The development of noun phrase in Cantonese-speaking preschool children

Abstract

This study investigated the development of noun phrase production in Cantonese speaking preschool children. Seventy normally developing children, aged between 3;0 and 6;2, participated. Language samples were elicited using a picture description task in the form of a barrier game. Results revealed age-related improvement in the children's noun phrase production, with the adjectival noun phrase being the first to be mastered, followed by the possessive noun phrase and the noun phrase with subject relative clause. The noun phrase with object relative clause and the prepositional noun phrase were mastered last. The children’s developmental and error patterns were discussed with reference to their cognitive, syntactic and semantic development.