Constraints and development: A reply to Nelson (1988)

This article is a response to Nelson's (1988) critique of constraints theories of word learning. It is argued that when constraints are conceptualized as factors that narrow the range of possible interpretations children can give to new words rather than the severely limiting factors Nelson portrays them to be, then many of Nelson's arguments against constraints theories lose much of their force. Data on early lexical development are reanalyzed, and are shown to be consistent with constraints positions. Developmental constraints theory is presented as an integrative account of previous constraints positions. It is argued that constraints theories can account for both the vast consistencies in lexical development across children and languages as well as the individual differences that have been documented in the literature. Constraints theories, while emphasizing the role of constrained systems within the child and the language, in no way exclude the important contributions of the social/communicative context in which word learning occurs.

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