Universal quantifiers in math and late language development in school-aged children

Abstract Language development research of the past 20 years has revealed that many aspects of semantics and pragmatics are acquired late, not until the school years. In the classroom, word problems in mathematics make extensive use of language. Here, we explore whether math language includes late acquired semantic constructions. As a first step, we focus on two Dutch quantifiers alle ‘all’ and elke ‘each’. Using the semantic notion of distributivity and applying insights from acquisition studies, we explore word problems in second-grade math books in Dutch. We find problems that target quantifier interpretations that may not be fully acquired by the age of 7–8, or are ambiguous even for adult speakers. We then formulate open questions that are triggered by this exploration, offering preliminary results. This study makes a case for interdisciplinary collaboration across semantics, language development and education to investigate whether math problems match school children’s acquisition path.