Chapter 8. On scope interaction between subject QPs and negation in child grammar
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Yoichi Miyamoto
Abstract
In adult grammar, languages such as English exhibit scope flexibility between the universal quantifier in the subject position and negation (Horn 1989; Jackendoff 1972), whereas languages such as Japanese and German do not (Lechner 1996; Miyagawa 2010, among others). This paper elucidates children’s ability to detect scope ambiguity between universal and existential quantifiers in subject position and negation in Japanese and German. Importantly, these two languages seem to share a property regarding the surface position of subjects in adult grammar: Ueda (2002), Saito (2011), among others argue that a subject is located in the CP domain in Japanese, and a preverbal subject in German is also widely assumed to be located in the CP domain, due to its V2 nature (den Besten 1983; Schwartz & Vikner 1996, among others). However, a detailed examination of the properties of subjects in these two languages reveals that their wide scope interpretation may be due to different mechanisms. It will be shown that although different restrictions are posed on Japanese and German reconstruction in adult grammar, these restrictions may be lifted in child grammar, which enables us to compare reconstruction effects that we may observe in Japanese and German child grammar. We conduct experiments, adopting the truth value judgment task (Crain & McKee 1985), in order to examine how Japanese and German children interpret sentences with a subject universal or existential quantifier and negation. We anticipate that Japanese and German children both allow scope ambiguity between universal and existential quantifiers in subject position and negation. The present study leads us to identify the position of the subject in Japanese child grammar.
Abstract
In adult grammar, languages such as English exhibit scope flexibility between the universal quantifier in the subject position and negation (Horn 1989; Jackendoff 1972), whereas languages such as Japanese and German do not (Lechner 1996; Miyagawa 2010, among others). This paper elucidates children’s ability to detect scope ambiguity between universal and existential quantifiers in subject position and negation in Japanese and German. Importantly, these two languages seem to share a property regarding the surface position of subjects in adult grammar: Ueda (2002), Saito (2011), among others argue that a subject is located in the CP domain in Japanese, and a preverbal subject in German is also widely assumed to be located in the CP domain, due to its V2 nature (den Besten 1983; Schwartz & Vikner 1996, among others). However, a detailed examination of the properties of subjects in these two languages reveals that their wide scope interpretation may be due to different mechanisms. It will be shown that although different restrictions are posed on Japanese and German reconstruction in adult grammar, these restrictions may be lifted in child grammar, which enables us to compare reconstruction effects that we may observe in Japanese and German child grammar. We conduct experiments, adopting the truth value judgment task (Crain & McKee 1985), in order to examine how Japanese and German children interpret sentences with a subject universal or existential quantifier and negation. We anticipate that Japanese and German children both allow scope ambiguity between universal and existential quantifiers in subject position and negation. The present study leads us to identify the position of the subject in Japanese child grammar.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Studies in Chinese and Japanese Language Acquisition 1
-
Part I. Tasks
- Chapter 1. The Truth Value Judgment Task 13
- Chapter 2. Negation, uncertainty, and the Truth Value Judgment Task 41
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Part II. Binding
- Chapter 3. Logophoric z iji in Mandarin child language 65
- Chapter 4. Kare and the acquisition of bound variable interpretations by Korean speaking learners of Japanese 85
- Chapter 5. Interpretation of bound pronouns by learners of Japanese Sign Language 107
- Chapter 6. The acquisition of the non-subject status of nominative objects in Japanese 127
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Part III. Scope Interactions
- Chapter 7. Scrambling and locality constraints in child Japanese 147
- Chapter 8. On scope interaction between subject QPs and negation in child grammar 165
- Chapter 9. Native and non-native comprehension of the Japanese existential quantifier nanko-ka 197
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Part IV. Wh-words and Logical Expressions
- Chapter 10. Free choice and wh -indefinites in child Mandarin 223
- Chapter 11. The acquisition of the wh -pronoun duo-shao in child Mandarin 237
- Chapter 12. Logical expressions in Mandarin-speaking children with autism spectrum disorders 265
- Name Index 281
- Subject Index 285
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Studies in Chinese and Japanese Language Acquisition 1
-
Part I. Tasks
- Chapter 1. The Truth Value Judgment Task 13
- Chapter 2. Negation, uncertainty, and the Truth Value Judgment Task 41
-
Part II. Binding
- Chapter 3. Logophoric z iji in Mandarin child language 65
- Chapter 4. Kare and the acquisition of bound variable interpretations by Korean speaking learners of Japanese 85
- Chapter 5. Interpretation of bound pronouns by learners of Japanese Sign Language 107
- Chapter 6. The acquisition of the non-subject status of nominative objects in Japanese 127
-
Part III. Scope Interactions
- Chapter 7. Scrambling and locality constraints in child Japanese 147
- Chapter 8. On scope interaction between subject QPs and negation in child grammar 165
- Chapter 9. Native and non-native comprehension of the Japanese existential quantifier nanko-ka 197
-
Part IV. Wh-words and Logical Expressions
- Chapter 10. Free choice and wh -indefinites in child Mandarin 223
- Chapter 11. The acquisition of the wh -pronoun duo-shao in child Mandarin 237
- Chapter 12. Logical expressions in Mandarin-speaking children with autism spectrum disorders 265
- Name Index 281
- Subject Index 285
