Abstract

We attempt to investigate how intention and stimulus complexity interact with the ontological concepts such as solid objects and non-solid substances in Korean word learning, by presenting two experiments. We suggest that the ontological concept plays a role as a universal constraint on word learning, and language specificity also influences early word learning. The 'No mass-count syntax' in Korean might incorporate the fact that the Korean-speaking children show stronger orientation toward shape in the substance trials than the English-speaking children. Other factors such as intention and stimulus complexity also influence children's responses. Especially, we note that children make more shape responses when the stimuli were formed with the intention to make it. This implies that the word learning at an early age embodies the "theory of mind".