Young children’s (n = 108) and adults’ (n = 40) ability to compute ad-hoc quantity conversational implicatures was assessed using a new implicit task that relied on eye-tracking. The children were 2 and 5 years old. Looking times reveal that all participants interpreted simple references by relying on implicatures. However, 2-year-olds failed to derive standard ad-hoc implicatures and succeeded only on a novel type of implicature based on typicality, which was proposed with the aim of reducing the salience of non-target potential referents. These results suggest that even toddlers are able to derive conversational implicatures and that domain-general inhibitory demands, rather than domain-specific limitations in pragmatic reasoning, may play a crucial role in children’s difficulties with implicatures.

Ad-Hoc Conversational Implicatures in Two-Year-Olds / Franchin, Laura; Porrini, Teresa; Surian, Luca. - In: LANGUAGE LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT. - ISSN 1547-5441. - 2023:(2023), pp. 1-13. [10.1080/15475441.2023.2277468]

Ad-Hoc Conversational Implicatures in Two-Year-Olds

Franchin, Laura
Primo
;
Porrini, Teresa;Surian, Luca
2023-01-01

Abstract

Young children’s (n = 108) and adults’ (n = 40) ability to compute ad-hoc quantity conversational implicatures was assessed using a new implicit task that relied on eye-tracking. The children were 2 and 5 years old. Looking times reveal that all participants interpreted simple references by relying on implicatures. However, 2-year-olds failed to derive standard ad-hoc implicatures and succeeded only on a novel type of implicature based on typicality, which was proposed with the aim of reducing the salience of non-target potential referents. These results suggest that even toddlers are able to derive conversational implicatures and that domain-general inhibitory demands, rather than domain-specific limitations in pragmatic reasoning, may play a crucial role in children’s difficulties with implicatures.
2023
Franchin, Laura; Porrini, Teresa; Surian, Luca
Ad-Hoc Conversational Implicatures in Two-Year-Olds / Franchin, Laura; Porrini, Teresa; Surian, Luca. - In: LANGUAGE LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT. - ISSN 1547-5441. - 2023:(2023), pp. 1-13. [10.1080/15475441.2023.2277468]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11572/393409
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