The fact that certain sounds are more likely to appear together than are others is referred to as:
A) prosody.
B) pragmatics.
C) word segmentation.
D) distributional properties.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Distributional properties refer to the statistical regularities of co-occurrence between linguistic units, such as sounds, words, or grammatical constructions. This phenomenon is a fundamental aspect of language structure and acquisition, as it allows learners to chunk and categorize incoming information based on its contextual similarities and differences. For example, English-speaking infants can differentiate between 'babies' and 'puppies' within the first six months of life, because these words are more frequently heard in distinctive frames of reference (e.g. 'aww, look at the baby,' vs. 'fetch the puppy'). Similarly, adult speakers use distributional information to predict the likely sequence of sounds or words in a given context, and to facilitate their own production and comprehension of language. Hence, the correct answer is D.

The Fact That Certain Sounds Are More Likely to Appear