ABSTRACT

The present study reports a large, cross-sectional study of Mandarin-speaking children’s ability to compute quantity implicatures. To chart the developmental trajectory of this pragmatic ability, we tested 225 Mandarin-speaking children aged 4–8 years on their interpretations of scalar and non-scalar implicatures, as well as numerals. Scalar implicatures were difficult and we did not observe consistent success until age 6. In contrast, by 4 years of age this group was already able to compute non-scalar implicatures and the exact readings of numerals at adult-like rates. The implications of the current findings are discussed in relation to children’s development of pragmatic inference, highlighting the relevance of cross-linguistic data in understanding pragmatic development.

摘要

本研究报告了一项关于说普通话的儿童计算数量含义的能力的大型横断面研究。为了描绘这种语用能力的发展轨迹，我们测试了 225 名 4-8 岁说普通话的儿童对标量和非标量含义以及数字的解释。标量含义很困难，我们直到 6 岁才观察到一致的成功。相比之下，到 4 岁时，这组人已经能够以成人般的速度计算非标量含义和数字的精确读数。讨论了当前研究结果对儿童语用推理发展的影响，强调了跨语言数据在理解语用发展方面的相关性。