Language Acquisition Studies in Generative Grammar: Papers in Honor of Kenneth Wexler from the 1991 GLOW Workshops

414 Pages·1994·17.64 MB·English

by  Kenneth Wexler

LANGUAGE ACQUISITION STUDIES
IN GENERATIVE GRAMMAR
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION & LANGUAGE DISORDERS
EDITORS
Harald Clahsen William Rutherford
University of Essex University of Southern California
EDITORIAL BOARD
Melissa Bowerman (Max Planck Institut für Psycholinguistik, Nijmegen)
Patricia Clancy (University of California at Santa Barbara)
Werner Deutsch (Universität Braunschweig)
Kenji Hakuta (Stanford University)
Kenneth Hyltenstam (University of Stockholm)
Peter Jordens (Free University, Amsterdam)
Barry McLaughlin (University of California at Santa Cruz)
Jürgen Meisel (Universität Hamburg)
Anne Mills (University of Amsterdam)
Csaba Pleh (University of Budapest)
Michael Sharwood Smith (University of Utrecht)
Catherine Snow (Harvard University)
Jürgen Weissenborn (Max Planck Institut für Psycholinguistik, Nijmegen)
Lydia White (McGill University)
Helmut Zobl (Carleton University, Ottawa)
Volume 8
Teun Hoekstra & Bonnie D. Schwartz (eds)
Language Acquisition Studies in Generative Grammar
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
STUDIES IN
GENERATIVE GRAMMAR
PAPERS IN HONOR OF KENNETH WEXLER
FROM THE 1991 GLOW WORKSHOPS
Edited by
TEUN HOEKSTRA
Leiden University
BONNIE D. SCHWARTZ
University of Durham
JOHN BENJAMINS PUBLISHING COMPANY
AMSTERDAM/PHILADELPHIA
1994
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences — Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Language acquisition studies in generative grammar : papers in honor of Kenneth
Wexler from the 1991 GLOW workshops / edited by Teun Hoekstra, Bonnie D.
Schwartz.
p. cm. -- (Language acquisition & language disorders : ISSN 0925-0123; v. 8)
Based on papers presented at workshops on syntactic acquisition organized as part of
the 14th GLOW Conference which was held Mar. 1991, Leiden University.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
Contents: Introduction : on the initial stages of language acquisition / Teun Hoekstra
& Bonnie Schwartz - VP, null arguments, and COMP projections / Nina Hyams --
Crosslinguistic evidence for functional projections in early child grammar / Vivian
Deprez & Amy Pierce ~ The seeds of structure : a syntactic analysis of the acquisition
of case marking / Harald Clahsen, Sonja Eisenbeiss & Anne Vainikka — From adjunct
to head / Teun Hoekstra & Peter Jordens — Early null subjects and root null subjects /
Luigi Rizzi — Asking questions without CPs? : on the acquisition of root wh-questions in
Bernese Swiss German and Standard German / Zvi Penner ~ Successful cyclic move­
ment / Rosalind Thornton & Stephen Crain - Early acquisition of scrambling in
Japanese / Yukio Otsu - Direct access to X'-theory : evidence from Korean and Turkish
adults learning German / Anne Vainikka & Martha Young-Scholten ~ Word order and
nominative case in non-native language acquisition : a longitudinal study of (L1 Turkish)
German interlanguage / Bonnie D. Schwartz & Rex A. Sprouse ~ Optionality and the
initial state in L2 development / Lynn Eubank.
1. Language acquisition. 2. Generative grammar. 3. Grammar, Comparative and gen­
eral-Syntax. I. Hoekstra, Teun. II. Schwartz, Bonnie D. III. Wexler, Kenneth. IV.
GLOW Conference (14th : 1992 : Leiden University) V. Series.
P118.L2544 1993
401'.93~dc20 93-43090
ISBN 90 272 2472 2 (Eur.) / 1-55619-244-4 (US) (Hb; alk. paper) CIP
ISBN 90 272 2473 0 (Eur.) / 1-55619-245-2 (US) (Pb; alk. paper)
© Copyright 1994 - John Benjamins B.V.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or
any other means, without written permission from the publisher.
John Benjamins Publishing Co. • P.O. Box 75577 • 1070 AN Amsterdam • The Netherlands
John Benjamins North America • 821 Bethlehem Pike • Philadelphia, PA 19118 • USA
Contents
Tables and Figures vii
Abbreviations ix
Contributors xi
Introduction: On the initial states of language acquisition 1
Teun Hoekstra & Bonnie Schwartz
VP, Null Arguments and COMP Projections 21
Nina Hyams
Crosslinguistic Evidence for Functional Projections
in Early Child Grammar 57
Vivian Deprez & Amy Pierce
The Seeds of Structure: A syntactic analysis of the
acquisition of Case marking 85
Harald Clahsen, Sonja Eisenbeiss & Anne Vainikka
From Adjunct to Head 119
Teun Hoekstra & Peter Jordens
Early Null Subjects and Root Null Subjects 151
Luigi Rizzi
Asking Questions without CPs? On the Acquisition of Root wh-questions
in Bernese Swiss German and Standard German 177
Zvi Penner
Succesful Cyclic Movement 215
Rosalind Thornton & Stephen Crain
Early Acquisition of Scrambling in Japanese 253
Yukio Otsu
Direct Access to X'-Theory: Evidence from Korean and Turkish
adults learning German 265
Anne Vainikka & Martha Young-Scholten
Word Order and Nominative Case in Non-Native Language Acquisition:
A longitudinal study of (L1 Turkish) German Interlanguage 317
Bonnie D. Schwartz & Rex A. Sprouse
Optionality and the Initial State in L2 Development 369
Lynn Eubank
Index of Languages 389
Index of Names 391
Index of Subjects 397

