Toward a theory of gradual morphosyntactic learning
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Matthew Rispoli
Abstract
This chapter summarizes multiple studies from a longitudinal database of 20 children from 21 to 33 months of age. First, we describe the growth of tense/agreement morpheme productivity, revealing an age-related starting point and stable individual growth trajectories. Next, we provide evidence for a developmental sequence characterized by -3s, -ed and auxiliary DO as a block of morphemes that develop together. Evidence for cross-morpheme facilitation is also presented. Finally, we document children's sensitivity to tense marking in parent input at 21 months of age, with input informativeness accounting for a significant portion of variation in between-child growth rates. We conclude that the acquisition of the tense/agreement system is the product of gradual morphosyntactic learning and that children have an abstract tense/agreement system before age three. Keywords: Tense/agreement; morphosyntax; morphosyntactic learning
Abstract
This chapter summarizes multiple studies from a longitudinal database of 20 children from 21 to 33 months of age. First, we describe the growth of tense/agreement morpheme productivity, revealing an age-related starting point and stable individual growth trajectories. Next, we provide evidence for a developmental sequence characterized by -3s, -ed and auxiliary DO as a block of morphemes that develop together. Evidence for cross-morpheme facilitation is also presented. Finally, we document children's sensitivity to tense marking in parent input at 21 months of age, with input informativeness accounting for a significant portion of variation in between-child growth rates. We conclude that the acquisition of the tense/agreement system is the product of gradual morphosyntactic learning and that children have an abstract tense/agreement system before age three. Keywords: Tense/agreement; morphosyntax; morphosyntactic learning
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- List of contributors ix
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Extracting regularities
- Toward a theory of gradual morphosyntactic learning 15
- Cues to form and function in the acquisition of German number and case inflection 35
- Developing first contrasts in Spanish verb inflection 53
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Part II. Multiple cues in learning to communicate
- A new look at redundancy in children's gesture and word combinations 75
- Learning the meaning of “ um ” 91
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Part III. Discovering units
- From first words to segments 109
- Analysis and generalization across verbs and constructions 135
- Two- and three-year-olds' linguistic generalizations are prudent adaptations to the language they hear 153
- Units of learning in language acquisition 167
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Part IV. Individual differences
- Causes and consequences of variability in early language learning 181
- Individual differences in measures of linguistic experience account for variability in the sentence processing skill of five-year-olds 203
- Genetic variation and individual differences in language 223
-
Part V. Mechanisms for learning
- Language as a process 241
- Memory, sleep and generalization in language acquisition 261
- Bayesian modeling of sources of constraint in language acquisition 277
- Index 295
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- List of contributors ix
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Extracting regularities
- Toward a theory of gradual morphosyntactic learning 15
- Cues to form and function in the acquisition of German number and case inflection 35
- Developing first contrasts in Spanish verb inflection 53
-
Part II. Multiple cues in learning to communicate
- A new look at redundancy in children's gesture and word combinations 75
- Learning the meaning of “ um ” 91
-
Part III. Discovering units
- From first words to segments 109
- Analysis and generalization across verbs and constructions 135
- Two- and three-year-olds' linguistic generalizations are prudent adaptations to the language they hear 153
- Units of learning in language acquisition 167
-
Part IV. Individual differences
- Causes and consequences of variability in early language learning 181
- Individual differences in measures of linguistic experience account for variability in the sentence processing skill of five-year-olds 203
- Genetic variation and individual differences in language 223
-
Part V. Mechanisms for learning
- Language as a process 241
- Memory, sleep and generalization in language acquisition 261
- Bayesian modeling of sources of constraint in language acquisition 277
- Index 295
