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The acquisition of ergative marking in Kaluli, Ku Waru and Duna (Trans New Guinea)

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Abstract

In this chapter we present material on the acquisition of ergative marking on noun phrases in three languages of Papua New Guinea: Kaluli, Ku Waru, and Duna. The expression of ergativity in all the languages is broadly similar, but sensitive to language-specific features, and this pattern of similarity and difference is reflected in the available acquisition data. Children acquire adult-like ergative marking at about the same pace, reaching similar levels of mastery by 3;00 despite considerable differences in morphological complexity of ergative marking among the languages. What may be more important – as a factor in accounting for the relative uniformity of acquisition in this respect – are the similarities in patterns of interactional scaffolding that emerge from a comparison of the three cases.

Abstract

In this chapter we present material on the acquisition of ergative marking on noun phrases in three languages of Papua New Guinea: Kaluli, Ku Waru, and Duna. The expression of ergativity in all the languages is broadly similar, but sensitive to language-specific features, and this pattern of similarity and difference is reflected in the available acquisition data. Children acquire adult-like ergative marking at about the same pace, reaching similar levels of mastery by 3;00 despite considerable differences in morphological complexity of ergative marking among the languages. What may be more important – as a factor in accounting for the relative uniformity of acquisition in this respect – are the similarities in patterns of interactional scaffolding that emerge from a comparison of the three cases.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. The acquisition of ergativity 1
  4. Ergativity 15
  5. Ergativity in child Basque 35
  6. The acquisition of ergativity in Inuktitut 71
  7. The acquisition of ergative case in Warlpiri 107
  8. The acquisition of ergative marking in Kaluli, Ku Waru and Duna (Trans New Guinea) 133
  9. The acquisition of ergative case in Chintang 183
  10. Ergative case-marking in Hindi child-caregiver speech 209
  11. The acquisition of split-ergative case marking in Kurmanji Kurdish 239
  12. The acquisition of agreement in four Mayan languages 271
  13. The acquisition of extended ergativity in Mam, Q’anjob’al and Yucatec 307
  14. Index 337
The Acquisition of Ergativity
This chapter is in the book The Acquisition of Ergativity
https://doi.org/10.1075/tilar.9.06rum

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. The acquisition of ergativity 1
  4. Ergativity 15
  5. Ergativity in child Basque 35
  6. The acquisition of ergativity in Inuktitut 71
  7. The acquisition of ergative case in Warlpiri 107
  8. The acquisition of ergative marking in Kaluli, Ku Waru and Duna (Trans New Guinea) 133
  9. The acquisition of ergative case in Chintang 183
  10. Ergative case-marking in Hindi child-caregiver speech 209
  11. The acquisition of split-ergative case marking in Kurmanji Kurdish 239
  12. The acquisition of agreement in four Mayan languages 271
  13. The acquisition of extended ergativity in Mam, Q’anjob’al and Yucatec 307
  14. Index 337
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