Much research in linguistic theory seeks to uncover how semantic
information and pragmatic inference jointly contribute to the way humans
interpret utterances in context. Until recently, however, little was
known about how the ability to integrate lexically encoded and
contextually inferred aspects of meaning develops during language
learning. This talk begins to address this question focusing on
children's understanding of numbers and quantifiers. Our results argue
against the traditional view that pragmatic (contextually enriched)
interpretations are acquired at a later stage than 'pure' semantic
meaning and suggest instead that the study of word learning cannot be
divorced from the question of how learners develop sensitivity to
speaker meaning.