Principle B, VP Ellipsis, and Interpretation in Child Grammar

Principle B, VP Ellipsis, and Interpretation in Child Grammar PDF Author: Rosalind Thornton
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262201193
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
This is the first experimental study of Principle B with verb phrase ellipsis and properties of the interpretation of empty pronouns in ellipsis. Among the universal principles are those known as the principles of the binding theory. These principles constrain the range of interpretations that can be assigned to sentences containing reflexives and reciprocals, pronouns, and referring expressions. The principle that is relevant for pronouns, Principle B, has provided a fertile ground for the study of linguistic development. Although it has long been known that children make certain kinds of errors that appear to contradict this principle, further experimental and theoretical investigation reveals that the child does know the grammatical principle, but implements the pragmatic knowledge incorrectly. In fact, discoveries concerning children's knowledge of Principle B are among the most well-known in the study of language acquisition because of the dissociation between syntactic and pragmatic knowledge (binding versus reference). In this book the authors deepen and extend the results of years of developmental investigation of Principle B by studying the interaction of Principle B with verb phrase ellipsis and properties of the interpretation of empty pronouns in ellipsis--properties of "strict" and "sloppy" interpretation. This is the first experimental study of these topics in the developmental literature. The striking results show that detailed predictions from the "pragmatic deficiency" theory seem to be correct. Many novel experimental results concern the question of how children interpret pronouns, including elided pronouns, and how they understand VP ellipsis. The authors present the necessary theoretical background on Principle B, review and critique previous accounts of childrens errors, and present a novel account of why children misinterpret pronouns. The book will thus be of interest not only to readers interested in the development of the binding theory, but to those interested in the development of interpretation and reference by children.

Principle B, VP Ellipsis, and Interpretation in Child Grammar

Principle B, VP Ellipsis, and Interpretation in Child Grammar PDF Author: Rosalind Thornton
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262201193
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 268

Get Book

Book Description
This is the first experimental study of Principle B with verb phrase ellipsis and properties of the interpretation of empty pronouns in ellipsis. Among the universal principles are those known as the principles of the binding theory. These principles constrain the range of interpretations that can be assigned to sentences containing reflexives and reciprocals, pronouns, and referring expressions. The principle that is relevant for pronouns, Principle B, has provided a fertile ground for the study of linguistic development. Although it has long been known that children make certain kinds of errors that appear to contradict this principle, further experimental and theoretical investigation reveals that the child does know the grammatical principle, but implements the pragmatic knowledge incorrectly. In fact, discoveries concerning children's knowledge of Principle B are among the most well-known in the study of language acquisition because of the dissociation between syntactic and pragmatic knowledge (binding versus reference). In this book the authors deepen and extend the results of years of developmental investigation of Principle B by studying the interaction of Principle B with verb phrase ellipsis and properties of the interpretation of empty pronouns in ellipsis--properties of "strict" and "sloppy" interpretation. This is the first experimental study of these topics in the developmental literature. The striking results show that detailed predictions from the "pragmatic deficiency" theory seem to be correct. Many novel experimental results concern the question of how children interpret pronouns, including elided pronouns, and how they understand VP ellipsis. The authors present the necessary theoretical background on Principle B, review and critique previous accounts of childrens errors, and present a novel account of why children misinterpret pronouns. The book will thus be of interest not only to readers interested in the development of the binding theory, but to those interested in the development of interpretation and reference by children.

The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition, Morphosyntax, and Semantics

The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition, Morphosyntax, and Semantics PDF Author: Tania Ionin
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1003823505
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 586

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Book Description
This handbook provides innovative and comprehensive coverage of research on the second language acquisition (SLA) of morphosyntax, semantics, and the interface between the two. Organized by grammatical topic, the chapters are written by experts from formal and functional perspectives in the SLA of morphosyntax and semantics, providing in-depth yet accessible coverage of these areas. All chapters highlight the theoretical underpinnings of much work in SLA and their links to theoretical syntax and semantics; making comparisons to other populations, including child language acquirers, bilinguals, and heritage speakers (links to first language acquisition and bilingualism); dedicating a portion of each chapter to the research methods used to investigate the linguistic phenomenon in question (links to psycholinguistics and experimental linguistics); and, where relevant, including intervention studies on the phenomenon in question (links to applied linguistics). The volume will be indispensable to SLA researchers and students who work on any aspect of the SLA of morphosyntax or semantics. With its coverage of a variety of methodologies and comparisons to other populations (such as child language acquirers, early bilinguals, heritage speakers, and monolingual adults), the handbook is expected to also be of much interest to linguists who work in psycholinguistics, first language acquisition, and bilingualism.

