Subject: Languages and literature
Year: 2026
Type: Conference or Workshop Item
Type: PeerReviewed
Title: The Comprehension of Negation: A Comparative Analysis of English and Macedonian Speaking Preschool Children
Author: Jovanovska, Sashka
Abstract: Abstract This study aims to investigate preschool children’s comprehension of simple and complex negative constructions in Macedonian and English, with particular attention to developmental and cross-linguistic differences. By comparing children acquiring two typologically distinct systems of negation—English as a double negation language and Macedonian as a negative concord language—the research seeks to examine how linguistic structure influences the acquisition and interpretation of negation during early language development. This study employs an experimental, comparative methodology to examine preschool children’s comprehension of negative constructions in Macedonian and English. The primary data were collected from ten Macedonian-speaking preschool children aged 3 to 6;5 years, divided into two age groups (3 4 and 4;5–6;5). Participants were presented with grammatically acceptable and unacceptable simple and complex negative sentences to assess their interpretative abilities. The findings were subsequently compared with data reported by Thornton et al. (2016) on 24 English-speaking preschool children of a comparable age range. The findings indicate age-related differences in the comprehension of negation among preschool children. Older participants demonstrated greater accuracy and efficiency in interpreting structurally complex negative sentences, whereas younger children showed stronger comprehension of simple negation but experienced considerable difficulty with more complex forms. Cross-linguistic comparison suggests that, despite typological differences between English and Macedonian systems of negation, children exhibit similar developmental patterns, with language-specific structures gradually emerging through exposure and linguistic experience. Keywords: negation, preschool children, language acquisition, negative concord, syntactic development
Publisher:
Relation: https://eprints.ugd.edu.mk/38627/
Identifier: oai:eprints.ugd.edu.mk:38627
Identifier: https://eprints.ugd.edu.mk/38627/1/SELCS%20Annual%20Conference%202026%20Programme%20Booklet%20%281%29%20%282%29.pdfIdentifier: https://eprints.ugd.edu.mk/38627/2/The%20Comprehension%20of%20Negation%20Comparative%20Analysis%20of%20English%20and%20Macedonian-Speaking%20Preschool%20Children.pptx.pdfIdentifier: Jovanovska, Sashka (2026) The Comprehension of Negation: A Comparative Analysis of English and Macedonian Speaking Preschool Children. In: SELCS Annual Conference 2026, 2-4 July 2026, University of Warwick, United Kingdom.
