Children's understanding of factive presuppositions

An experiment and a review

Dados Bibliográficos

ID20366290
AutoresRichard P Scoville, Richard Scoville (0000-0001-5627-6282, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Alice M Gordon (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Ano1980
Volume7
Fascículo2
Páginas381-399
Data de publicação1980-06-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Child Language (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0305-0009 • E-ISSN: 1469-7602
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0305000900002695
PMID7410501
OpenAlexW2160858435
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas16

This paper presents a study of children's ability to recognize the presuppositions of sentences with factive and nonfactive verbs, and a review of recent research on the acquisition of factive presuppositions. In the present study, subjects in grades K, 2, 5 and 8, and adults, were asked to judge the truth of the complement clauses of sentences of the form ‘Doctor Fact (verb) that the ball is (is not) blue.’ The task was presented in the context of a television quiz show, with subjects as putative contestants. A tendency was found among younger subjects to overgeneralize the scope of negation of complement verbs into the main clauses of factive sentences. A gradual increase in comprehension of factive and nonfactive verbs was found, extending into adolescence. In a comparison of the present results with those of several recent studies, marked differences were found in the age of acquisition of factivity. These differences are discussed in terms of variations in task requirements and assessment techniques. It is concluded that acquisition proceeds on a verb-by-verb basis, rather than as a unitary process

Comprehension · Linguistics · Negation · Presupposition · Verb · Computer Science · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Language Development and Disorders · Philosophy · Psychology · Reading and Literacy Development