Two-year-old Zada always hears the word pretty just before a word that refers to a concrete object (e.g., "pretty flower," "pretty lady," "pretty picture"). Although she does not yet know what an adjective is, at an intuitive level she understands that pretty is a "describing" word. Zada's understanding reflects:
A) expansion
B) functionalism
C) semantic bootstrapping
D) acquisition of a grammatical word

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Zada's intuitive understanding that "pretty" is a describing word, despite not knowing formally what an adjective is, reflects semantic bootstrapping. This concept involves using the meanings of words to infer grammatical categories, such as nouns, verbs, and adjectives.

Two-Year-Old Zada Always Hears the Word Pretty Just Before a Word