Individual differences in the acquisition of number markers

Abstract

Sentences conveying either non-redundant or increasingly redundant information about number were presented to 22 nursery school children. Comprehension of sentential number was tested by means of a picture-pointing and an acting-out task. Overall findings showed that sentences containing several number markers were interpreted more reliably than those with only one number marker, and that number markers occurring in a noun phrase were better understood than those occurring in a verb phrase. Analysis of individual data revealed three different response patterns, showing that redundant number marking is used in more than one way during the acquisition of the number system.