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Tracing the acquisition of definiteness in Emirati Arabic

Abstract

This paper presents initial results on the acquisition trajectory of the definite determiner əl- in Emirati Arabic. It is shown that Emirati children follow a maturational process sporadically producing target-like fully inflected DPs early on, but dropping determiners frequently in obligatory syntactic contexts, including prepositional phrases, after demonstratives, with generic nouns and certain proper names. In addition, children add determiners in contexts where they are illicit in the target language, including new referents and possessive structures. We argue for an intact syntactic D-system in early stages of acquisition but that the DP projection is underspecified, due to pragmatic factors, i.e. the children have not yet fully mastered the complex interplay between syntactic environment and pragmatic/discourse knowledge.

Abstract

This paper presents initial results on the acquisition trajectory of the definite determiner əl- in Emirati Arabic. It is shown that Emirati children follow a maturational process sporadically producing target-like fully inflected DPs early on, but dropping determiners frequently in obligatory syntactic contexts, including prepositional phrases, after demonstratives, with generic nouns and certain proper names. In addition, children add determiners in contexts where they are illicit in the target language, including new referents and possessive structures. We argue for an intact syntactic D-system in early stages of acquisition but that the DP projection is underspecified, due to pragmatic factors, i.e. the children have not yet fully mastered the complex interplay between syntactic environment and pragmatic/discourse knowledge.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgements vii
  4. Introduction ix
  5. Part I. Sociolinguistics
  6. Palestinian Arabic in the diaspora 3
  7. Dialect contact and change in the Arabic feminine ending morpheme 27
  8. Variability of nominal genitives in Casablanca Moroccan Arabic 51
  9. Part II. Phonetics and phonology
  10. Plain-emphatic R phonemes in Arabic 77
  11. Some grammatical features of Faifi Arabic with a focus on emphatic fricatives 99
  12. Part III. Syntax
  13. The imperfective verb and the progressive aspect in Arabic 121
  14. Remnant-movement analysis of questions with final wh-words in Jordanian Arabic 147
  15. Part IV. First language acquisition
  16. Tracing the acquisition of definiteness in Emirati Arabic 169
  17. Index 199
Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics XXXIII
This chapter is in the book Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics XXXIII
https://doi.org/10.1075/sal.11.08nte

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgements vii
  4. Introduction ix
  5. Part I. Sociolinguistics
  6. Palestinian Arabic in the diaspora 3
  7. Dialect contact and change in the Arabic feminine ending morpheme 27
  8. Variability of nominal genitives in Casablanca Moroccan Arabic 51
  9. Part II. Phonetics and phonology
  10. Plain-emphatic R phonemes in Arabic 77
  11. Some grammatical features of Faifi Arabic with a focus on emphatic fricatives 99
  12. Part III. Syntax
  13. The imperfective verb and the progressive aspect in Arabic 121
  14. Remnant-movement analysis of questions with final wh-words in Jordanian Arabic 147
  15. Part IV. First language acquisition
  16. Tracing the acquisition of definiteness in Emirati Arabic 169
  17. Index 199
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