When do Children Avoid Backwards Coreference?

Authors

Jennifer Ryan Hsu, William Paterson UniversityFollow
Helen Smith Cairns, City University of New YorkFollow
Sarita Eisenberg, Montclair State UniversityFollow
Gloria Schlisselberg, Hofstra University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-1991

Journal / Book Title

Journal of Child Language

Abstract

This study investigated the claim that very young children avoid backwards coreference in their interpretation of sentences containing pronouns. Eighty-one children ranging in age from 3; 1 to 8;o and eight adults acted out four types of pronominal sentences. Cross-sectional data and individual response patterns reveal that children initially. prefer internal coreference even when such a response is disallowed for structural reasons. Avoidance of backwards coreference appears to be a late developing phenomenon characteristic of six-year-olds. Adult response patterns, which are manifested by some very young children, emerge as the dominant pattern by age seven.

DOI

10.1017/S0305000900011090

Montclair State University Digital Commons Citation

Hsu, Jennifer Ryan; Cairns, Helen Smith; Eisenberg, Sarita; and Schlisselberg, Gloria, "When do Children Avoid Backwards Coreference?" (1991). Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works. 146.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/communcsci-disorders-facpubs/146

Published Citation

Hsu, J. R., Cairns, H. S., Eisenberg, S., & Schlisselberg, G. (1991). When do children avoid backwards coreference?. Journal of child language, 18(2), 339–353. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0305000900011090