Young children protest against the incorrect use of novel words: Toward a normative pragmatic account on language acquisition.

The current study examined whether young children conceive of language use as a normative practice. To this end, 3- and 5-year-old children learned how others used a novel word in either a direct-instruction or an overhearing context. Thereafter, they were presented with a protagonist who used the novel word to refer to either the same or another object. Children of both age groups selectively protested when the protagonist used the word to refer to another object, and older children selectively affirmed when the protagonist used the word to refer to the same object. Overall, the study is in line with theoretical notions that early language acquisition could be conceived of as the acquisition of a normative social practice.