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Do children interpret ‘marked’ comparative adjectives as their opposites?*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2008

David J. Townsend
David J. Townsend
Affiliation:
Montclair State College
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Abstract

Children aged 2;6–4;0 were asked questions containing comparative and superlative forms of adjectives from pairs designated as unmarked/marked or simply positive/negative. Children's answers required a choice of one out of five objects. Differences in frequency of correct responses were generally greater between unmarked/marked pairs than between simple positive/negative pairs, but the response of ‘greatest extent’ to marked adjective questions was seldom a significantly common error. Linguistic arguments for the unmarked/marked distinction in comparative adjectives are reviewed, and it is concluded that there is no linguistic or behavioural evidence for a marking explanation of children's difficulty with ‘marked’ comparative adjectives.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 3 , Issue 3 , October 1976 , pp. 385 - 396
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1976

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References

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