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Descriptors:
Logical Thinking; Syntax; Brain; Learning Strategies; Language Acquisition; Computational Linguistics; Grammar; Language Universals; Linguistic Theory; Children; Child Language; Linguistic Input; Language Research; Language Processing

Abstract:
The induction problems facing language learners have played a central role in debates about the types of learning biases that exist in the human brain. Many linguists have argued that some of the learning biases necessary to solve these language induction problems must be both innate and language-specific (i.e., the Universal Grammar (UG) hypothesis). Though there have been several recent high-profile investigations of the necessary learning bias types for different linguistic phenomena, the UG hypothesis is still the dominant assumption for a large segment of linguists due to the lack of studies addressing central phenomena in generative linguistics. To address this, we focus on how to learn constraints on long-distance dependencies, also known as syntactic island constraints. We use formal acceptability judgment data to identify the target state of learning for syntactic island constraints and conduct a corpus analysis of child-directed data to affirm that there does appear to be an induction problem when learning these constraints. We then create a computational learning model that implements a learning strategy capable of successfully learning the pattern of acceptability judgments observed in formal experiments, based on realistic input. Importantly, this model does not explicitly encode syntactic constraints. We discuss learning biases required by this model in detail as they highlight the potential problems posed by syntactic island effects for any theory of syntactic acquisition. We find that, although the proposed learning strategy requires fewer complex and domain-specific components than previous theories of syntactic island learning, it still raises difficult questions about how the specific biases required by syntactic islands arise in the learner. We discuss the consequences of these results for theories of acquisition and theories of syntax. (Contains 5 tables, 6 figures, and 14 footnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Syntax; Language Variation; Word Order; Indo European Languages; Foreign Countries; Adults; Grammar; Language Research; Child Language; Age Differences; Diachronic Linguistics

Abstract:
Faroese is at the tail end of a change from an Icelandic-type syntax in which V-to-T is obligatory to a Danish-type system in which this movement is impossible. While the older word order is very rarely produced by adult Faroese speakers, there is evidence that this order is still marginally present in the adult grammar and thus only dispreferred, rather than completely ungrammatical. Here the results are presented of an experimental study of older Faroese children: 5-year-old children both accept and produce the older word order, 6-year-olds do so significantly less, and 10-year-olds behave like adult speakers. We discuss a number of possible interpretations of the children's variability in the context of residual effects of diachronic change in Faroese. (Contains 6 tables, 5 figures, and 18 footnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Cognitive Ability; Autism; Language Acquisition; Age Differences; Child Language; Predictor Variables; Vocabulary Development; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Children; Child Development

Abstract:
Acquiring useful language by age 5 has been identified as a strong predictor of positive outcomes in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). This study examined the relationship between age of language acquisition and later functioning in children with ASD (n = 119). First word acquisition at a range of ages was probed for its relationship to cognitive ability and adaptive behaviors at 52 months. Results indicated that although producing first words predicted better outcome at every age examined, producing first words by 24 months was a particularly strong predictor of better outcomes. This finding suggests that the historic criterion for positive prognosis (i.e., "useful language by age 5") can be updated to a more specific criterion with an earlier developmental time point. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Language Aptitude; Depression (Psychology); Child Language; Socioeconomic Status; Mothers; Behavior Problems; Correlation; Infants; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Social Support Groups; Gender Differences; Intervention; At Risk Persons; Cognitive Processes; Parent Child Relationship; Toddlers; Young Children

Abstract:
Relations between mothers' tendency to comment appropriately on their 8-month-olds' internal states (mind-mindedness) and children's behavioral difficulties (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) at ages 44 and 61 months were investigated in a socially diverse sample (N = 171, 88 boys). Controlling for maternal depressive symptoms, perceived social support, sensitivity, child language ability, and child gender, maternal mind-mindedness was negatively related to children's externalizing and internalizing behaviors specifically in low socioeconomic status (SES) families. Furthermore, behavioral difficulties at age 44 months mediated the relation between maternal mind-mindedness and behavioral difficulties at age 61 months, but only for low SES families. These findings are discussed with reference to possible ways in which mind-mindedness could inform interventions targeted at at-risk groups. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Parent Child Relationship; Play; Child Language; Child Rearing; Mothers; Fathers; Toddlers; Social Environment; Correlation; Parenting Skills; Middle Class; Language Usage; Child Behavior

Abstract:
Background: Little empirical research examines relations among the quality of both mothers' and fathers' social emotional and linguistic support of toddlers across multiple parent-child interaction contexts. Objective: The current study investigated the influence of parent gender (mother vs. father) and activity setting (structured task vs. free play) on parenting quality, toddlers' engagement and play behaviors, and parent-toddler language use. Methods: Sixty predominantly middle-class, two-parent families with toddlers participated. Mother-child and father-child dyads were observed in a laboratory setting during structured and free play sessions. Results: There were significant main effects, controlling for child age, of activity setting on parenting quality (cognitive scaffolding and negative behaviors), children's engagement with parents, play behaviors, and parent and child language use. There was no main effect of parent gender on the parent and child variables, except for parent language variables. Conclusion: Overall, free play rather than the structured task setting was associated with more favorable child and parent interactions, play, and language use. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Identification; Phonology; Syllables; Infants; Child Language; Child Caregivers; Phonetic Transcription; Listening; Language Acquisition

