Comprehension vs. production of oblique relatives by Italian-speaking typically developing individuals, from primary school to adulthood

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Francesca Volpato
Ca' Foscari University of Venice
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7103-4561
Anna Cardinaletti
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9347-3434
Elisa Piccoli

This paper discusses both the comprehension and the production of oblique, pied-piping relative clauses from primary school age to adulthood. Relative clauses that are not produced before 10 years (Guasti & Cardinaletti 2003) are however comprehended in high percentages and above chance since primary school age. Production appears to be related to the educational level and experience with the formal register, as shown here by the comparison of different groups of students and adults. Unlike what happens with object relatives (Adani et al. 2010, 2014; Volpato 2010, 2019), number mismatch does not facilitate the comprehension of oblique relatives, nor their production.

Keywords
oblique relatives, comprehension, production, Italian, Pied-piping, formal register

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How to Cite
Volpato, Francesca et al. “Comprehension vs. production of oblique relatives by Italian-speaking typically developing individuals, from primary school to adulthood ”. Isogloss. Open Journal of Romance Linguistics, 2025, vol.VOL 11, no. 7, pp. 1-19, doi:10.5565/rev/isogloss.589.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

(c) Francesca Volpato, Anna Cardinaletti, Elisa Piccoli, 2026

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