Grasping the Logic Behind: Three- and Four-year-olds' Understanding of Major Types of Chinese Connectives.

Abstract

Logical connectives are key in language development because they help children interpret and produce complex sentences. The understanding of connectives also reflects how well children master basic logical relations hence sheds light on the emergence of more advanced cognitive abilities. The present study assessed 3- and 4-year-olds’ understanding of four types of connectives in Chinese. Sixty children watched puppet shows during which they had to identify the target puppet according to sentences that contained connectives. Eye-tracking results indicated that 3-year-olds could comprehend all coordinate connectives and two conditional connectives but not selective and adversative ones while 4-year-olds showed basic understanding of all types of connectives. These findings provide preliminary evidence that the understanding of commonly used Chinese connectives and logical relations advances during the third and fourth year of development.