The proposed research investigates how the structure of language reflects and guides the structure of mental categories using a crosslinguistic methodology. The project focuses on differences between English and Spanish. Though English and Spanish are more similar to each other than other languages, differences between the languages in highly frequent forms provide a rich territory for examining the relation between thought and language. Two Spanish couplas, ser and estar, map onto the single English copula, be. The primary function of be is to assign-""""""""permanent"""""""" and """"""""temporary"""""""" properties to referents. For example, forms of estar are always used to describe the locations of physical objects and forms of ser are used to describe the locations of events. Thus, the Spanish copulas distinctively mark the status of conceptual properties. Three specific objectives are central to the research. The first is to document the precise function and acquisition of ser and estar. By closely examining the distribution of ser and estar, it is hoped to gain insight about the specific organization of conceptual attributes. Documenting developing knowledge of ser and estar may lead to an understanding of how the organization of conceptual attributes changes with development. The second objective of the research is to compare developing classifications skills of English and Spanish speakers and to examine the possible influences of this language-specific distinction on other conceptual achievements. The third objective is to explore the underlying universal properties of category structure that is suggested by the distribution of the Spanish copulas. Ten experiments are proposed that address the three objectives above with native monolingual English and Spanish speakers who range from 3 years of age to adulthood. Methods are introduced that allow the assessment of developing usage of ser and estar, and the role of this contrast in conceptual structure. Results from the project will provide new insights into the structure and acquisition of language and its relation to more general aspects of cognition.
