ABSTRACT
There are a number of vel)' interesting discussions in this volume of papers, and naturally it is only possible for us to comment on some central problems relevant to some, not all, of them. In particular, we discuss the general nature of word learning, and non-object word learning in particular, in light of the hedgehog-fox continuum, which we propose to impose metaphorically upon psychological problems and proposals in general. In particular, we argue that verblike meanings and their acquisition have a more foxlike and less hedgehoglike nature than concrete object nouns; we also examine two of the major proposals that aim to simplify the acquisition of verb meaning and seek to point out the greater degree of flexibility in acquisitional procedure that seems central to the acquisition of such meanings.
