Word order and finiteness in acquisition
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Marit Westergaard
Abstract
Children acquiring languages such as English, German or Dutch typically go through a phase where they produce non-finite root clauses, often referred to as the Optional Infinitive (OI) stage. But there is a difference between English on the one hand and the other Germanic languages on the other with respect to the occurrence of non-finite wh-questions: while there is a high number of OIs in English in this context, non-finite wh-questions are virtually non-existent in child data of e.g. German or Swedish. This is often argued to be due to the early setting of the V2 parameter. Comparing Norwegian and English child data on wh-questions, this paper argues that there is no such parameter and that children instead are sensitive to fine syntactic distinctions in the input called micro-cues. On this view, both English and Norwegian have restricted V2 in wh-questions. The paper also shows that there is no causal correlation between finiteness morphology and word order in this context. Children’s non-finite root clauses are argued to generally be caused by a problem realizing auxiliaries, in both languages, and the difference between English and Norwegian is due to the type of verb required in wh-questions (auxiliaries vs. lexical verbs).
Abstract
Children acquiring languages such as English, German or Dutch typically go through a phase where they produce non-finite root clauses, often referred to as the Optional Infinitive (OI) stage. But there is a difference between English on the one hand and the other Germanic languages on the other with respect to the occurrence of non-finite wh-questions: while there is a high number of OIs in English in this context, non-finite wh-questions are virtually non-existent in child data of e.g. German or Swedish. This is often argued to be due to the early setting of the V2 parameter. Comparing Norwegian and English child data on wh-questions, this paper argues that there is no such parameter and that children instead are sensitive to fine syntactic distinctions in the input called micro-cues. On this view, both English and Norwegian have restricted V2 in wh-questions. The paper also shows that there is no causal correlation between finiteness morphology and word order in this context. Children’s non-finite root clauses are argued to generally be caused by a problem realizing auxiliaries, in both languages, and the difference between English and Norwegian is due to the type of verb required in wh-questions (auxiliaries vs. lexical verbs).
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
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Part I: Finiteness: underlying relations
- Finiteness and Pseudofiniteness 47
- The Split T Analysis 79
- Universals and variation 93
- Finiteness, inflection, and the syntax your morphology can afford 121
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Part II: Morphosyntactic exponents of (non-)finiteness
- Agreement is not an essential ingredient of finiteness 171
- Non-finiteness in Saamáka 189
- Finiteness and response particles in West Flemish 211
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Part III: Finiteness in language acquisition
- Word order and finiteness in acquisition 257
- The influence of phonological factors on the expression of finiteness by children learning Dutch as their first and second language 287
- Contradictory parameter settings in one mind 309
- Index 343
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
-
Part I: Finiteness: underlying relations
- Finiteness and Pseudofiniteness 47
- The Split T Analysis 79
- Universals and variation 93
- Finiteness, inflection, and the syntax your morphology can afford 121
-
Part II: Morphosyntactic exponents of (non-)finiteness
- Agreement is not an essential ingredient of finiteness 171
- Non-finiteness in Saamáka 189
- Finiteness and response particles in West Flemish 211
-
Part III: Finiteness in language acquisition
- Word order and finiteness in acquisition 257
- The influence of phonological factors on the expression of finiteness by children learning Dutch as their first and second language 287
- Contradictory parameter settings in one mind 309
- Index 343
