Person and number asymmetries in child Catalan and Spanish
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Aurora Bel
Abstract
This study provides a unified account for the different Number Agreement patterns attested in early Catalan and Spanish. The scarce Person Agreement errors analyzed indicate the existence of a pragmatic rather than a syntactic deficit while, concerning Number, the distribution of plural subjects show than children are sensitive to linear order as in other domains of grammar. As for Number marking, subjects trigger Number Agreement on the verb in preverbal and not in post-verbal position. Following Guasti & Rizzi’s proposal (2002) we suggest that the overt movement of the plural DP to a position in which it enters into an agreement relation with V is not realized, yielding the possibility that Agreement features not be checked in the overt syntax and that the verb surfaces without plural marking.
Abstract
This study provides a unified account for the different Number Agreement patterns attested in early Catalan and Spanish. The scarce Person Agreement errors analyzed indicate the existence of a pragmatic rather than a syntactic deficit while, concerning Number, the distribution of plural subjects show than children are sensitive to linear order as in other domains of grammar. As for Number marking, subjects trigger Number Agreement on the verb in preverbal and not in post-verbal position. Following Guasti & Rizzi’s proposal (2002) we suggest that the overt movement of the plural DP to a position in which it enters into an agreement relation with V is not realized, yielding the possibility that Agreement features not be checked in the overt syntax and that the verb surfaces without plural marking.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Introduction xiii
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Part I. Diverse learning conditions and input characteristics
- Syllable-final /s/ lenition and the acquisition of plural morphology in Spanish-speaking children 3
- The article paradigm in Spanish-speaking children with SLI in language contact situations 29
- Development in early Basque-Spanish language mixing 57
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Part II. The developing syntax and semantics of determiner phrases
- Context and the Scalar Implicatures of Indefinites in Child Spanish 93
- Early determination 117
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Part III. The developing syntax of the verb phrase
- Before grammar 143
- Subjects, verb classes and word order in child Catalan 175
- Person and number asymmetries in child Catalan and Spanish 195
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Part IV. The development of inflectional morphology
- Relationships between linguistic and behavioral measures during development 217
- Temporal interface delay and root nonfinite verbs in Spanish-Speaking children with specific language impairment 239
- Specific language impairment in Spanish & Catalan 265
- Variability in the grammatical profiles of Spanish-speaking children with specific language impairment 283
- Index 303
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Introduction xiii
-
Part I. Diverse learning conditions and input characteristics
- Syllable-final /s/ lenition and the acquisition of plural morphology in Spanish-speaking children 3
- The article paradigm in Spanish-speaking children with SLI in language contact situations 29
- Development in early Basque-Spanish language mixing 57
-
Part II. The developing syntax and semantics of determiner phrases
- Context and the Scalar Implicatures of Indefinites in Child Spanish 93
- Early determination 117
-
Part III. The developing syntax of the verb phrase
- Before grammar 143
- Subjects, verb classes and word order in child Catalan 175
- Person and number asymmetries in child Catalan and Spanish 195
-
Part IV. The development of inflectional morphology
- Relationships between linguistic and behavioral measures during development 217
- Temporal interface delay and root nonfinite verbs in Spanish-Speaking children with specific language impairment 239
- Specific language impairment in Spanish & Catalan 265
- Variability in the grammatical profiles of Spanish-speaking children with specific language impairment 283
- Index 303
