Naslov
Cross-linguistic patterns in the acquisition of quantifiers

Autori
Katsos, Napoleon ; Cummins, Chris ; Ezeizabarrena, Maria-José ; Gavarró, Anna ; Kuvač Kraljević, Jelena ; Hrzica, Gordana ; Grohmann, Kleanthes K. ; Skordi, Athina ; Jensen de López, Kristine ; Sundahl, Lone ; van Hout, Angeliek ; Hollebrandse, Bart ; Overweg, Jessica ; Faber, Myrthe ; van Koert, Margreet ; Smith, Nafsika ; Vija, Maigi ; Zupping, Sirli ; Kunnari, Sari ; Morisseau, Tiffany ; Rusieshvili, Manana ; Yatsushiro, Kazuko ; Fengler, Anja ; Varlokosta, Spyridoula ; Konstantzou, Katerina ; Farby, Shira ; Teresa Guasti, Maria ; Vernice, Mirta ; Okabe, Reiko ; Isobe, Miwa ; Crosthwaite, Peter ; Hong, Yoonjee ; Balčiūnienė, Ingrida ; Marina Ahmad Nizar, Yanti ; Grech, Helen ; Gatt, Daniela ; Cheong, Win Nee ; Asbjørnsen, Arve ; von Koss Torkildsen, Janne ; Haman, Ewa ; Miękisz, Aneta ; Gagarina, Natalia ; Puzanova, Julia ; Anđelković, Darinka ; Savić, Maja ; Jošić, Smiljana ; Slančová, Daniela ; Kapalková, Svetlana ; Barberán, Tania ; Özge, Duygu ; Hassan, Saima ; Yuet Hung Chan, Cecilia ; Okubo, Tomoya ; van der Lely, Heather ; Sauerland, Uli ; Noveck, Ira

Izvornik
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (0027-8424) 113 (2016), 33; 9244-9249

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
Language acquisition; Quantifiers; Semantics; Pragmatics; Typology

Sažetak
Learners of most languages are faced with the task of acquiring words to talk about number and quantity. Much is known about the order of acquisition of number words as well as the cognitive and perceptual systems and cultural practices that shape it. Substantially less is known about the acquisition of quantifiers. Here, we consider the extent to which systems and practices that support number word acquisition can be applied to quantifier acquisition and conclude that the two domains are largely distinct in this respect. Consequently, we hypothesize that the acquisition of quantifiers is constrained by a set of factors related to each quantifier’s specific meaning. We investigate competence with the expressions for “all, ” “none, ” “some, ” “some…not, ” and “most” in 31 languages, representing 11 language types, by testing 768 5-y-old children and 536 adults. We found a cross-linguistically similar order of acquisition of quantifiers, explicable in terms of four factors relating to their meaning and use. In addition, exploratory analyses reveal that language- and learner-specific factors, such as negative concord and gender, are significant predictors of variation.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Pedagogija

POVEZANOST RADA