Çabuk-Ballı Sakine, Küntay Aylin C, Widmer Paul, Stoll Sabine
Institute for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
Department of Psychology, Koç University, Turkey.
First Lang. 2025 Jun 19;45(5):596-621. doi: 10.1177/01427237251336806. eCollection 2025 Oct.
The acquisition of negation is a key milestone in early language development that enables children to express rejection, non-existence, and deny propositions. In this study, we ask whether the development of the functions of negation follows a universal trajectory or varies based on language-specific features and environmental input. We investigate the acquisition of negative functions in 10 children (age = 2;00-3;00) across five typologically maximally diverse languages: Chintang (Sino-Tibetan), English (Indo-European), Indonesian (Austronesian), Sesotho (Bantu), and Turkish (Turkic). Our findings reveal language-specific developmental trajectories within our sample. Notable differences include variations in the frequency of in child speech and in the ambient language. A strong correlation emerged between the presence of these negative functions in child-directed speech and their use by children. Across the five languages, children pre-dominantly use declarative negative sentences and begin gradually incorporating imperative forms into their repertoire of negative utterances over time. The emergence of negative questions occurs towards the end of age 2, but remains a minor component of children's negative expressions. The overall pattern observed in our maximum diversity sample highlights the significant role of child-directed input and cross-cultural variation in shaping the developmental trajectory of negative functions.
对否定的习得是早期语言发展中的一个关键里程碑，它使儿童能够表达拒绝、不存在以及否定命题。在本研究中，我们探讨否定功能的发展是遵循普遍轨迹，还是因语言特定特征和环境输入而有所不同。我们调查了10名年龄在2;00至3;00岁之间的儿童对否定功能的习得情况，这些儿童分别使用五种类型上差异极大的语言：钦唐语（汉藏语系）、英语（印欧语系）、印尼语（南岛语系）、塞索托语（班图语系）和土耳其语（突厥语系）。我们的研究结果揭示了样本中特定于语言的发展轨迹。显著差异包括儿童言语中否定词的频率以及周围语言中的否定词频率的变化。儿童导向言语中这些否定功能的出现与儿童对它们的使用之间出现了很强的相关性。在这五种语言中，儿童主要使用陈述性否定句，并且随着时间的推移，逐渐开始将祈使形式纳入其否定话语的表达中。否定疑问句在2岁末出现，但在儿童的否定表达中仍然占比很小。在我们这个最大程度多样化的样本中观察到的总体模式凸显了儿童导向输入和跨文化差异在塑造否定功能发展轨迹方面的重要作用。
