How Adults and Children Interpret Disjunction under Negation in Dutch, French, Hungarian and Italian: A Cross-Linguistic Comparison

In English, a sentence like “The cat didn’t eat the carrot or pepper” typically receives “neither” interpretation; in Japanese it “not this not that” interpretation. These two interpretations are subset/superset relation, such that interpretation (strong reading) asymmetrically entails (weak reading). This asymmetrical entailment raises learnability problem. According to Semantic Subset Principle, all language learners, regardless of they exposed to, start by assigning strong reading, since makes sentences true narrowest range circumstances.). If is children’s initial hypothesis, then children acquiring superset will be able revise their hypothesis on basis positive evidence.The aim present study test an additional account proposed Pagliarini, Crain, Guasti (2018) as possible explanation for earlier convergence adult grammar Italian children. The tested here presence lexical form recursive né unambiguously conveys meaning, would lead converge due blocking effect inventory negated disjunction forms language. We compared data from (taken Guasti, 2018), French, Hungarian and Dutch. Dutch was baseline French have – similarly expresses (ni ni sem sem, respectively). Our results did support however, discussed light language-specific particularities syntax semantics negation.