title: Predicting the development of interrogative forms and functions in early years: a corpus-based study of Mandarin-speaking young children.
abstract: This study examined the development of and possible predictors of interrogative forms and functions in early childhood Mandarin. All the interrogatives drawn from the Early Child Mandarin Corpus (168 children 2;6, 3;6, 4;6, and 5;6) were analyzed. The main results indicated that (i) there were significant age effects in interrogative forms and functions, with the periods between the ages of 3;6 and 4;6 and between the ages of 2;6 and 3;6 being critical in the early acquisition of interrogative forms and functions, respectively; (ii) the form-function preference was verified, with wh-questions being primarily used to seek information (RfI), and intonation/echo and rhetorical questions being used to request action (RfA); (iii) more than half (59·5%) of the Mandarin interrogatives were used for RfI, whereas only 38·9% of them were used for RfA; and (iv) age, TV viewing time, and parent-child conversation time were the significant predictors of interrogative development.
authors.affiliation: The University of Hong Kong,PRC.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9355-1116
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: The University of Hong Kong,PRC.
authors.forename: Mengguo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jing
authors.affiliation: The University of Hong Kong,PRC.
authors.forename: Eileen Chin Mei
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D007804:Language Development; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D013690:Television