Abstract
  Generic
sentences (e.g.,
GijAhAn be ?Ab nijAz dArÓnd âPlants
need waterâ) refer to essential, enduring and timeless properties of the category
and play a crucial role in the developmental trend of childrensâ conceptual
processing. Interpreting generic sentences requires integration of multiple
linguistic and non-linguistic cues rather than implementing a simple rule. The
present study focused on 3-4 and 4-5 year-oldsâ (N = 16) use of morphosyntactic
cues to determine whether the NP in subject position of a sentence is generic
or not. The results of the data analysis revealed that in both morphological
and syntactic experiments, children in the 4-5 age group had higher level of linguistic
ability in the comprehension and production of generic noun phrases compared to
children in the 3-4 age group. Also, children of both age groups used
morphological cues rather than syntactic ones to process generic noun phrases.
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