Linguistic Skills and Socioeconomic Status: Two Oft Forgotten Factors in Child Metaphor Comprehension
Metaphor understanding can be tricky for children until mid-childhood, yet some research suggests that pre-schoolers are already competent. Many factors have been proposed to play a role in the development of metaphor comprehension. In this study we focus on two obvious contenders that have been ove...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Children |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/12/1847 |
| _version_ | 1797381595226701824 |
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| author | Nausicaa Pouscoulous Alexandra Perovic |
| author_facet | Nausicaa Pouscoulous Alexandra Perovic |
| author_sort | Nausicaa Pouscoulous |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Metaphor understanding can be tricky for children until mid-childhood, yet some research suggests that pre-schoolers are already competent. Many factors have been proposed to play a role in the development of metaphor comprehension. In this study we focus on two obvious contenders that have been overlooked in recent years: general language skills and socioeconomic status (SES). Two-hundred and seventy-two children, aged from 2;11 to 11;04 (146 girls) were recruited from 21 British schools and nurseries. Their SES was established using a composite measure linked to school location, while general language skills were assessed using a standardised measure of vocabulary comprehension. Novel metaphor comprehension was tested with a simple reference assignment task. Our study confirms that children interpret novel metaphors confidently from the age of 4. Our findings indicate that novel metaphor understanding is associated with age and, importantly, that it is linked to vocabulary skills, as well as SES, but not gender. These two factors should therefore be considered in future research on metaphor development, as well as intervention and education. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:53:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-666c2f74e0154a468b8df85af3fe9c4e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:53:40Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Children |
| spelling | doaj.art-666c2f74e0154a468b8df85af3fe9c4e2023-12-22T14:00:16ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672023-11-011012184710.3390/children10121847Linguistic Skills and Socioeconomic Status: Two Oft Forgotten Factors in Child Metaphor ComprehensionNausicaa Pouscoulous0Alexandra Perovic1Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, Chandler House, 2 Wakefield Street, London WC1N 1PF, UKPsychology and Language Sciences, University College London, Chandler House, 2 Wakefield Street, London WC1N 1PF, UKMetaphor understanding can be tricky for children until mid-childhood, yet some research suggests that pre-schoolers are already competent. Many factors have been proposed to play a role in the development of metaphor comprehension. In this study we focus on two obvious contenders that have been overlooked in recent years: general language skills and socioeconomic status (SES). Two-hundred and seventy-two children, aged from 2;11 to 11;04 (146 girls) were recruited from 21 British schools and nurseries. Their SES was established using a composite measure linked to school location, while general language skills were assessed using a standardised measure of vocabulary comprehension. Novel metaphor comprehension was tested with a simple reference assignment task. Our study confirms that children interpret novel metaphors confidently from the age of 4. Our findings indicate that novel metaphor understanding is associated with age and, importantly, that it is linked to vocabulary skills, as well as SES, but not gender. These two factors should therefore be considered in future research on metaphor development, as well as intervention and education.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/12/1847metaphorvocabularygeneral language skillssocioeconomic statusgenderpragmatic development |
| spellingShingle | Nausicaa Pouscoulous Alexandra Perovic Linguistic Skills and Socioeconomic Status: Two Oft Forgotten Factors in Child Metaphor Comprehension Children metaphor vocabulary general language skills socioeconomic status gender pragmatic development |
| title | Linguistic Skills and Socioeconomic Status: Two Oft Forgotten Factors in Child Metaphor Comprehension |
| title_full | Linguistic Skills and Socioeconomic Status: Two Oft Forgotten Factors in Child Metaphor Comprehension |
| title_fullStr | Linguistic Skills and Socioeconomic Status: Two Oft Forgotten Factors in Child Metaphor Comprehension |
| title_full_unstemmed | Linguistic Skills and Socioeconomic Status: Two Oft Forgotten Factors in Child Metaphor Comprehension |
| title_short | Linguistic Skills and Socioeconomic Status: Two Oft Forgotten Factors in Child Metaphor Comprehension |
| title_sort | linguistic skills and socioeconomic status two oft forgotten factors in child metaphor comprehension |
| topic | metaphor vocabulary general language skills socioeconomic status gender pragmatic development |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/12/1847 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nausicaapouscoulous linguisticskillsandsocioeconomicstatustwooftforgottenfactorsinchildmetaphorcomprehension AT alexandraperovic linguisticskillsandsocioeconomicstatustwooftforgottenfactorsinchildmetaphorcomprehension |