Ever watched a three-year-old try to count? It’s kind of a mess. They usually get "one, two, three" right, but then it’s anyone's guess if "seven" or "eleven" comes next. Most of us just laugh and think they’re being cute. But for Caitlin E J Meyer, an Assistant Professor at the University of Amsterdam, these tiny linguistic stumbles are actually the key to understanding how the human brain builds itself.
Honestly, we take for granted that we just know what numbers are. We think of them as these fixed, universal truths. But for a child, a number is just another word until their brain figures out the "rule" behind it. Caitlin E J Meyer has spent years digging into this specific transition—moving from just parroting words to actually grasping the logic of math and language.
The Problem With First, Second, and Third
Most of the research in developmental linguistics focuses on cardinal numbers. You know, the 1, 2, 3 stuff. But Caitlin’s work dives into the weirder world of ordinal numbers. These are the "order" words: first, second, third, fourth.
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Here’s the thing: kids usually learn to count "one, two, three" way before they understand "first, second, third."
Why?
Basically, because ordinals are linguistically annoying. In English and Dutch (which is a primary focus of Meyer’s research), the first few ordinals are irregular. You don’t say "oneth" or "twoth." You say "first" and "second." Meyer’s research, specifically her 2019 dissertation which was nominated for the prestigious AVT/Anéla Dissertation Award, highlights a fascinating "head-scratcher" in child development.
In most language learning, kids follow a U-shaped curve. They might start by saying "walked" (correct), then they learn a rule and start saying "walked-ed" or "goed" (incorrect), and finally, they settle back into the correct forms. But with numbers, Meyer found something different.
She tells this great story about a three-year-old she tested. When she asked him to point to the "third duck" (de derde eend in Dutch), the kid looked at her and asked, "But how much is der?"
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That little moment is huge. It shows that the kid was trying to break the word "third" down into pieces to find the "three" inside it. Since "third" doesn't sound like "three," his brain hit a wall.
Why This Research Is a Big Deal
You might be thinking, "Okay, so kids are confused by 'third.' So what?"
Well, it’s about cognitive architecture. Caitlin E J Meyer is looking at how linguistic knowledge (the words we use) shapes numerical development (the way we think about math). It’s not just about vocabulary. It’s about how we learn to think and talk about time, space, and quantity.
If a child can't map the word "third" to the concept of "three," they aren't just failing a vocab test. They are struggling to integrate two different systems in the brain:
- The linguistic system (how we label things).
- The conceptual system (how we understand order).
Her work suggests that children might actually use the rule of the language to learn the meaning of the number, rather than the other way around.
Breaking Down the Dutch and English Comparison
Caitlin’s research often compares Dutch and English speakers. Both languages have similar hurdles. In her 2020 paper published in Glossa, titled "Many systems, one strategy," she and her colleagues (Sjef Barbiers and Fred Weerman) argued that children acquire ordinals via a rule-based approach rather than just memorizing them like names of toys.
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Interestingly, this is different from how kids might learn ordinals in a language like Russian. In Russian, the system is so irregular that kids have to memorize them one by one (lexical learning) for a much longer time.
By looking at these differences, Meyer is helping map out what is "hard-wired" in the human brain and what is just a byproduct of the language we happen to speak at home.
It’s Not Just About Numbers
While she’s known for the number stuff, Caitlin Meyer’s interests are actually much broader. She’s the program director for the BSc in Cognition, Language and Communication at the University of Amsterdam.
She’s interested in how we "read between the lines." This is pragmatics—the stuff that makes human conversation different from a robot's.
She’s looked at how children learn focus particles like "also" (ook in Dutch). Apparently, four-year-olds are pretty bad at this. They often don't see the difference between a sentence with "also" and one without it. This tells us that understanding "contrast"—the idea that "I want a cookie" is different from "I also want a cookie"—is a high-level skill that takes years to bake in.
What This Means for Parents and Educators
If you’re a parent, the takeaway from Caitlin Meyer’s work isn't to start drilling your toddler on ordinal numbers. It’s more about understanding the invisible labor their brains are doing.
- Exceptions take time: If your kid says "thirtheenth" or "fiveth," they aren't being "wrong." They are actually showing you that their brain has successfully learned a rule. That’s a win!
- Vocabulary isn't understanding: Just because a child can recite the "counting song" to ten doesn't mean they understand what "six" is.
- The "Why" matters: Asking kids to explain how they know which one is "third" can reveal a lot about how they are processing logic.
Moving Forward in Linguistics
Caitlin E J Meyer is currently pushing into new territory, looking at pronouns and how we integrate conceptual knowledge with syntax. She’s part of a wave of researchers who are moving away from old-school "nature vs. nurture" debates and looking at the messy, fascinating way they overlap.
Her career path is actually pretty relatable. She didn't start out wanting to be a linguist. She wanted to be a journalist. She was writing for newspapers and freelancing until a single introductory linguistics course at the University of Amsterdam changed her trajectory.
It's a good reminder that sometimes the most specialized experts start out just being curious about how things work.
Next Steps for Applying These Insights:
If you’re interested in child development or linguistics, you can directly observe these patterns by trying a "Give-X" task with a preschooler. Ask them for "three" marbles, and then ask them for "the third" marble. Notice if they hesitate or use the cardinal "three" to find the "third."
For those in education, pay attention to the transition between ages 4 and 6. This is usually when the "rule-based" lightbulb goes on for ordinals. If a child is still struggling with the concept of "third" or "fourth" by age 7, it might be an early indicator that they are having trouble mapping linguistic labels to conceptual sets, which is a core part of early math literacy.