The project funded by the Italian Ministry of Research and University (MUR) aims to build a novel collection of linguistic resources for the investigation of the lexicon directed to preschool children aged 3-6 years. Adult input plays a crucial role in children’s linguistic development and has effects on many other areas of their cognitive and social development. The linguistic resources collected will provide important information regarding the structure and usage of the lexicon that preschoolers are exposed to. Importantly, they will allow the creation of empirical tools that could be of assistance to professionals and researchers in child education and care, and will provide suggestions for creators of media targeted at preschoolers. The project aims will be achieved through the collaboration among five units: National Center for Scientific Research (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche), University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, University of Verona, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, University of Roma “La Sapienza”. The local unit of the University of Verona will be involved in the collection, transcription, and analysis of adult/child interactions.
Keywords
Preschoolers; lexicon; Italian; Italian Sign Language
Principal Investigator of the local unit
Marinella Majorano, University of Verona
Project Participants
- Elena Florit, University of Verona
- Pasquale Rinaldi, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
- Mariaelena Favilla, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
- Lorenzo Spreafico, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
- Patrizio Pasqualetti, University of Roma “La Sapienza”
Duration
24 months (October 2023-October 2025)
Current State
Data collection in progress.