ERIC Number: EJ761583
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2003
Pages: 22
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1048-9223
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Available Date: N/A
Quantifying Kids
Geurts, Bart
Language Acquisition: A Journal of Developmental Linguistics, v11 n4 p197-218 2003
It has been known for several decades that young children have difficulties with universal sentences. In this article, I present an analysis of the main errors that have been reported in the literature. My proposal is based on an old idea, namely, that children's errors are caused by a noncanonical mapping from syntactic form to semantic representation. Previous theories based on this assumption were not entirely successful because they lacked the proper framework for dealing with quantification. In particular, they failed to recognize the importance of the distinction between weak and strong quantifiers. Everything falls into place, or so I argue, if this distinction is taken into account.
Descriptors: Semantics, Sentences, Context Effect, Language Universals, Young Children, Language Acquisition, Syntax, Linguistic Theory, Error Analysis (Language), Language Research
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. 10 Industrial Avenue, Mahwah, NJ 07430-2262. Tel: 800-926-6579; Tel: 201-258-2200; Fax: 201-236-0072; e-mail: journals@erlbaum.com; Web site: https://www.LEAonline.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
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Author Affiliations: N/A