Particle placement in early child language: A multifactorial analysis

Abstract

Recent studies of the English verb particle construction have shown that particle placement varies with a variety of linguistic features, which seem to influence the speaker’s choice of a particular position. The current study investigates whether children’s use of the particle varies with the same features as in adult language. Using corpus data from two English-speaking children, we conducted a multifactorial analysis of six linguistic variables that are correlated with particle placement in adult language. Our analysis reveals significant associations between the position of the particle and two of the six variables, the NP type of the direct object and the meaning of the particle, suggesting that children as young as two years of age process at least some of the features that motivate particle placement in adult speakers.