Syntactic bootstrapping is best described as:

Syntactic bootstrapping is best described as:

• A. Using syntactic structure to infer word meaning, especially verbs
• B. Learning words through reinforcement
• C. Inferring semantics from lexical co-occurrence
• D. Acquiring syntax through memorized phrases

Answer: (A)

Using syntactic structure to infer word meaning, especially verbs. When children hear a novel word embedded in specific sentence frames, they use the surrounding syntax—the way the word is positioned with subjects and objects—to guess what kind of meaning it has and what kind of action or relation it denotes. For example, hearing a new word in a transitive frame like “The girl is [new word] the ball” signals that the word is likely a verb describing an action performed on an object, whereas an intransitive frame would cue a different kind of action or state. This shows how language form itself guides early word learning, helping children map meanings from how a word is used, not just from repeating sounds or from the word appearing with certain other words. The other options describe learning from reinforcement, from lexical co-occurrence, or from memorized phrases, which don’t capture how syntactic context directly informs the interpretation of a new word.

Using syntactic structure to infer word meaning, especially verbs. When children hear a novel word embedded in specific sentence frames, they use the surrounding syntax—the way the word is positioned with subjects and objects—to guess what kind of meaning it has and what kind of action or relation it denotes. For example, hearing a new word in a transitive frame like “The girl is [new word] the ball” signals that the word is likely a verb describing an action performed on an object, whereas an intransitive frame would cue a different kind of action or state. This shows how language form itself guides early word learning, helping children map meanings from how a word is used, not just from repeating sounds or from the word appearing with certain other words. The other options describe learning from reinforcement, from lexical co-occurrence, or from memorized phrases, which don’t capture how syntactic context directly informs the interpretation of a new word.