The acquisition of finiteness in auch- and aber-clauses in DLD. A case study

Abstract

This study investigates the acquisition of auch- and aber-clauses in the longitudinal data of a German-speaking child with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) in the age range of 2;5-5;11. Auch is produced early and is known as a precursor of finiteness in typical language development and DLD (Dimroth et al., 2003; Jolink, 2005, 2009; Jordens & Dimroth, 2008; Penner et al., 1999, 2000). Aber is produced several months after auch, but also typically prior to the acquisition of functional finiteness. Previous studies have reported that certain particles support or hamper the realization of finiteness in typical L1- and L2-acquisition, and these effects have been predominantly traced back to information-structural properties of these utterances (Bartz & Bittner, 2018; Bittner & Bartz, 2018; Dietrich & Grommes, 1998; Dimroth, 2002, 2009; Dimroth et al., 2009; Nederstigt, 2003; Penner et al., 2000; Schimke et al., 2008, 2012; Winkler, 2006, 2009). Little is known about the relationship between the acquisition of finiteness and aberclauses in DLD. In her study Skerra (2017) concludes that aber can be integrated lexically prior to the acquisition of V2. However, the use of cohesion devices depends to a high degree on morphosyntactic abilities. In the present study, the impact of the acquisition of functional finiteness on the use and structure of auch- and aber-clauses is explored. In order to investigate particle-specific effects in DLD, the realization of finiteness in auch- and aber-clauses is analysed and compared to simple main clauses without any particle. In addition, information- structural properties of auch- and aber-clauses are analysed. Results are compared with the acquisition of auch- and aber-clauses in typical language development. Deviations are discussed against the background of the assumption of limited working memory capacities in children with DLD.