The DOI matches its Crossref record; 48 of the 49 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
English-Speaking Children's Comprehension of Relative Clauses: Evidence for General-Cognitive and Language-Specific Constraints on Development
Open accessAbstract
Children must possess some ability to process input in a meaningful manner to acquire language. The present study reports on data from an experiment investigating 3- to 5-year-old English-speaking children's understanding of restrictive relative clauses manipulated for embeddedness and focus. The results of the study showed that English-speaking children acquire right-branching before center-embedded structures. Comparisons made with data from Portuguese-speaking children suggest general-cognitive and language-specific constraints on development, and with respect to English, a "clause expansion" approach to processing in development.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The cited source doesn’t support the claim as written.
In the citing paper
“Naturalistic and experimental studies suggest that children acquire subject RCs before object RCs (e.g. Diessel & Tomasello, 2000; Kidd & Bavin, 2002).”
From The ubiquity of frequency effects in first language acquisition (2015) · cites this paper as Kidd & Bavin, 2002
Checked by a reasoning model — may be wrong.
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Linguistic complexity: locality of syntactic dependencies
Gibson, E. (1998) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/s0010-0277(98)00034-1 · Cited by 2,537
The lexical nature of syntactic ambiguity resolution
MacDonald, M. C., Pearlmutter, N. J., & Seidenberg, M. S. (1994) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.101.4.676 · Cited by 2,259
Learning and development in neural networks: the importance of starting small
Elman, J. L. (1993) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/0010-0277(93)90058-4 · Cited by 1,988 · cited 1×
“Elman (1993) has argued along similar lines.”
Maturational constraints on language learning
Newport, E. L. (1990) · Cognitive Science · doi:10.1207/s15516709cog1401_2 · Cited by 1,738
The Crosslinguistic Study of Language Acquisition
Byrnes, H., & Slobin, D. I. (1987) · Modern Language Journal · doi:10.2307/326492 · Cited by 1,247
(1989) · Cited by 1,105
The child language data exchange system
MacWhinney, B., & Snow, C. E. (1985) · Journal of Child Language · doi:10.1017/s0305000900006449 · Cited by 943
Cognitive prerequisites for the development of grammar
Slobin, D. I. (1973) · MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) · Cited by 932
The Crosslinguistic Study of Language Acquisition
(2014) · Psychology Press eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781315805825 · Cited by 834
Rosta, A. (2000) · Language · doi:10.2307/417144 · Cited by 779
The Child Language Data Exchange System: an update
MacWhinney, B., & Snow, C. E. (1990) · Journal of Child Language · doi:10.1017/s0305000900013866 · Cited by 644
Functionalism and the competition model
Bates, E. A., & MacWhinney, B. (1989) · Cited by 611
The role of parallel function in the acquisition of relative clauses in English
Sheldon, A. (1974) · Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior · doi:10.1016/s0022-5371(74)80064-2 · Cited by 490
Hirsh‐Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. M. (1996) · The MIT Press eBooks · doi:10.7551/mitpress/5188.001.0001 · Cited by 344
Complex sentences: acquisition of syntactic connectives and the semantic relations they encode
Bloom, L. M., Lahey, M., Hood, L., Lifter, K., & Fiess, K. (1980) · Journal of Child Language · doi:10.1017/s0305000900002610 · Cited by 307
Language Processing and Language Acquisition
Frazier, L., & de Villiers, J. G. (1990) · Studies in theoretical psycholinguistics · doi:10.1007/978-94-011-3808-6 · Cited by 250
Newport, E. L. (1988) · Language Sciences · doi:10.1016/0388-0001(88)90010-1 · Cited by 247
Investigations in Universal Grammar
Crain, S., & Thornton, R. (2000) · The MIT Press eBooks · doi:10.7551/mitpress/3948.001.0001 · Cited by 223
