Learners of most languages are faced with the task of acquiring words to talk about number and quantity. Much is known about the order of acquisition of number words as well as the cognitive and perceptual systems and cultural practices that shape it. Substantially less is known about the acquisition of quantifiers. Here, we consider the extent to which systems and practices that support number word acquisition can be applied to quantifier acquisition and conclude that the two domains are largely distinct in this respect. Consequently, we hypothesize that the acquisition of quantifiers is constrained by a set of factors related to each quantifier's specific meaning. We investigate competence with the expressions for "all," "none," "some," "some…not," and "most" in 31 languages, representing 11 language types, by testing 768 5-y-old children and 536 adults. We found a cross-linguistically similar order of acquisition of quantifiers, explicable in terms of four factors relating to their meaning and use. In addition, exploratory analyses reveal that languageand learner-specific factors, such as negative concord and gender, are significant predictors of variation.language acquisition | universals | quantifiers | semantics | pragmatics N umber words and quantifiers are abstract words that denote properties of sets rather than individuals. Twoness and allness in "two/all of the black cats in the street" are not true of any individual cat, whereas blackness and catness are. Children display knowledge of number words and quantifiers around their second birthday, comparatively long after they have acquired concrete nouns (1, 2). As far as number words are concerned, a range of cognitive and perceptual systems supports their acquisition.These systems include an object-tracking system, which enables the precise representation of small quantities, and an analog magnitude system, which enables imprecise and approximate comparisons (1), SignificanceAlthough much research has been devoted to the acquisition of number words, relatively little is known about the acquisition of other expressions of quantity. We propose that the order of acquisition of quantifiers is related to features inherent to the meaning of each term. Four specific dimensions of the meaning and use of quantifiers are found to capture robust similarities in the order of acquisition of quantifiers in similar ways across 31 languages, representing 11 language types.

No abstract

Üliõpilaste akadeemilise kirjaoskuse arendamine on üks ülikooliõpingutele seatud eesmärke, kuid selle täitmist võivad takistada mitmesugused tegurid, sh üli õpilaste vähene huvi kirjutamisülesande vastu. Üks võimalus suurendada üliõpilaste huvi on asendada traditsiooniline referaat või essee veebis vabalt kättesaadava vikiartikliga. Siinses uurimuses on seatud eesmärgiks välja selgitada vikiülesande võimalused toetada üliõpilaste akadeemilise kirjaoskuse arengut. Tartu Ülikooli väljendusõpetuse kursuste õppejõudude, õppeassistentide ja üliõpilastega tehtud fookusrühma intervjuudest ilmneb, et vikiartikli ülesande kaudu saab peale kirjutamisoskuse muu hulgas arendada üliõpilaste digi- ja infopädevust, uurimis- ja analüüsioskust. Ühtlasi on Vikipeediasse kui avalikku veebientsüklopeediasse kirjutamine tugev motivaator, mis sunnib üliõpilasi pingutama, kuid see võib osa üliõpilaste jaoks olla ka stressiallikas, sest nad tunnevad suurt vastutust loodud artikli eest.  Summary