Abstract Efficient communication requires the interplay of linguistic, cognitive and social skills, including the ability to make contextual inferences and to understand others’ intentions and emotions. The capacity to effectively use language in specific contexts (i.e., pragmatic ability) develops with age, and an assessment of this ability is important for understanding both typical and atypical development. The Pragma test was originally developed and validated on Finnish children to assess social-pragmatic comprehension. The present study utilizes a slightly adapted version of the Pragma test, translated into Italian, and presents the results of the test given to 110 typically developing Italian children (4–8 years of age). The Italian version of the Pragma test shows content and concurrent validity, interrater reliability, and internal consistency, and it proves to be sensitive in detecting an age-dependent pattern of performance, across pre-school and school age children, in the pragmatic parameters investigated. The present study has ramifications for clinical contexts, as data for typical pragmatic development enables identification of strengths and weaknesses in the pragmatic performance in clinical populations. Finally, the results indicate that the Pragma test is relevant to both Finnish and Italian cultural contexts, thus providing the opportunity to make cross-cultural comparisons.

中文翻译：

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意大利学龄前儿童和学龄儿童的社会语用语境理解：使用语用测试的研究

摘要 有效的沟通需要语言、认知和社交技能的相互作用，包括做出上下文推断和理解他人意图和情绪的能力。在特定环境中有效使用语言的能力（即语用能力）随着年龄的增长而发展，评估这种能力对于理解典型和非典型发展都很重要。Pragma 测试最初是针对芬兰儿童开发和验证的，用于评估社会语用理解。本研究使用了稍加修改的 Pragma 测试版本，翻译成意大利语，并展示了对 110 名典型发育中的意大利儿童（4-8 岁）的测试结果。意大利语版的 Pragma 测试显示内容和同时效度、评价者间信度、和内部一致性，并且在所调查的语用参数中被证明在检测学龄前和学龄儿童的年龄依赖性表现模式方面很敏感。本研究对临床环境有影响，因为典型语用发展的数据能够识别临床人群中语用表现的优势和劣势。最后，结果表明 Pragma 测试与芬兰和意大利的文化背景相关，因此提供了进行跨文化比较的机会。作为典型语用发展的数据，可以识别临床人群中语用表现的优势和劣势。最后，结果表明 Pragma 测试与芬兰和意大利的文化背景相关，因此提供了进行跨文化比较的机会。作为典型语用发展的数据，可以识别临床人群中语用表现的优势和劣势。最后，结果表明 Pragma 测试与芬兰和意大利的文化背景相关，因此提供了进行跨文化比较的机会。