The Scope Relation between Quantifiers and Neg in Child Japanese : An Interim Report

This paper reports the result of the pilot experiment investigating how Japanese-speaking children interpret simple negative sentences containing quantifiers in the object position. The result of the experiment on Japanese-speaking children does not substantiate children's ability to compute the scope relation between quantifiers and Neg on the basis of the overt c-command relation. It shows, however, that the scope relation between quantifiers and Neg is in isomorphic relation to their linear order or their c-command relation at LF in child language. The result of the experiment on Japanese-speaking children also poses a problem to both the parametric view and the processing view on the isomorphism with respect to the scope relation between quantifiers and Neg in child language