Differential competence in Somali: Evidence from the acquisition of noun definitization

This paper describes the results of an experiment designed to test the acquisition of the rule of noun definitization in Somali. It was originally assumed that the major factors involved would be cognitive, e.g., age or intellectual development, although the possibility of geographical dialects was considered. However the results indicate that none of these factors are relevant. Rather, it was found that: (1) a large percentage of the population never acquired parts of this rule at all, and (2) the major factor influencing this acquisition process is an urban vs. nomadic childhood home (which is representative of the extent of exposure to traditional oral literature).