Chapter 4. Child acquisition of sociolinguistic variation
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Leonie Cornips
Abstract
The main questions of this paper are whether children acquire adults’ variable V1-V2/V2-V1 word order in the perfective two-verb cluster simultaneously with a rigid V1-V2 word order in the modal two-verb cluster from start of the acquisition process. The experimental results show that children acquire variable word orders following rigid ones confirming Labov’s (1989) expectation that children have to acquire grammatical properties before acquiring stylistic and sociolinguistic constraints. It is, however, not possible to disentangle whether the struggle with the variable word orders in the perfective cluster is due to grammatical reasons only or in combination with the fact that this type of variation reveals no significant social stratification among the adults.
Abstract
The main questions of this paper are whether children acquire adults’ variable V1-V2/V2-V1 word order in the perfective two-verb cluster simultaneously with a rigid V1-V2 word order in the modal two-verb cluster from start of the acquisition process. The experimental results show that children acquire variable word orders following rigid ones confirming Labov’s (1989) expectation that children have to acquire grammatical properties before acquiring stylistic and sociolinguistic constraints. It is, however, not possible to disentangle whether the struggle with the variable word orders in the perfective cluster is due to grammatical reasons only or in combination with the fact that this type of variation reveals no significant social stratification among the adults.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Chapter 1. Bridging the gap between language acquisition and sociolinguistics 1
- Chapter 2. The effects of exposure on awareness and discrimination of regional accents by five- and six year old children 43
- Chapter 3. How do social networks influence children’s stylistic practices? 65
- Chapter 4. Child acquisition of sociolinguistic variation 91
- Chapter 5. Acquiring attitudes towards varieties of Dutch 117
- Chapter 6. What is the target variety? 155
- Chapter 7. The relationship between segregation and participation in ethnolectal variants 185
- Chapter 8. Socializing language choices 213
- Chapter 9. Language acquisition in bilectal environments 235
- Chapter 10. Acquisition of phonological variables of a Flemish dialect by children raised in Standard Dutch 267
- Chapter 11. Developmental sociolinguistics and the acquisition of T-glottalling by immigrant teenagers in London 305
- Author index 343
- Subject index 345
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Chapter 1. Bridging the gap between language acquisition and sociolinguistics 1
- Chapter 2. The effects of exposure on awareness and discrimination of regional accents by five- and six year old children 43
- Chapter 3. How do social networks influence children’s stylistic practices? 65
- Chapter 4. Child acquisition of sociolinguistic variation 91
- Chapter 5. Acquiring attitudes towards varieties of Dutch 117
- Chapter 6. What is the target variety? 155
- Chapter 7. The relationship between segregation and participation in ethnolectal variants 185
- Chapter 8. Socializing language choices 213
- Chapter 9. Language acquisition in bilectal environments 235
- Chapter 10. Acquisition of phonological variables of a Flemish dialect by children raised in Standard Dutch 267
- Chapter 11. Developmental sociolinguistics and the acquisition of T-glottalling by immigrant teenagers in London 305
- Author index 343
- Subject index 345