Abstract:
Purpose: The prelinguistic infant's babbling repertoire of "syllables"--the phonological categories that form the basis for early word learning--is noticed by caregivers who interact with infants around them. Prior research on babbling has not explored the caregiver's role in recognition of early vocal categories as foundations for word learning. In the present work, the authors begin to address this gap. Method: The authors explored vocalizations produced by 8 infants at 3 ages (8, 10, and 12 months) in studies illustrating identification of phonological categories through caregiver report, laboratory procedures simulating the caregiver's natural mode of listening, and the more traditional laboratory approach (phonetic transcription). Results: Caregivers reported small repertoires of syllables for their infants. Repertoires of similar size and phonetic content were discerned in the laboratory by judges who simulated the caregiver's natural mode of listening. However, phonetic transcription with repeated listening to infant recordings yielded repertoire sizes that vastly exceeded those reported by caregivers and naturalistic listeners. Conclusions: The results suggest that caregiver report and naturalistic listening by laboratory staff can provide a new way to explore key characteristics of early infant vocal categories, a way that may provide insight into later speech and language development. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Language Processing; Semantics; Language Acquisition; Cues; Morphology (Languages); Inferences; Nouns; Russian; Form Classes (Languages); Monolingualism; Syntax; Child Language; Linguistic Theory; Grammar

Abstract:
This article discusses the acquisition of gender in Russian, focusing on some exceptional subclasses of nouns that display a mismatch between semantics and morphology. Experimental results from twenty-five Russian-speaking monolinguals (age 2 ; 6-4 ; 0) are presented and, within a cue-based approach to language acquisition, we argue that children rely on certain morphosyntactic micro-cues in the course of acquisition of semantic agreement. A discrepancy is observed in the acquisition of semantic agreement across the different noun classes, and this suggests that children are highly sensitive to fine distinctions in syntax and morphology and use detailed input information to make specific inferences concerning the gender of different noun classes. Furthermore, we argue that acquisition data may provide a more accurate account of how gender assignment proceeds in the mind of a speaker than has been traditionally assumed by gender assignment theories. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Suprasegmentals; Articulation (Speech); Child Language; Language Acquisition; Phonology; Psychomotor Skills; Phonetics; Models; Longitudinal Studies; Grammar; Guidelines

Abstract:
This study develops the hypothesis that the child-specific phenomenon of positional velar fronting can be modeled as the product of phonologically encoded articulatory limitations unique to immature speakers. Children have difficulty executing discrete tongue movements, preferring to move the tongue and jaw as a single unit. This predisposes the child to produce undifferentiated linguopalatal contact, neutralizing the coronal-velar contrast. Adopting a phonetically sensitive model of phonology, I propose that children's difficulty with discrete tongue movement can be encoded in a violable constraint, Move.as-Unit. The positional nature of fronting reflects the fact that discrete lingual movement is penalized more heavily in the motorically challenging context of a larger gesture. This analysis is supported with a longitudinal study of one child (3 ; 9 to 4 ; 4) whose fronting was conditioned by both segmental and prosodic factors. Adopting Move.as-Unit in a Harmonic Grammar framework makes it possible to reframe disparate-seeming conditioning factors as a unified grammatical system. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Form Classes (Languages); Grammar; Language Impairments; Caregivers; Suffixes; Morphemes; Language Acquisition; Delayed Speech; Infants; Mothers; Parent Child Relationship; English; Children; Databases; Child Language; Correlation; Verbs

Abstract:
Acquisition of regular inflectional suffixes is an integral part of grammatical development in English and delayed acquisition of certain inflectional suffixes is a hallmark of language impairment. We investigate the relationship between input frequency and grammatical suffix acquisition, analyzing 217 transcripts of mother-child (ages 1 ; 11-6 ; 9) conversations from the CHILDES database. Maternal suffix frequency correlates with previously reported rank orders of acquisition and with child suffix frequency. Percentages of children using a suffix are consistent with frequencies in caregiver speech. Although late talkers acquire suffixes later than typically developing children, order of acquisition is similar across populations. Furthermore, the third person singular and past tense verb suffixes, weaknesses for children with language impairment, are less frequent in caregiver speech than the plural noun suffix, a relative strength in language impairment. Similar findings hold across typical, SLI and late talker populations, suggesting that frequency plays a role in suffix acquisition. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Evidence; Syntax; Priming; Verbs; Child Language; Language Acquisition; Language Research; Children; Role; Age Differences; Concept Formation

Abstract:
We report a syntactic priming experiment that examined whether children's acquisition of the passive is a staged process, with acquisition of constituent structure preceding acquisition of thematic role mappings. Six-year-olds and nine-year-olds described transitive actions after hearing active and passive prime descriptions involving the same or different thematic roles. Both groups showed a strong tendency to reuse in their own description the syntactic structure they had just heard, including well-formed passives after passive primes, irrespective of whether thematic roles were repeated between prime and target. However, following passive primes, six-year-olds but not nine-year-olds also produced reversed passives, with well-formed constituent structure but incorrect thematic role mappings. These results suggest that by six, children have mastered the constituent structure of the passive; however, they have not yet mastered the non-canonical thematic role mapping. By nine, children have mastered both the syntactic and thematic dimensions of this structure. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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