Rethinking the pronoun comprehension delay
Jacolien van Rij , Petra Hendriks , and Hedderik van Rijn
1,2
1
1
2
Center for Language and Cognition Groningen, University of Groningen; 2 Department of Artificial Intelligence, University of Groningen
Children’s performance on pronouns is asymmetric: correct production, but incorrect
comprehension. Is this asymmetry dependent on processing speed?
Delay of Principle B Effect
ፚፚ Children show a delay in acquisition of
pronoun comprehension (DPBE)
(e.g., Chien & Wexler, 1990):
reflexive
Theoretical assumptions
ፚፚ DPBE is caused by direction-sensitive
grammar (Hendriks & Spenader, 2005/2006).
ፚፚ Based on our hypotheses we designed a
computational ACT-R model of the DPBE:
The penguin is hitting The penguin is hitting
himself with a pan.
him with a pan.
incorrect
next
word
children:
ፚፚ Adults consider the perspectives of hearer
and speaker:
If a speaker intended to express a
coreferential meaning, he/she would have
used a reflexive (himself).
f
→
m→
f’
“him”
next
word
adults:
f
→
m→
f’
time
hearers’
perspective
input
form
f
correct from 3;0
“him”
ፚፚ Children only consider their own perspective,
therefore pronouns (him) are ambiguous.
pronoun
coreferential
interpretation
Predictions
speakers’
perspective
optimal
meaning
m
disjoint
interpretation
reflexive
coreferential
incorrect up to 6;6
pronoun
disjoint
optimal
form
f
´
!
!"#$%&'(%)&*$*+!"!
reflexive
m
pronoun
ፚፚ Children cannot consider both perspectives
within the available time. Adults’ processing
is more efficient.
ፚፚ Prediction: If given more time, children’s
performance on pronoun comprehension
will increase.
“him”
ፚፚ Production is correct from age 4;7
next
word
f
=
f
´
?
(e.g., De Villiers, et al., 2006).
f
→
m→
f’
ፚፚ Further, time for interpretation is limited.
time
ፚፚ Children are given more time for
interpretation by slowing-down the speech
rate.
ፚፚ Yes-bias: Children show a
tendency to say ‘yes’ over ‘no’
ፚፚ Task: Truth Value Judgment Task. Is the
sentence a correct description of the picture?
ፚፚ Performance on pronoun
mismatch sentences is increased
as an effect of slowed-down
speech.
(cf., Chien & Wexler, 1990).
Percentage correct interpretations
0
20 40 60 80 100
Results of children who show the DPBE
Experiment
Pronoun comprehension
(him)
Reflexive comprehension
(himself)
Mismatch
Match
**
Normal
speech rate
Slow
speech rate
*
Normal
speech rate
Slow
speech rate
error bars: ± 2*sd
ፚፚ Conditions:
Normal speech rate: 4.0 syll/sec.
Slow speech rate: 2.7 syll/sec.
ፚፚ Participants:
62 native Dutch-speaking children, of which
34 children (age 4;1-6;2, mean 4;11) showed
the DPBE and 14 (age 4;2-6;0, mean 5;5)
showed correct performance (> 80% correct).
ፚፚ In contrast, for children who do
not show the DPBE anymore,
we found a negative effect of
slowed-down speech.
ፚፚ So slowed-down speech does
not have a beneficial effect on
comprehension in general.
Percentage correct interpretations
0
20 40 60 80 100
Results of children who do not show the DPBE
“The monkey is biting him in a leg.”
Pronoun comprehension
(him)
Reflexive comprehension
(himself)
Mismatch
Match
***
Normal
speech rate
Slow
speech rate
Normal
speech rate
Slow
speech rate
error bars: ± 2*sd
Conclusion: Slower speech rate has a beneficial effect on children’s comprehension of pronouns, but only
if the child displays a DPBE. This supports the hypothesis that the DPBE is caused by children’s insufficient
processing speed, as a result of which they cannot take into account the speaker’s perspective.
Information: www.let.rug.nl/jacolienvanrij