A path from broader to narrower grammars : the acquisition of argument structure in English and Hungarian
In recent years a growing number of theoretical and empirical studies of first language acquisition have cast doubt on the hypothesis that acquiring language is a deterministic process in which the role of experience is restricted to triggering innate principles of grammatical content. The aim of this thesis is to explore areas of language where input-based learning demonstrably plays a role and to find learning mechanisms that account for the construction of observed overgeneral grammars and the process of their restriction. The thesis is a comparative study of the acquisition of argument structure in English and in Hungarian. The detailed analysis of spontaneous speech samples of two-year-old children reveals that the omission of subjects, objects and prepositions at the so-called telegraphic stage of English child language cannot be explained either by limitations in processing capacity or by postulating an incomplete Universal Grammar. It is suggested that childrenâs implicit arguments and oblique noun phrases lacking case or propositional marking need not be analysed as syntactically ill-formed, since they conform to permissible abstract structural configurations. The errors may instead be attributed
Babarczy, Anna
A path from broader to narrower grammars : the acquisition of argument structure in English and Hungarian. In recent years a growing number of theoretical and empirical studies of first language acquisition have cast doubt on the hypothesis that acquiring language is a deterministic process in which the role of experience is restricted to triggering innate principles of grammatical content. The aim of this thesis is to explore areas of language where input-based learning demonstrably plays a role and to find learning mechanisms that account for the construction of observed overgeneral grammars and the process of their restriction. The thesis is a comparative study of the acquisition of argument structure in English and in Hungarian. The detailed analysis of spontaneous speech samples of two-year-old children reveals that the omission of subjects, objects and prepositions at the so-called telegraphic stage of English child language cannot be explained either by limitations in processing capacity or by postulating an incomplete Universal Grammar. It is suggested that childrenâs implicit arguments and oblique noun phrases lacking case or propositional marking need not be analysed as syntactically ill-formed, since they conform to permissible abstract structural configurations. The errors may instead be attributed
path broad_narrow grammar acquisition argument_structure english hungarian grow_number theoretical_empirical study first_language_acquisition cast_doubt hypothesis acquire_language deterministic process role experience restrict trigger innate principle grammatical content aim_explore area language input based learning demonstrably play_role learn mechanisms account construction observe grammar process restriction comparative_study acquisition argument_structure english hungarian detail_analysis spontaneous_speech sample year_old child reveals omission subject_object preposition so_called stage english child_language explain either limitation process capacity postulate incomplete universal_grammar suggest_child implicit argument oblique noun_phrase lack case propositional mark need analyse syntactically ill formed since conform permissible abstract structural configuration error may instead attribute