An overly narrow interpretation of the meaning of a word is called
A) overextension.
B) underextension.
C) babbling.
D) pragmatics.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Underextension refers to a child's overly narrow interpretation of the meaning of a word. This can occur when a child uses a word to refer to only one specific example of something, rather than the entire category of objects or concepts that the word represents. For example, a child might use the word "dog" only to refer to their own pet dog, rather than all dogs. Overextension, on the other hand, refers to a child using a word too broadly to refer to many things that it can't actually represent. Babbling refers to the random sounds infants make as they learn to communicate, and pragmatics refers to the social use of language.

An Overly Narrow Interpretation of the Meaning of a Word