Putting singular and plural morphology in context*.

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Linguistics
• Psycholinguistics

Background:

• Children's acquisition of grammatical number is crucial for language development.
• Understanding singular and plural distinctions involves both linguistic form and pragmatic context.
• Previous research has explored number acquisition, but specific developmental trajectories for Italian articles and verbs require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the developmental trajectory of children's understanding of singular and plural forms in Italian.
• To examine how children learn to associate number (one vs. more than one) with definite articles and verb morphology.
• To determine the age at which children can appropriately use singular and plural forms in relation to the referential context.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving participants aged three to adult.
• Two experiments were conducted: Experiment 1 focused on definite articles, and Experiment 2 on verb agreement.
• Participants were asked to select objects based on singular and plural morphological cues.

Main Results:

• Children demonstrated an understanding of singular forms referring to 'one' by approximately age four.
• Comprehension of plural forms referring to 'more than one' emerged later, around age six.
• Appropriate contextual use of singular and plural knowledge was observed in children around age six.

Conclusions:

• The development of number understanding in Italian is gradual, with singular concepts acquired earlier than plural concepts.
• Mastery of plural morphology and its pragmatic application develops significantly after the age of six.
• This study provides insights into the specific linguistic and pragmatic milestones in Italian number acquisition.