The logical syntax of number words: Theory, acquisition and processing

摘要

Recent work on the acquisition of number words has emphasized the importance of inte-grating linguistic and developmental perspectives [Musolino, J. (2004). The semantics andacquisition of number words: Integrating linguistic and developmental perspectives. Cog-nition 93, 1-41; Papafragou, A., Musolino, J. (2003). Scalar implicatures: Scalar implicat-ures: Experiments at the semantics-pragmatics interface. Cognition, 86, 253-282;Hurewitz, F., Papafragou, A., Gleitman, L, Gelman, R. (2006). Asymmetries in the acquisi-tion of numbers and quantifiers. Language Learning and Development, 2, 76-97; Huang, Y.T., Snedeker, J., Spelke, L. (submitted for publication). What exactly do numbers mean?]. Spe-cifically, these studies have shown that data from experimental investigations of child lan-guage can be used to illuminate core theoretical issues in the semantic and pragmaticanalysis of number terms. In this article, I extend this approach to the logico-syntacticproperties of number words, focusing on the way numerals interact with each other (e.g.Three boys are holding two balloons) as well as with other quantified expressions (e.g. Threeboys are holding each balloon). On the basis of their intuitions, linguists have claimed thatsuch sentences give rise to at least four different interpretations, reflecting the complexityof the linguistic structure and syntactic operations involved. Using psycholinguistic exper-imentation with preschoolers (n = 32) and adult speakers of English (n = 32), I show that (a)for adults, the intuitions of linguists can be verified experimentally, (b) by the age of 5, chil-dren have knowledge of the core aspects of the logical syntax of number words, (c) in spiteof this knowledge, children nevertheless differ from adults in systematic ways, (d) the dif-ferences observed between children and adults can be accounted for on the basis of anindependently motivated, linguistically-based processing model [Geurts, B. (2003). Quan-tifying kids. Language Acquisition, 11(4), 197-218]. In doing so, this work ties togetherresearch on the acquisition of the number vocabulary with a growing body of work onthe development of quantification and sentence processing abilities in young children[Geurts, 2003; Lidz, J., Musolino, J. (2002). Children's command of quantification. Cognition,84, 113-154; Musolino, J., Lidz, J. (2003). The scope of isomorphism: Turning adults intochildren. Language Acquisition, 11(4), 277-291; Trueswell, J., Sekerina, I., Hilland, N., Logrip,M. (1999). The kindergarten-path effect: Studying on-line sentence processing in youngchildren. Cognition, 73, 89-134; Noveck, I. (2001). When children are more logical thanadults: Experimental investigations of scalar implicature. Cognition, 78, 165-188; Noveck,I., Guelminger, R., Georgieff, N., & Labruyere, N. (2007). What autism can tell us about every... not sentences. Journal of Semantics, 24(1), 73-90. On a more general level, this work con-firms the importance of integrating formal and developmental perspectives [Musolino,2004], this time by highlighting the explanatory power of linguistically-based models oflanguage acquisition and by showing that the complex structure postulated by linguistshas important implications for developmental accounts of the number vocabulary.