Early Acquisition of Modal Constructions in Mandarin-Speaking Children

Abstract

Existing research on the acquisition of modality primarily focuses on prototypical modal elements such as modal verbs, modal adverbs, and sentence-final particles, while studies on the acquisition of modal structures or constructions remain fragmented and lack systematic exploration. This study draws on natural speech data from four Mandarin-speaking children aged 1–4 years, sourced from the Multimodal Spoken Corpus of Mandarin-Speaking Children at Linyi University, China. It examines the acquisition patterns of modal constructions in early developmental stages and analyzes their syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic properties. Findings reveal that children begin to use modal constructions to convey modal meanings from 1;07 years. Although their early use of modal constructions is limited in quantity, structurally simple, and low in frequency, primarily consisting of substantive constructions, they nevertheless exhibit an initial grasp of marked, irrealis modal structures. The acquisition of modal constructions is influenced by caregiver input, with a positive correlation between input frequency and production frequency. In terms of acquisition order, children first acquire dynamic modal constructions, while epistemic modal constructions emerge later, following a developmental trajectory from root modality to epistemic modality, which aligns with the acquisition patterns of modal words. Syntactically, modal constructions predominantly function as adverbials, modifying either the predicate or the entire proposition, and employ various grammatical features to express different modal meanings, thereby conveying the speaker’s subjective judgment and emotional stance regarding an event or proposition. Pragmatically, early-stage children demonstrate nascent pragmatic abilities, yet they rarely employ directive expressions in communication. Instead, they predominantly offer suggestions or advice, which aligns with their lower social status and reflects their awareness of social hierarchy and sensitivity to the emotions of interlocutors. This study contributes to empirical research on the early acquisition of modality in children and provides new evidence for the cognitive development patterns of Mandarin modal constructions.