Experimental studies demonstrate that contrast helps toddlers to extend the meanings of novel adjectives. This study explores whether antonym co-occurrence in spontaneous speech also has an effect on adjective use by the child. The authors studied adjective production in longitudinal speech samples from 16 children (16-36 months) acquiring eight…

Data from 34 children suggest that a range of Italian grammatical morphemes reach the level of mastery by age 3;6-4;0. In the period between 2;6 and 3;0, as use and comprehension of morphemes are being consolidated, homonymy and informativeness seem not to play a role, though number continues to exert an influence. Some form classes of Italian are…