Cross-linguistic patterns in the acquisition of quantifiers

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

doi:10.1073/pnas.1601341113

Cross-linguistic patterns in the acquisition of quantifiers

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

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review

41 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

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 languageand learner-specific factors, such as negative concord and gender, are significant predictors of variation.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	9244-9249
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume	113
Issue number	33
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1601341113
Publication status	Published - 16 Aug 2016

Keywords

Language acquisition
Pragmatics
Quantifiers
Semantics
Universals

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10.1073/pnas.1601341113

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Katsos, N., Cummins, C., Ezeizabarrena, M. J., Gavarró, A., Kraljević, J. K., Hrzica, G., Grohmann, K. K., Skordi, A., De López, K. J., Sundahl, L., Van Hout, A., Hollebrandse, B., Overweg, J., Faber, M., Van Koert, M., Smith, N., Vija, M., Zupping, S., Kunnari, S., ... Noveck, I. (2016). Cross-linguistic patterns in the acquisition of quantifiers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113(33), 9244-9249. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1601341113

@article{ae9184af7cb04f97b20d2eff68780c06,

title = "Cross-linguistic patterns in the acquisition of quantifiers",

abstract = "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 languageand learner-specific factors, such as negative concord and gender, are significant predictors of variation.",

keywords = "Language acquisition, Pragmatics, Quantifiers, Semantics, Universals",

author = "Napoleon Katsos and Chris Cummins and Ezeizabarrena, {Maria Jos{\'e}} and Anna Gavarr{\'o} and Kraljevi{\'c}, {Jelena KuvǍc} and Gordana Hrzica and Grohmann, {Kleanthes K.} and Athina Skordi and {De L{\'o}pez}, {Kristine Jensen} and Lone Sundahl and {Van Hout}, Angeliek and Bart Hollebrandse and Jessica Overweg and Myrthe Faber and {Van Koert}, Margreet and Nafsika Smith and Maigi Vija and Sirli Zupping and Sari Kunnari and Tiffany Morisseau and Manana Rusieshvili and Kazuko Yatsushiro and Anja Fengler and Spyridoula Varlokosta and Katerina Konstantzou and Shira Farby and Guasti, {Maria Teresa} and Mirta Vernice and Reiko Okabe and Miwa Isobe and Peter Crosthwaite and Yoonjee Hong and Ingrida Bal{\v C}iuniene and Nizar, {Yanti Marina Ahmad} and Helen Grech and Daniela Gatt and Cheong, {Win Nee} and Arve Asbj{\o}rnsen and {Von Torkildsen}, {Janne Koss} and Ewa Haman and Aneta Miȩkisz and Natalia Gagarina and Julia Puzanova and Darinka Andelkovi{\'c} and Maja Savi{\'c} and Smiljana Jo{\v s}i{\'c} and Daniela Sla{\v n}cov{\'a} and Svetlana Kapalkov{\'a} and Tania Barber{\'a}n and Duygu {\"O}zge and Saima Hassan and Chan, {Cecilia Yuet Hung} and Tomoya Okubo and {Van Der Lely}, Heather and Uli Sauerland and Ira Noveck",

year = "2016",

month = aug,

day = "16",

doi = "10.1073/pnas.1601341113",

language = "English",

volume = "113",

pages = "9244--9249",

journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America",

issn = "0027-8424",

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Katsos, N, Cummins, C, Ezeizabarrena, MJ, Gavarró, A, Kraljević, JK, Hrzica, G, Grohmann, KK, Skordi, A, De López, KJ, Sundahl, L, Van Hout, A, Hollebrandse, B, Overweg, J, Faber, M, Van Koert, M, Smith, N, Vija, M, Zupping, S, Kunnari, S, Morisseau, T, Rusieshvili, M, Yatsushiro, K, Fengler, A, Varlokosta, S, Konstantzou, K, Farby, S, Guasti, MT, Vernice, M, Okabe, R, Isobe, M, Crosthwaite, P, Hong, Y, BalČiuniene, I, Nizar, YMA, Grech, H, Gatt, D, Cheong, WN, Asbjørnsen, A, Von Torkildsen, JK, Haman, E, Miȩkisz, A, Gagarina, N, Puzanova, J, Andelković, D, Savić, M, Jošić, S, Slaňcová, D, Kapalková, S, Barberán, T, Özge, D, Hassan, S, Chan, CYH, Okubo, T, Van Der Lely, H, Sauerland, U & Noveck, I 2016, 'Cross-linguistic patterns in the acquisition of quantifiers', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 113, no. 33, pp. 9244-9249. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1601341113

TY - JOUR

T1 - Cross-linguistic patterns in the acquisition of quantifiers

AU - Katsos, Napoleon

AU - Cummins, Chris

AU - Ezeizabarrena, Maria José

AU - Gavarró, Anna

AU - Kraljević, Jelena KuvǍc

AU - Hrzica, Gordana

AU - Grohmann, Kleanthes K.

AU - Skordi, Athina

AU - De López, Kristine Jensen

AU - Sundahl, Lone

AU - Van Hout, Angeliek

AU - Hollebrandse, Bart

AU - Overweg, Jessica

AU - Faber, Myrthe

AU - Van Koert, Margreet

AU - Smith, Nafsika

AU - Vija, Maigi

AU - Zupping, Sirli

AU - Kunnari, Sari

AU - Morisseau, Tiffany

AU - Rusieshvili, Manana

AU - Yatsushiro, Kazuko

AU - Fengler, Anja

AU - Varlokosta, Spyridoula

AU - Konstantzou, Katerina

AU - Farby, Shira

AU - Guasti, Maria Teresa

AU - Vernice, Mirta

AU - Okabe, Reiko

AU - Isobe, Miwa

AU - Crosthwaite, Peter

AU - Hong, Yoonjee

AU - BalČiuniene, Ingrida

AU - Nizar, Yanti Marina Ahmad

AU - Grech, Helen

AU - Gatt, Daniela

AU - Cheong, Win Nee

AU - Asbjørnsen, Arve

AU - Von Torkildsen, Janne Koss

AU - Haman, Ewa

AU - Miȩkisz, Aneta

AU - Gagarina, Natalia

AU - Puzanova, Julia

AU - Andelković, Darinka

AU - Savić, Maja

AU - Jošić, Smiljana

AU - Slaňcová, Daniela

AU - Kapalková, Svetlana

AU - Barberán, Tania

AU - Özge, Duygu

AU - Hassan, Saima

AU - Chan, Cecilia Yuet Hung

AU - Okubo, Tomoya

AU - Van Der Lely, Heather

AU - Sauerland, Uli

AU - Noveck, Ira

PY - 2016/8/16

Y1 - 2016/8/16

N2 - 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 languageand learner-specific factors, such as negative concord and gender, are significant predictors of variation.

AB - 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 languageand learner-specific factors, such as negative concord and gender, are significant predictors of variation.

KW - Language acquisition

KW - Pragmatics

KW - Quantifiers

KW - Semantics

KW - Universals

U2 - 10.1073/pnas.1601341113

DO - 10.1073/pnas.1601341113

M3 - Article

SN - 0027-8424

VL - 113

SP - 9244

EP - 9249

JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

IS - 33

ER -

Cross-linguistic patterns in the acquisition of quantifiers

Abstract

Keywords

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