Investigates whether inflectional morphology is rule-based or whether the assumption of pattern association is more adequate to account for the facts, arguing for the latter based on analysis of acquisitional data. Review of earlier literature on the subject examines experiments with German- and English-speaking children and supports the schema…

This article discusses a study by Segalowitz and Galang that reports results showing better mastery of patient-focus sentences than agent-focus sentences for Tagalog children. (CFM)

Investigates an aspect of child phonology and consonant harmony, and inquires whether representational or processing deficits are responsible for its occurrence. (36 references) (GLR)

Examines verb learning in children in their second year of life learning verbs in various pragmatic contexts. Results are discussed in terms of the different learning processes involved in acquiring nouns and verbs and in terms of a social-pragmatic view of language acquisition. (34 references) (GLR)

Examines the development of epistemic modality, with particular attention to how French children (four, six, and eight year olds) evaluate the conditions of use for modal expressions marking certainty and uncertainty. Results show that four and six year olds attribute certainty more often than eight year olds. (44 references) (GLR)

Presents four principles for archive-based language research: maximum readability and minimum bias; consistent encoding for exhaustive computer search; systematic contrastiveness; and data comparability in elicitation, transcription and coding. Examples from existing computer archives illustrate these and other principles, and strategies are…

Describes a variant on parentese involving parent's use of irregular and unpredictable grammar, compares it to parentese directed toward normal learners, relates it to patterns of parentese observed in other families, particularly parents of children with handicaps, and deduces its function. (10 references) (GLR)

Reviews the properties and consequences of the Principle of Contrast. It is argued that this principle accounts for the acquisition of irregular forms in morphology and that it plays a crucial role in the acquisition of allomorphy. (62 references) (GLR)