Chapter 9. The acquisition of compound nouns in North Saami
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Johanna Johansen Ijäs
Abstract
This chapter examines the acquisition of compound nouns in one Saami-speaking child at age 1;8–2;11. Saami compounds are mainly subordinate endocentric words. They are composed of a non-head and a head, the former preceding the latter. In the non-head, there is substantial morphological and morphophonological variation. The child’s compounds were mainly semantically and morphosemantically transparent. Opaque compounds were mostly pragmatically important words. The most common morphological types of compound nouns appeared in the child’s language before age 2;6. The frequency of various non-heads in child-directed speech corresponds with the order of appearance of different types of compounds in the child’s language. This also correlates well with the amount of different types of compound words used by the child.
Abstract
This chapter examines the acquisition of compound nouns in one Saami-speaking child at age 1;8–2;11. Saami compounds are mainly subordinate endocentric words. They are composed of a non-head and a head, the former preceding the latter. In the non-head, there is substantial morphological and morphophonological variation. The child’s compounds were mainly semantically and morphosemantically transparent. Opaque compounds were mostly pragmatically important words. The most common morphological types of compound nouns appeared in the child’s language before age 2;6. The frequency of various non-heads in child-directed speech corresponds with the order of appearance of different types of compounds in the child’s language. This also correlates well with the amount of different types of compound words used by the child.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Abbreviations vii
- Introduction 1
- Chapter 1. Emergence and early development of German compounds 19
- Chapter 2. Compound nouns in Danish child language 39
- Chapter 3. Acquisition of nominal compounds in Russian 63
- Chapter 4. Early development of compounds in two French children’s corpora 91
- Chapter 5. Compounding in early Greek language acquisition 119
- Chapter 6. The early production of compounds in Lithuanian 145
- Chapter 7. Acquisition of noun compounds in Estonian 165
- Chapter 8. Acquisition of compound nouns in Finnish 191
- Chapter 9. The acquisition of compound nouns in North Saami 209
- Chapter 10. The emergence of nominal compounds in Turkish 231
- Chapter 11. Compounding in early child speech: Hebrew peer talk 2–8 251
- Chapter 12. Contrastive lexical typology of German and Greek child speech and child-directed speech 275
- Chapter 13. Discussion and outlook 287
- Index 307
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Abbreviations vii
- Introduction 1
- Chapter 1. Emergence and early development of German compounds 19
- Chapter 2. Compound nouns in Danish child language 39
- Chapter 3. Acquisition of nominal compounds in Russian 63
- Chapter 4. Early development of compounds in two French children’s corpora 91
- Chapter 5. Compounding in early Greek language acquisition 119
- Chapter 6. The early production of compounds in Lithuanian 145
- Chapter 7. Acquisition of noun compounds in Estonian 165
- Chapter 8. Acquisition of compound nouns in Finnish 191
- Chapter 9. The acquisition of compound nouns in North Saami 209
- Chapter 10. The emergence of nominal compounds in Turkish 231
- Chapter 11. Compounding in early child speech: Hebrew peer talk 2–8 251
- Chapter 12. Contrastive lexical typology of German and Greek child speech and child-directed speech 275
- Chapter 13. Discussion and outlook 287
- Index 307
