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Showing 1 to 15 of 30 results Save | Export
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Getz, Heidi R. – Language Acquisition: A Journal of Developmental Linguistics, 2019
The "wanna" facts are a classic Poverty of Stimulus (PoS) problem: "Wanna" is grammatical in certain contexts ("Who do you want PRO to play with?") but not others ("Who do you want who[strikethrough] to play with you?"). On a standard analysis, "contraction" to "wanna" is blocked by some…
Descriptors: Language Acquisition, Language Universals, Grammar, Language Usage
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Jesus, Alice; Marques, Rui; Santos, Ana Lúcia – Language Acquisition: A Journal of Developmental Linguistics, 2019
This article focuses on the acquisition of mood in early complement clauses of European Portuguese (EP). Two semantic features are involved in the EP mood system--epistemicity and veridicality. An elicited production task administered to 80 children aged 4 to 9 showed that, even though children use the subjunctive in [-- epistemic] contexts, the…
Descriptors: Semantics, Portuguese, Verbs, Preschool Children
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Suzuki, Takaaki; Kobayashi, Tessei – Language Learning and Development, 2017
Syntactic bootstrapping facilitates children's initial learning of verb meanings based on syntactic information. A challenging case is the argument-drop languages, where the number of argument NPs is not a reliable cue for distinguishing between transitive and intransitive verbs. Despite this fact, the availability of syntactic bootstrapping in…
Descriptors: Syntax, Cues, Grammar, Verbs
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Serratrice, Ludovica – Second Language Research, 2014
Amaral & Roeper's Multiple Grammars (MG) proposal offers an appealingly simple way of thinking about the linguistic representations of bilingual speakers. This article presents a commentary on the MG language acquisition theory proposed by Luiz Amaral and Tom Roeper in this issue, focusing on the theory's implications for child…
Descriptors: Second Language Learning, Native Language, Bilingualism, Transfer of Training
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Leischner, Franziska N.; Weissenborn, Jürgen; Naigles, Letitia R. – Language Learning and Development, 2016
The study investigated the influence of universal and language-specific morpho-syntactic properties (i.e., flexible word order, case) on the acquisition of verb argument structures in German compared with English. To this end, 65 three- to nine-year-old German learning children and adults were asked to act out grammatical ("The sheep…
Descriptors: German, Language Acquisition, Grammar, Nouns
Alexieva, Petia Dimitrova – ProQuest LLC, 2012
This dissertation examines the process of acquisition of semantic classes of reflexive verbs (RVs) in Russian by L2 learners with a native language English. The purpose of this study is to bridge the gap between current linguistic knowledge and the pedagogical literature existing in English on reflexives in Russian. RVs are taught partially and…
Descriptors: Russian, Second Language Learning, Semantics, Verbs
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Onishi, Masayuki – Language Sciences, 1997
Examines Japanese equivalents of the six mental predicates defined as semantic universals in Natural Semantic Metalanguage theory, with special attention to syntax and semantics of complementation types. It is shown that each primitive predicate has a specific set of syntactic frames for expressing primitive meaning and that extended meanings that…
Descriptors: Contrastive Linguistics, Grammar, Japanese, Language Patterns
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Peeters, Bert – Language Sciences, 1997
Explores the combinatorial possibilities of semantic primitives of time and space in French, as defined in the theory of Natural Semantic Metalanguage. Highlights the need for new ways to express the allolexical relationship in some combinations, particularly those expressing "when/time." (Author/MSE)
Descriptors: French, Grammar, Language Patterns, Language Research
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Franco, Fabiola; Steinmetz, Donald – Hispania, 1985
Argues that the explanation of the use of "ser" and "estar" with locatives presented in the March 1984 issue of "Hispania" derives so directly from a theory of universal grammar because it is indicative of the explanatory adequacy of Case Grammar or of other, comparable theories of the deeper levels of linguistic structure. (SED)
Descriptors: Case (Grammar), Deep Structure, Language Patterns, Language Research
Pica, Teresa – Working Papers in Educational Linguistics, 2003
This paper provides an overview of second language acquisition (SLA) research over the past several decades and highlights the ways in which it has retained its original applied and linguistic interests and enhanced them by addressing questions about acquisition processes. After discussing disciplinary contexts (SLA research and applied…
Descriptors: Applied Linguistics, Cognitive Processes, Interlanguage, Language Research
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de Villiers, Jill; Roeper, Thomas – Language Acquisition, 1995
Evidence is presented from an experimental study with 21 children ages 4 to 5 years suggesting the coincident emergence of certain Determiner Phrases (DPs) as barriers to wh-movement and as separate binding domains. It is argued that the default assumption for children's grammar may be to assume NP is the maximal projection for a structure until a…
Descriptors: Determiners (Languages), Grammar, Language Acquisition, Language Research
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Sigurjonsdottir, Sigriour; Hyams, Nina – Language Acquisition: A Journal of Developmental Linguistics, 1992
Studied interpretation of local anaphor "sjalfan sig," the long-distance anaphor "sig," and pronouns in 55 Icelandic-speaking children and 10 adult controls. Results support an approach to binding that distinguishes the syntactic use of sig from its logophoric use and treats sig as a pronominal both in its internal structure…
Descriptors: Language Acquisition, Language Research, Language Universals, Linguistic Theory
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Balcom, Patricia A. – Second Language Research, 2001
Provides a general overview of two books--"The Second Time Around: Minimalism and Second Language Acquisition" and "Second Language Syntax: A Generative Introduction--and shows how the respond to key issues in second language acquisition, including the process of second language acquisition, access to universal grammar, the role of…
Descriptors: Comparative Analysis, Generative Grammar, Grammar, Language Research
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Orsolini, Margherita; Marslen-Wilson, William – Language and Cognitive Processes, 1997
Examines the dual mechanism hypothesis, which argues that the apparent contrast, in English inflectional morphology, between a rule-based default procedure, generating regular past-tense forms, and listed irregular forms stored in an associative net, reflects universal constraints on the properties of possible morphological systems. The study…
Descriptors: Contrastive Linguistics, English, Italian, Language Research
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Falk, Yehuda N. – Journal of Linguistics, 1991
Investigates a single linguistic universal that typifies the generative approach to grammar: morphological causativization. The study offers a predictive lexical analysis of causativization within the framework of Government/Binding theory, discusses syntactic and lexical analyses, and examines transitive verbs. Discussions concerning periphrastic…
Descriptors: French, Generative Grammar, Japanese, Language Research
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