Language development from two to three
(1992) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.29-5379 · Cited by 223
Fodor, J. D. (1998) · Journal of Psycholinguistic Research · doi:10.1023/a:1023255705029 · Cited by 200
Competence and processing in children's grammar of relative clauses
Goodluck, H., & Tavakolian, S. L. (1982) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/0010-0277(82)90002-6 · Cited by 194
Thomas, M. (1995) · Language · doi:10.2307/416206 · Cited by 167
Children's comprehension of relative clauses
de Villiers, J. G., Tager-Flusberg, H. B., Hakuta, K., & Cohen, M. (1979) · Journal of Psycholinguistic Research · doi:10.1007/bf01067332 · Cited by 160
Language development from two to three . By Lois Bloom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
Budwig, N. A. (1995) · Language · doi:10.2307/416222 · Cited by 158
The positional tendencies of sentential noun phrases in universal grammar
Dryer, M. S. (1980) · The Canadian Journal of Linguistics / La revue canadienne de linguistique · doi:10.1017/s0008413100009373 · Cited by 156
Developmental Differences in Visual and Auditory Processing of Complex Sentences
Booth, J. R., Whinney, B. M., & Harasaki, Y. (2000) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00203 · Cited by 126
An alternative assessment of children's comprehension of relative clauses
Corrêa, L. M. S. (1995) · Journal of Psycholinguistic Research · doi:10.1007/bf02145355 · Cited by 123
McKee, C., McDaniel, D., & Snedeker, J. (1998) · Journal of Psycholinguistic Research · doi:10.1023/a:1024901029643 · Cited by 118
Acquisition of complementation
Bloom, L. M., Rispoli, M., Gartner, B., & Hafitz, J. (1989) · Journal of Child Language · doi:10.1017/s0305000900013465 · Cited by 101
Crain, S., McKee, C., & Emiliani, M. (1990) · Studies in theoretical psycholinguistics · doi:10.1007/978-94-011-3808-6_14 · Cited by 94
Learning to in complement constructions
Bloom, L., Tackeff, J., & Lahey, M. (1984) · Journal of Child Language · doi:10.1017/s0305000900005833 · Cited by 89
How Children’s Relatives Solve a Problem for Minimalism
McDaniel, D., McKee, C., & Bernstein, J. B. (1998) · Language · doi:10.1353/lan.1998.0177 · Cited by 84
Processing Complex Sentences: A Cross-linguistic Study
Bates, E. A. (1999) · Language and Cognitive Processes · doi:10.1080/016909699386383 · Cited by 73
Child language data exchange system
(1984) · Journal of Child Language · doi:10.1017/s0305000900006139 · Cited by 61
Children's comprehension of comparative forms
Townsend, D. (1974) · Journal of Experimental Child Psychology · doi:10.1016/0022-0965(74)90109-x · Cited by 33
When grammar wins over sense: Children's judgments of extraposed relatives
Goodluck, H. (1989) · Journal of Psycholinguistic Research · doi:10.1007/bf01067185 · Cited by 33
Strategies in the Comprehension of Relative Clauses
Cook, V. J. (1975) · Language and Speech · doi:10.1177/002383097501800302 · Cited by 32
Structural complexity and the time course of grammatical development
Frank, R. (1998) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/s0010-0277(98)00024-9 · Cited by 24
The Development of Relative Clause Functions in Narrative
Dasinger, L., & Toupin, C. (2013) · doi:10.4324/9780203773512-17 · Cited by 21
Immediate memory for words from main and subordinate clauses at different age levels
Townsend, D., Ottaviano, D., & Bever, T. G. (1979) · Journal of Psycholinguistic Research · doi:10.1007/bf01067133 · Cited by 20
Children's strategies for interpreting complex comparative questions
Townsend, D., & Erb, M. (1975) · Journal of Child Language · doi:10.1017/s0305000900001094 · Cited by 18
The Grammatical Nature of the Acquisition Sequence: Adjoin-A and the Formation of Relative Clauses
Lebeaux, D. (1990) · Studies in theoretical psycholinguistics · doi:10.1007/978-94-011-3808-6_2 · Cited by 18
Comprehension of Relative Clauses By Children Aged Five To Nine Years
Fluck, M. J. (1978) · Language and Speech · doi:10.1177/002383097802100205 · Cited by 12
Introduction: Why Study Acquisition Crosslinguistically?
