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Updated: Jul 19, 2026
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The (Spatial) Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition
Published on: February 19, 2018
Spatial and temporal locations in child Jordanian Arabic
Perceptual and Motor Skills
|April 1, 1996
Summary
Cognitive development significantly impacts how children learn spatial and temporal language. Children found spatial contrasts easier than temporal ones, with more complex sentences posing greater difficulty.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Language acquisition is influenced by cognitive development.
- Understanding spatial and temporal concepts is crucial for language development.
- Jordanian Arabic presents unique linguistic features for studying language acquisition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of cognitive development in acquiring spatial and temporal linguistic systems.
- To analyze how age affects the comprehension of spatial and temporal contrasts in Jordanian Arabic.
- To explore the relationship between linguistic complexity and cognitive load in young learners.
Main Methods:
- A comprehension test using a sentence-picture matching task was administered to 60 Jordanian children aged 2-6 years.
- The test included minimal morphological contrasts, focusing on spatial (e.g., 'in/on') and temporal (e.g., past/future tense) distinctions.
- Problems varied in complexity, requiring either one or multiple referent objects/events.
Main Results:
- Significant age-related changes were observed in language acquisition.
- Linguistic contrasts involving multiple referents were found to be more challenging than those with single referents.
- Spatial contrasts were generally easier for children to comprehend compared to temporal contrasts.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive development plays a key role in mastering spatial and temporal language systems.
- The complexity of linguistic structures, particularly those involving multiple referents, impacts acquisition ease.
- Findings contribute to understanding the interplay between language, thought, and cognitive development during childhood language acquisition.
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