In this paper, we relate results from recent experimental study of young children's (3;0-7;11) comprehension of coordinate VP-ellipsis structures in English to a new theoretical proposal regarding their representation. Historically, theoretical treatments of these structures have been challenged by the nature of the ambiguity they involve, which includes both a ''sloppy'' interpretation (represented in terms of a bound variable) and a ''strict'' interpretation (represented as referential), at the same time that other interpretations are ruled out. Based on our study of language acquisition, we propose a solution capturing the ambiguity in the syntax, including two different types of operator-variable binding (local and long-distance) over a shared coordinate configuration. Pragmatic focus motivates the choice of the syntactic option for the long-distance strict interpretation. Empirical results reveal that, at all ages, (i) the sloppy interpretation is preferred, (ii) the strict interpretation is nevertheless in evidence, (iii) ungrammatical interpretations are ruled out, and (iv) choice of the strict reading is influenced by semantic/pragmatic factors. In each experimental condition, there were two sentences, one a replication with different lexical items. The design included one sentence type, not presented in Table 1 or discussed here, that included an embedded structure (e.g., Big Bird tells Ernie to jump and Scooter does too).

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It would be convenient if a candidate interested in a career in simultaneous interpreting could take a test that would accurately indicate whether or not that person has the aptitude and skills required to start a course in simultaneous interpreting with a reasonable chance of success. This paper suggests that a reliable and efficient testing procedure valid for this use, taking less than an hour to administer and score, could be delivered on demand at a reasonable cost. The paper first proposes such a testing procedure, building on existing techniques in spoken language testing, then outlines the development steps and material needed to build, calibrate, and validate such a testing system. The development of this testing procedure would result in a completely automatic instrument for selecting candidates for admission to interpretation training programs. Other potential uses for the procedure would include both monitoring student progress during training and screening candidates for certification exams, although details of the item selection and scoring might differ across the three uses.

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