Overgeneralization

How it is used

Seen in both first and second language acquisition, and taken as evidence that learners build rules rather than simply copying what they hear. Teachers treat it as a normal developmental error. British spelling: overgeneralisation.

Example sentences

1. 'She can sings' is an overgeneralization of the third person -s.

2. Overgeneralization errors usually disappear as the learner meets more input.

Common collocations

• overgeneralization error
• overgeneralization of a rule
• developmental error
• overregularization

Related terms

• interlanguageA learner's developing language system, which has its own rules and is neither the first language nor the target language; the term was introduced by Larry Selinker in 1972.
• language acquisitionThe process by which people come to know and use a language, especially the natural way young children pick up their first language from the speech around them.
• fossilizationThe point at which some features of a learner's language stop developing and keep their errors, even with more input and teaching.
• language transferThe influence of a learner's first language, or another language they know, on the language being learned; it can help (positive transfer) or cause errors (negative transfer).
• inflectionA change in the form of a word, usually by adding an ending, to show grammatical information such as tense, number, person or case, without making a new word.

More terms: Language Acquisition

• first language
• second language acquisition
• critical period hypothesis
• input
• universal grammar