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The development of young children's capacity to judge anomalous sentences*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2008

Diane B. Carr
Diane B. Carr
Affiliation:
Torphichen Education Centre, Edinburgh
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Abstract

Judgements about the acceptability of anomalous and non-anomalous sentences were elicited from children between the ages of 2; 0 and 5; 0. Generally such judgements have been assumed to be a direct reflection of linguistic competence. Longitudinal study of individual children indicated that developmental changes in children's judgemental capacities were erratic, with sudden regressions in performance as well as sudden improvements. This was especially true of the youngest children, aged between 2; 0 and 3; 6. It appeared that, despite irregularity, certain general developmental patterns could be discerned. It is difficult to reconcile these findings with a view of sentence judgements which assumes that they directly represent linguistic competence. It is suggested that the most satisfactory explanation of the developmental data must rest on the assumption that not simply linguistic factors, but also cognitive/experiential factors are involved in sentence judgements.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , June 1979 , pp. 227 - 241
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1979

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References

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