Acquisition of Locative Prepositions in Russian

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Abstract

This study investigated the ability of children between ages 3;0 and 7;2 to understand and to produce locative prepositions in functionally autonomous form in Russian. Eighty-eight children were required to manipulate two objects in nonverbal and verbal situations. Six types of locative relationships ("in," "on," "under," "above," "in front of," and "behind") were studied in constructions such as "the sphere is in the cube." Results showed that the children found difficulties in the functional use of prepositions. These findings suggest that the acquisition of locative prepositions in childhood is not complete at the time of their appearance in speech. This is a complex process which is not completed until approximately age 7. The acquisition of the prepositional system is equivalent to the acquisition of the prepositions' semantic system.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)91-108
Number of pages18
JournalJournal of Psycholinguistic Research
Volume27
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1998

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Language and Linguistics
  • Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
  • General Psychology
  • Linguistics and Language

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