Tables and Figures
Tables
Deprez & Pierce
1. Early Distribution of Negatives in Three Children 1
2. Percentage of finite forms prior to V2 71
Clahsen, Eisenbeiss & Vainikka
1. Suffixes for Case Marking in German 92
2. Omissions of Determiners 99
3. Noun Phrases with Adjectives 100
4. The Acquisition of Structural Case in Finnish 111
Hoekstra & Jordens
1. Distribution of Modal Expressions 131
Thornton & Grain
1. Production of Argument and Adjunct Questions by Individual
Subjects 235
2. Comparison of Downstairs Responses versus Production of Medial-wh
Responses 240
3. Double Dissociation Downstairs Answers versus Medial-wh 240
4. Comparison of Responses Experiments 2 and 4 247
Otsu
1. Reliance on NNV Strategy 256
2. Various Word Orders with Five Selected Verbs 257
3. OSV Order in Utterances of Five Two- and Three Year Olds 258
4. Test Results 260
viii TABLES AND FIGURES
Vainikka & Young-Scholten
1. Implicational Table (to Be Revised) 278
2. Overt Subjects at the AGRP Stage 289
3. Revised Implicational Table 296
A. Biographic Information and Source of Data (Alphabetical Order) 300
B. Breakdown of Analyzed and Unanalyzed Utterances with Verbs
(Alphabetical Order) 301
C. Position of the Verb in the VP* (Developmental Order) 302
D. Bare-VP Sentences and Sentences with More than a VP (Developmental
Order) 303
E. Empty Subjects (Developmental Order) 304
F. Agreement on Raised Main Verbs (Developmental Order) 305
G-l. Distribution of -n and -0 on All Verbs (Early FP Stage) 306
G-2. Distribution of -e (ISG) and -t (3SG) on Main Vs (Early FP Stage) 306
H-l. Distribution of sein 'to be' (Early FP Stage) 307
H-2. Distribution of Modals (Early FP Stage) 307
I-1. Proportion of -n and Other Suffixes on Raised Main Verbs (AGRP
Stage) 308
I-2. Agreement Suffixes (Except for -n) on Raised Main Verbs (AgrP
Stage) 308
Figures
1. Empty Subjects in the Two Types of Sentences 280
2. Verb Raising and the Specifier Position 294
Tables
Schwartz & Sprouse
1. Parametric Differences between Turkish and German 334
2. Stage 1 338
3. Stage 2 339
4. Stage 3 341
5. Declarative Main Clauses with Two or More Non-Verbal Constitu­
ents 341
6. Summary of the Parametric Values for Turkish and German 360
Eubank
1. Main Clause Agreement by Affix for Jose 383
2. Thematic Verb Agreement and Infinitives in SV and VS orders for
Jose 385
Abbreviations
Object language is italicized throughout, with a translation in English following in
single quotation marks. Additionaly, italics are used for emphasis. Parts of examples
may be highlighted by underscoring.
An overscore must be read as negating the overscored (e.g., A vs. A), whereas a
prime indicates a projection level (e.g., X'). The word case begins with capital C when
it refers to grammatical Case.
Technical terms are set in small capitals on their first occurrence only. Grammatical
categories are printed in full capitals, usually abbreviated; features are represented
between angled brackets. Indications of children's ages have the format
(years;months;days).
In the interlinear glosses, a hyphen is used only if the corresponding English gloss
carries a hyphen. When one word in the example corresponds to two words in the
gloss, a period separates the two. Abbreviations are printed in small capitals. When an
abbreviation corresponds to an affix, the plus-sign is used. If an abbreviation merely
specifies the preceding element, it is connected to that element with a colon. Finally,
if an abbreviation itself consists of two parts, these parts are separated by a hairline space.
Abbreviations
Ө theta (= thematic) ASL American Sign Language
 phi (= person, number, and AUX auxiliary
gender features) bv bound variable
A(D) adjective C(OMP) complementizer
ADJ adjunct D(ET) determiner
ADV adverb DB discourse binder
AGR agreement DO direct object
ARG argument ECP empty category principle