualitative differences in the way language is used in a small indigenous community in Oaxaca, Mexico and three Western comparison groups. Data from one hundred thirty-eight 3- to 10-year-olds suggests that children selectively imitate when they understand the function of a given linguistic element because their culture makes frequent use of that function. When function is opaque, however, children imitate faithfully. This has implications for how children manage the imitation-innovation trade-off, and offers insight into why children imitate in language learning across development.
authors.affiliation: University of Texas at Austin.
authors.forename: Jörn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Klinger
authors.affiliation: University of Geneva.|The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus.
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mayor
authors.affiliation: University of Liverpool.
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bannard
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D032882:Comprehension; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior; D007804:Language Development; D008800:Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D013557:Switzerland / Q000208:ethnology; D013781:Texas / Q000208:ethnology