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A cross-linguistic perspective on the development of temporal systems
R M Weist1, H Wysocka, P Lyytinen
1Department of Psychology, State University of New York, Fredonia 14063.
Journal of Child Language
|February 1, 1991
Summary
Children
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Linguistics
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Temporal concepts are crucial for language development.
- Understanding time involves transitioning from absolute to relative temporal relations.
- Cross-linguistic studies reveal universal and language-specific developmental patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the developmental trajectory of temporal location understanding in children.
- To examine the shift from absolute to relative temporal systems in language acquisition.
- To compare temporal development across Polish, American, and Finnish children.
Main Methods:
- A cross-linguistic experimental design was employed.
- A two-choice sentence-picture matching task assessed comprehension of temporal distinctions.
- Conversational and narrative discourse were analyzed to compare with comprehension data.
Main Results:
- Polish and American children demonstrated understanding of absolute temporal location by age 2;6.
- Older children in these groups mastered relative temporal location.
- Finnish children showed a delayed pattern in comprehending both absolute and relative temporal relations.
Conclusions:
- Conceptual development imposes universal constraints on temporal understanding.
- Specific linguistic features influence the pace and pattern of temporal development.
- Language acquisition of temporal concepts is shaped by both universal cognitive factors and language-specific structures.