EFFECTS OF THE DISTANCE ON THE COMPREHENS ION OF ANAPHORIC DEMONSTRATIVES

Effects of the distance on the comprehension of anaphoric demonstrativ es. In a previous study on anaphoric acquisition in Spanish-speaking c hildren, it was found that the anaphoric relation of demonstrative pro nouns 'este/aquel'': (this/that) were yet not to be acquired. This stu dy examines the acquisition of this anaphora at a later stage of devel opment in children and the effect of the distance between its elements . The relation in question occurs between two possible antecedents and a demonstrative pronoun, i.e. Maria y su companera Eva hacen los debe res en casa de esta/aquella. Estudied the effects of the distance betw een the demonstrative and the antecedents (short vs. long), the distan ce between the two antecedents (short vs. long), and the proximal/nonp roximal distinction of the demonstrative (este vs. aquel). The experim ent was carried out on 237 children of both sexes, ranging from 10 to 13 years. The children were presented with twenty-six short texts by m eans of a pencil and paper task. Four different versions were redacted from each one, combining the independent variables. The results showe d that: a) The comprehension of this anaphoric relation begins at the age of 10 (63% rate of success), increasing by the age of 12 and 13 to a success rate of 70% in both cases. b) The demonstrative pronoun est e (this) is better understood than aquel (that) in every level. c) The comprehension of demonstrative is greater when the distance between t he pronoun and the antecedents is short. d) A significant interaction exists between the distance between the two antecedents and the distan ce between the antecedents and the demonstrative. Comprehension increa ses when the former distance is long and the later is short. In those conditions the este/aquel contrast is favored and the properties of th e deictic contrast in physical space are desplaced to the anaphoric sp ace of the text.