55. Nick is two years old, lives with his mother and father, and incorrectly refers to all men as 'daddy.' Which of the following concepts best explains Nick's error?
Answer: B
Nick's error is best explained by overextension.
Nick refers to all men as 'daddy,' which indicates he is applying a familiar term broadly to include more individuals than it typically denotes. This behavior exemplifies the concept of overextension in language development.
A) Overregularization
Overregularization refers to the application of regular grammatical rules to irregular cases, such as saying "goed" instead of "went." This does not apply to Nick's situation, as his error is not related to grammar but rather to the broad application of a label.
B) Overextension
Overextension is the correct explanation for Nick's behavior, as he generalizes the term 'daddy' to all men. This is a common phenomenon in early language acquisition where children apply a known word to a broader category than it accurately describes.
C) Underextension
Underextension occurs when a child uses a word too narrowly, applying it to fewer instances than it should. For example, if Nick only called his own father 'daddy' and not other men, that would be underextension, which does not describe his behavior.
D) Fast mapping
Fast mapping is the ability of children to quickly learn a new word after only a brief encounter with it. While this is a significant part of language development, it does not explain why Nick mistakenly uses 'daddy' for all men; his error is about the application of a word rather than its initial learning.
Conclusion
Overextension accurately captures Nick's linguistic error, as he is using 'daddy' to refer to all men beyond its specific meaning. Other options like overregularization, underextension, and fast mapping do not pertain to the broader application of vocabulary, making them incorrect in this context. Thus, overextension is the definitive concept that clarifies Nick's use of language.