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Children's interpretation of referential ambiguities and pragmatic inference*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2008

Serge Bredart
Serge Bredart
Affiliation:
University of Liège
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Abstract

The verbal responses of 22 second graders, 24 fourth graders and 22 sixth graders to ambiguous and clear messages were recorded. Children's referential choices were analysed. After the ambiguous messages, children (from the age of seven years) chose preferentially a referent with only the feature described in the message rather than a referent with this feature plus another one. The results support the Jackson & Jacobs' hypothesis (1982) that children use an interpretative strategy based on a presupposition about the speaker's co-operation. But the results may also support a hypothesis that children use an information-processing rule not necessarily related to a presupposition about the speaker's co-operation.

Information

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , October 1984 , pp. 665 - 672
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1984

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References

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