Romance Linguistics 2012

Romance Linguistics 2012 PDF Author: Jason Smith
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 9027268312
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
This volume contains a selection of nineteen peer-reviewed papers from the 42nd annual Linguistic Symposium on Romance Languages (LSRL) held at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah, in 2012. The contributions cover a wide range of current topics in the areas of phonetics, phonology, syntax, interfaces, and diachronic Romance linguistics, with an emphasis on experimental approaches, in connection to L1 and L2 acquisition, code-switching and psycholinguistics. Among the languages and varieties of Romance analyzed are French (Old, Modern, and Norman), Portuguese (Brazilian and Classical), and Spanish (Modern and Judeo-Spanish), but also Italo-Romance, Latin, and Romanian. In a comparative tradition, the discussions extend to languages outside Romance, such as dialects of Arabic, Germanic, and Palenquero creole. This collection of papers at the forefront of research contributes to our understanding of Romance languages, and to the influence of Romance linguistics, and will be of interest to scholars in Romance and general linguistics.

Minimalist Inquiries into Child and Adult Language Acquisition

Minimalist Inquiries into Child and Adult Language Acquisition PDF Author: Acrisio Pires
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110215357
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 367

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Book Description
This volume brings together chapters written by specialists in North America, Europe and Brazil. It includes original research about the acquisition (L1, bilingualism) and acquisition/ learning (L2 or L3) of dialects of Brazilian and European Portuguese. In an effort to maximize volume cohesion, the emphasis has been on contributions that present studies exploring both empirical/experimental and theoretical aspects of the acquisition of syntax, and its interfaces with morphology, with semantics/pragmatics, and with language change. Within the generative paradigm alone there are various volumes on the acquisition of other languages, but there are no volumes currently in print focusing on the acquisition of Portuguese. We believe that it is time for such a volume, considering among other factors that Portuguese is the second most widely spoken Romance language (second only to Spanish), and the seventh most widely spoken language in the world. In addition, the significant changes that have taken place between Brazilian and European Portuguese especially since the 19th century make the inquiry into the acquisition of the different dialects a source for very productive insights about the connections between linguistic theory, language acquisition and language change. Finally, having a collection of high quality articles in one place pays homage to the importance for linguistic research of investigations into the acquisition of the Portuguese language.

The Prism of Grammar

The Prism of Grammar PDF Author: Tom Roeper
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262250586
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 637

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Book Description
Exploring the creativity of mind through children's language: how the tiniest utterances can illustrate the simple but abstract principles behind modern grammar—and reveal the innate structures of the mind. Every sentence we hear is instantly analyzed by an inner grammar; just as a prism refracts a beam of light, grammar divides a stream of sound, linking diverse strings of information to different domains of mind—memory, vision, emotions, intentions. In The Prism of Grammar, Tom Roeper brings the abstract principles behind modern grammar to life by exploring the astonishing intricacies of child language. Adult expressions provide endless puzzles for the child to solve. The individual child's solutions ("Don't uncomfortable the cat" is one example) may amuse adults but they also reveal the complexity of language and the challenges of mastering it. The tiniest utterances, says Roeper, reflect the whole mind and engage the child's free will and sense of dignity. He offers numerous and novel "explorations"—many at the cutting edge of current work—that anyone can try, even in conversation around the dinner table. They elicit how the child confronts "recursion"—the heartbeat of grammar—through endless possessives ("John's mother's friend's car"), mysterious plurals, contradictory adjectives, the marvels of ellipsis, and the deep obscurity of reference ("there it is, right here"). They are not tests of skill; they are tools for discovery and delight, not diagnosis. Each chapter on acquisition begins with a commonsense look at how structures work—moving from the simple to the complex—and then turns to the literary and human dimensions of grammar. One important human dimension is the role of dialect in society and in the lives of children. Roeper devotes three chapters to the structure of African-American English and the challenge of responding to linguistic prejudice. Written in a lively style, accessible and gently provocative, The Prism of Grammar is for parents and teachers as well as students—for everyone who wants to understand how children gain and use language—and anyone interested in the social, philosophical, and ethical implications of how we see the growing mind emerge.

