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Talking about comparisons: a study of young children's comparative adjective usage*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2008

Dena Gitterman and
Judith R. Johnston
Dena Gitterman
Affiliation:
Indiana University
Judith R. Johnston
Affiliation:
Indiana University
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Abstract

This study explores factors other than the concept of comparison which influence the learning of specific comparative adjective forms, namely, (a) the nature of the perceptual input, and (b) the nature of the event. Thirty subjects, age 4; 5 to 7; 9, were asked to describe objects reflecting various attribute differences in both multiple-object comparison and single-object, dynamic-change tasks. Children used comparative adjectives to talk about dynamic changes prior to static comparisons, and attributes based on visual or tactile input were easier than those based on both. These results are interpreted as indicating that perceptual cue redundancy and heterogeneity affects the learning of attribute dimensions, and that children first use the -er suffix in a non-comparative sense.

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Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 10 , Issue 3 , October 1983, pp. 605 - 621
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

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References

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