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ERIC Number: EJ1109143
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Sep
Pages: 27
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0305-0009
EISSN: N/A
Uncovering Productive Morphosyntax in French-Learning Toddlers: A Multidimensional Methodology Perspective
Barriére, Isabelle; Goyet, Louise; Kresh, Sarah; Legendre, Géraldine; Nazzi, Thierry
Journal of Child Language, v43 n5 p1131-1157 Sep 2016
The present study applies a multidimensional methodological approach to the study of the acquisition of morphosyntax. It focuses on evaluating the degree of productivity of an infrequent subject-verb agreement pattern in the early acquisition of French and considers the explanatory role played by factors such as input frequency, semantic transparency of the agreement markers, and perceptual factors in accounting for comprehension of agreement in number (singular vs. plural) in an experimental setting. Results on a pointing task involving pseudoverbs demonstrate significant comprehension of both singular and plural agreement in children aged 2;6. The experimental results are shown not to reflect input frequency, input marker reliability on its own, or lexically driven knowledge. We conclude that toddlers have knowledge of subject-verb agreement at age 2;6 which is abstract and productive despite its paucity in the input.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: France
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1548147; 1251707