Universal Grammar in Child Second Language Acquisition : Null subjects and morphological uniformity.
Title:
Universal Grammar in Child Second Language Acquisition : Null subjects and morphological uniformity.
Author:
Lakshmanan, Usha.
ISBN:
9789027286666
Personal Author:
Physical Description:
1 online resource (172 pages)
Series:
Language Acquisition and Language Disorders ; v.10
Language Acquisition and Language Disorders
Contents:
UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR IN CHILD SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION -- Editorial page -- Title page -- LCC data -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgements -- 1 Syntactic Theory and Child Second Language Acquisition -- 1.0. Introduction -- 1.1. The Logical Problem of Language Acquisition -- 1.2. UG and Parameterized Grammars -- 1.3. The Developmental Problem -- 1.3.1. Triggering Data -- 1.3.2. Non-linguistic Maturation Factors -- 1.3.3. Linguistic Maturation Factors -- 1.3.4. Learning Procedure -- 1.3.5. Critical Period for Language Acquisition -- 1.4. UG and SLA -- 1.4.1. Previous L2 Research -- 1.4.2. UG and Child SLA -- 1.5. A Note on Methodology -- Notes to Chapter 1 -- 2 Theoretical Framework -- 2.0. Introduction -- 2.1. The Structure of INFL -- 2.2. Null Subjects and Rich Agreement -- 2.3. The AG/PRO Parameter -- 2.4. Null Subjects in Languages without Rich Agreement -- 2.5. The Morphological Uniformity Principle -- 2.6. Identification of Null Subjects -- 2.7. Summary -- Notes to Chapter 2 -- 3 Null Subjects in Developing Grammars -- 3.0. Introduction -- 3.1. Parameter Setting Accounts of the Null Subject Phenomenon -- 3.2. Morphological Development and Null Subjects in Early Grammars -- 3.3. Predictions of the MUP for SLA -- 3.4. Null Subjects in Developing L2 Grammars -- 3.5. Summary -- Notes to Chapter 3 -- 4 Morphological Uniformity and Null Subjects in Child L2 Grammars -- 4.0 Introduction -- 4.1 Research Questions -- 4.2 Methods -- 4.2.1 Subjects -- 4.2.2 The Data -- 4.2.3 Data Analysis -- 4.3. Results -- 4.3.1. Relations between Null subjects and Verb Inflections -- 4.3.1.1 Null subjects -- 4.3.1.2 Null Subjects versus Verb Inflections -- 4.3.1.3 Relations between Inflection Acquisition and Type of Verb Morphology -- 4.3.2 Relations between Null Subjects and Is-contexts' -- 4.3.2.1 Developmental Relations between Null Subjects and 'Is Constructions'.
4.3.2.2. Distribution of Null subjects! Subjects in 'is' and 'non-is' constructions -- 4.4. Summary -- Notes to Chapter 4 -- Appendix A -- Appendix B -- Appendix C -- Appendix D -- 5 Discussion and Conclusions -- 5.0. An Overview -- 5.1. Discussion -- 5.1.1. Implications of the Findings for the MUP -- 5.1.2. Perceptual Factors and the L1 -- 5.1.3. Individual Differences -- 5.1.4. Implications for Access to UG in Child SLA -- 5.2. Conclusion -- Notes to Chapter 5 -- References -- Index.
Abstract:
This book examines child second language acquisition within the Principles and Parameters theory of Universal Grammar (UG). Specifically, the book focuses on null-subjects in the developing grammars of children acquiring English as a second language. The book provides evidence from the longitudinal speech data of four child second language (L2) learners in order to test the predictions of a recent theory of null-subjects, namely, the Morphological Uniformity Principle (MUP). Lakshmanan argues that the child L2 acquisition data offer little or no evidence in support of the MUP's predictions regarding a developmental relation between verb inflections and null-subjects. The evidence from these child L2 data indicates that regardless of the status of null subjects in their first language, child L2 learners of English hypothesize correctly from the very beginning that English requires subjects of tensed clauses to be obligatorily overt. The failure on the part of these learners to obey this knowledge in certain structural contexts is the result of perceptual factors that are unrelated to parameter setting. The book demonstrates the value of child second language acquisition data in evaluating specific proposals within linguistic theory for a Universal principle.
Local Note:
Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2017. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.
Genre:
Electronic Access:
Click to View