The Oxford Handbook of Ellipsis

The Oxford Handbook of Ellipsis PDF Author: Jeroen van Craenenbroeck
Publisher: Oxford Handbooks
ISBN: 0198712391
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 1147

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Book Description
This handbook is the first volume to provide a comprehensive, in-depth, and balanced discussion of ellipsis, a phenomena whereby expressions in natural language appear to be incomplete but are still understood. It explores fundamental questions about the workings of grammar and provides detailed case studies of inter- and intralinguistic variation.

Advances in Language Acquisition

Advances in Language Acquisition PDF Author: Xenia Konstantinopoulou
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443869007
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 492

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Book Description
This book contains 51 chapters based on papers presented at the GALA (Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition) conference held in Thessaloniki, Greece, in 2011. It thus reflects the GALA 2011 scientific presentations and discussions and raises issues that are currently at the centre of language acquisition research. Such issues examined in this volume include first and second language acquisition and processing by children and adults; language acquisition by individuals with linguistic and/or cognitive impairment; and cross-linguistic comparisons in (a)typical language acquisition. As such, Advances in Language Acquisition constitutes a valuable reference guide for current work on the interdisciplinary research field of language acquisition.

Reflexive Pronouns: A Theoretical and Experimental Synthesis

Reflexive Pronouns: A Theoretical and Experimental Synthesis PDF Author: Darcy Sperlich
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030638758
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
This book presents a comprehensive picture of reflexive pronouns from both a theoretical and experimental perspective, using the well-researched languages of English, German, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. In order to understand the data from varying theoretical perspectives, the book considers selected syntactic and pragmatic analyses based on their current importance in the field. The volume consequently introduces the Emergentist Reflexivity Approach, which is a novel theoretical synthesis incorporating a sentence and pragmatic processor that accounts for reflexive pronoun behaviour in these six languages. Moreover, in support of this model a vast array of experimental literature is considered, including first and second language acquisition, bilingual, psycholinguistic, neurolinguistic and clinical studies. It is through both the intuitive and experimental data linguistic theorizing relies upon that brings out the strengths of the modelling adopted here, paving new avenues for future research. In sum, this volume unites a diverse array of the literature that currently sits largely divorced between the theoretical and experimental realms, and when put together a better understanding of reflexive pronouns under the auspices of the Emergentist Reflexivity Approach is forged.

Stevens' Handbook of Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Developmental and Social Psychology

Stevens' Handbook of Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Developmental and Social Psychology PDF Author:
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119170052
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 672

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Book Description
IV. Developmental & Social Psychology: Simona Ghetti (Volume Editor) (Topics covered include development of visual attention; self-evaluation; moral development; emotion-cognition interactions; person perception; memory; implicit social cognition; motivation group processes; development of scientific thinking; language acquisition; development of mathematical reasoning; emotion regulation; emotional development; development of theory of mind; category and conceptual development; attitudes; executive function.)

The Acquisition of Syntax in Romance Languages

The Acquisition of Syntax in Romance Languages PDF Author: Vincent Torrens
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027253013
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
This volume includes a selection of papers that address a wide range of acquisition phenomena from different Romance languages and all share a common theoretical approach based on the Principles and Parameters theory. They favour, discuss and sometimes challenge traditional explanations of first and second language acquisition in terms of maturation of general principles universal to all languages. They all depart from the view that language acquisition can be explained in terms of learning language specific rules, constraints or structures. The different parts into which this volume is organized reflect different approaches that current research has offered, which deal with issues of development of reflexive pronouns, determiners, clitics, verbs, auxiliaries, Inflection, wh-movement, rssumptive pronouns, topic and focus, mood, the syntax/discourse interface, topic and focus, and null arguments.