Slobin, D. I. (2017) · Psychology Press eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781315802541-1 · Cited by 8
The Relative Difficulty of Children’s Comprehension of Relative Clauses: A Procedural Account
Corrêa, L. M. S. (2018) · Psychology Press eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781315789224-11 · Cited by 8
The Status of Grammatical Default Systems: Comments on Lebeaux
Vainikka, A. (1990) · Studies in theoretical psycholinguistics · doi:10.1007/978-94-011-3808-6_3 · Cited by 8
Mazuka, R. (1998) · Cited by 3
Flagged first, then by citations
1 of the 49 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 12
- Correa, L. M. (1982). Strategies in the acquisition of relative clauses. Working Papers of the London Psycholinguistic Research Group, 4, 37–49.
- Fragman, C., & Goodluck, H. (2000). Children's knowledge of the grammar of restrictive relative clauses. In C. Howell et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 24th Boston University Conference on Language Development (299–307). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
- Frazier, L., & Clifton, C., Jr. (1996). Construal. Cambridge: MIT Press.
- Hamburger, H., & Crain, S. (1982). Relative acquisition. In: S. Kuczaj II (Ed.), Language development Vol. 1: Syntax and semantics (245–274). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
- Kuno, S. (1973). Constraints on internal clauses and sentential subjects. Linguistic Inquiry, 4, 363–385.
- Kuno, S. (1974). The position of relative clauses and conjunctions. Linguistic Inquiry, 5, 117–136
- MacWhinney, B., & Bates, E. (1989). The crosslinguistic study of sentence processing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- McCawley, J. D. (1988). The syntactic phenomena of English (Vols. 1 & 2). Chicago: UCP.
- Slobin, D. I. (Ed.). (1992). The crosslinguistic study of language acquisition (Vol. 3). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
- Smith, M. (1974). Relative clause formation between 29-36 months: a preliminary report. Papers and Reports on Child Language Development, 8, 104–110.
- Smith, K., & McMahon, L. (1970). Understanding order information in sentences: Some recent work at Bell Laboratories. In: G. Flores d'Arcais & W. Levelt (Eds.), Advances in psycholinguistics (45–69). Amsterdam: North-Holland.
- Tavakolian, S. (1981). The conjoined clause analysis of relative clauses. In: S. Tavakolian (Ed.), Language acquisition and linguistic theory (167–187). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
A critical period for second language acquisition: Evidence from 2/3 million English speakers
Hartshorne, J. K., Tenenbaum, J. B., & Pinker, S. (2018) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2018.04.007 · Cited by 625
The ubiquity of frequency effects in first language acquisition
AMBRIDGE, B., KIDD, E., ROWLAND, C. F., & THEAKSTON, A. L. (2015) · Journal of Child Language · doi:10.1017/s030500091400049x · Cited by 589
Self-citationA new look at the acquisition of relative clauses
Diessel, H., & Tomasello, M. (2005) · Language · doi:10.1353/lan.2005.0169 · Cited by 342
Comparing Narrative and Expository Text Construction Across Adolescence: A Developmental Paradox
Berman, R. A., & Nir, B. (2007) · Discourse Processes · doi:10.1080/01638530709336894 · Cited by 350
The development of relative clauses in spontaneous child speech
(2001) · Cognitive Linguistics · doi:10.1515/cogl.2001.006 · Cited by 221
Metadata
- Authors
- Kidd, E., & Bavin, E. L.
- Affiliations
- La Trobe University (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Kidd, Evan
- Venue
- Journal of Psycholinguistic Research
- Published
- 2002-11
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 599-617
- ISSN
- 0090-6905 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-6555
- OpenAlex
- W294487447
- Cited by
- 103
- References
- 49
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 2.65
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Psycholinguistic Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
- Keywords
- relative clauses, restrictive relative clauses, child language acquisition, embeddedness, focus, Portuguese-speaking children, English-speaking children
- MeSH terms
- Child, Preschool, Cognition, Female, Humans, Language, Linguistics, Male, Speech Perception
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review