Which is an example of overextension?
a. A child saying, “He hitted me with a stick”
b. A child saying, “The moon looks happy tonight”
c. A child calling all dogs “Spot”
d. A child saying “I no like peas”
The correct answer and explanation is :
Correct answer: c. A child calling all dogs “Spot”
Explanation:
Overextension is a common phenomenon in early language development where a child applies a word more broadly than its typical use. This occurs when children overgeneralize a term they know to refer to multiple objects, often because they have not yet learned the correct word for all the different items.
In option (c), the child calls all dogs “Spot.” This is a classic case of overextension. “Spot” may be the name of the family dog, and the child has learned to associate all dogs with that name. The child understands the category “dog,” but lacks the vocabulary to distinguish individual dogs or doesn’t realize that “Spot” is a proper noun, not a general term for dogs. Hence, the child uses the word “Spot” to label all dogs, extending the use of the word beyond its appropriate reference.
Let’s look at the other options and why they are not examples of overextension:
- (a) “He hitted me with a stick” – This is an example of overregularization, where a child applies a grammatical rule (adding –ed for past tense) too broadly to irregular verbs. The correct past tense of “hit” is “hit,” but the child incorrectly says “hitted.”
- (b) “The moon looks happy tonight” – This is an example of personification, where the child attributes human emotions or characteristics to inanimate objects. It is not overextension, since the child is not mislabeling an object with an overly broad category.
- (d) “I no like peas” – This reflects telegraphic speech or early sentence construction, where function words (like “do” or “not”) are omitted. It is a grammatical developmental phase, not a case of overextension.
In sum, overextension is about using one word to label multiple things inaccurately, as seen in option c.