The interaction of function and input frequency in L1-acquisition
-
Rasmus Steinkrauss
Abstract
The study reported in this chapter investigates the L1 acquisition of a group of wh-questions by a German-learning boy. It is assumed their acquisition will generally follow input frequency, but also interact with functional factors and previous linguistic knowledge. The input frequencies of the target structures are assessed and an order of acquisition predicted. This order is then compared to the actual course of acquisition and the deviations investigated. Results show that the acquisition of wh-questions is influenced by their input frequency as well as their communicative use and the knowledge of related constructions. The study argues for a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods in language acquisition research and recommends the consideration of several factors at once.
Abstract
The study reported in this chapter investigates the L1 acquisition of a group of wh-questions by a German-learning boy. It is assumed their acquisition will generally follow input frequency, but also interact with functional factors and previous linguistic knowledge. The input frequencies of the target structures are assessed and an order of acquisition predicted. This order is then compared to the actual course of acquisition and the deviations investigated. Results show that the acquisition of wh-questions is influenced by their input frequency as well as their communicative use and the knowledge of related constructions. The study argues for a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods in language acquisition research and recommends the consideration of several factors at once.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors vii
- Preface ix
- Introduction 1
- Issues in collecting converging evidence 33
-
Part 1. Multi-methodological approaches to constructional and idiomatic meaning
-
1.1. Cognition verb constructions
- Perception and conception 57
- Explaining diverging evidence 81
-
1.2. Constructional alternatives
- I am about to die vs. I am going to die 115
- Studying syntactic priming in corpora 143
- Islands of (im)productivity in corpus data and acceptability judgments 165
-
1.3. Idioms and creative language use
- Compositional and embodied meanings of somatisms 195
- Word-formation patterns in a cross-linguistic perspective 221
-
Part 2. Multi-methodological approaches to language acquisition
- The interaction of function and input frequency in L1-acquisition 249
- Relative clause acquisition and representation 273
- Converging evidence in the typology of motion events 293
-
Part 3. Multi-methodological approaches to the study of discourse
- Differences in the use of emotion metaphors in expert-lay communication 319
- Index 349
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors vii
- Preface ix
- Introduction 1
- Issues in collecting converging evidence 33
-
Part 1. Multi-methodological approaches to constructional and idiomatic meaning
-
1.1. Cognition verb constructions
- Perception and conception 57
- Explaining diverging evidence 81
-
1.2. Constructional alternatives
- I am about to die vs. I am going to die 115
- Studying syntactic priming in corpora 143
- Islands of (im)productivity in corpus data and acceptability judgments 165
-
1.3. Idioms and creative language use
- Compositional and embodied meanings of somatisms 195
- Word-formation patterns in a cross-linguistic perspective 221
-
Part 2. Multi-methodological approaches to language acquisition
- The interaction of function and input frequency in L1-acquisition 249
- Relative clause acquisition and representation 273
- Converging evidence in the typology of motion events 293
-
Part 3. Multi-methodological approaches to the study of discourse
- Differences in the use of emotion metaphors in expert-lay communication 319
- Index 349
