Science · 2004 · 672 citations · 14 references
Fast MappingNeurolinguisticsSemantic ProcessingCognitionPsycholinguisticsHuman MemoryLanguage LearningSocial SciencesCognitive LinguisticsSecond Language AcquisitionLanguage AcquisitionCognitive DevelopmentMemoryLanguage StudiesNatural LanguageCognitive ScienceBorder CollieSpeech AcquisitionMnemonicLanguage ScienceWord LearningLanguage ComprehensionSpeech PerceptionAnimal MindLinguistics
Fast mapping is a rapid, single‑exposure hypothesis‑forming process in speech acquisition. The study investigates whether a border collie can fast map. Rico demonstrated fast mapping by correctly identifying over 200 known items and inferring and retrieving novel item names immediately and after four weeks, indicating that fast mapping relies on general learning and memory mechanisms shared across animals.
During speech acquisition, children form quick and rough hypotheses about the meaning of a new word after only a single exposure-a process dubbed "fast mapping." Here we provide evidence that a border collie, Rico, is able to fast map. Rico knew the labels of over 200 different items. He inferred the names of novel items by exclusion learning and correctly retrieved those items right away as well as 4 weeks after the initial exposure. Fast mapping thus appears to be mediated by general learning and memory mechanisms also found in other animals and not by a language acquisition device that is special to humans.
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