Scales and Non-scales in (Hebrew) Child Language

Abstract

This paper reports adult and child knowledge of the generalized scalar implicature (GCI) of disjunction, the non-scalar ‘Allover’ GCI and the particularized no-contrast implicature. The contributions of scales, generalization, and relational complexity to the developmental difficulty of phenomena at the semantic–pragmatic interface are discussed. Results show that children as old as 9 years do not demonstrate adultlike knowledge of the scalar GCI of disjunction or the no-contrast PCI, while the ‘Allover’ GCI is demonstrated at 5 years. We conclude that the quaternary level relational complexity of the later developing implicature and the ternary level complexity of the earlier developing implicature, as analyzed by Halford et al. (1998) Relational Complexity Metric, can account for this developmental pattern, and not scales or generality.