Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-31T17:21:27.120Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Language-specific and language-general in developing syntax*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2008

Esther Dromi  and
Ruth A. Berman
Esther Dromi
Affiliation:
Tel-Aviv University
Ruth A. Berman
Affiliation:
Tel-Aviv University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The distribution of a number of syntactic structures in the speech output of 102 Israeli preschoolers was examined. Findings on the proportion of grammatically analysable clauses, the patterning of word order in Hebrew child language, and the emergence of syntactic connectedness through coordination and subordination of clauses are reported. Our analysis reveals that while in some areas there are clearly age-related differences among preschool children, other types of syntactic patternings exhibit a stable behaviour. We refer to the importance of integrating findings for a wide variety of seemingly unrelated syntactic constructions across different discourse modes. We also claim that complex interactions between structural, semantic and pragmatic factors underlie the child's acquisition of syntax.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , June 1986 , pp. 371 - 387
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Berman, R. A. (1980). The case of an (S)VO language: subjectless constructions in Modern Hebrew. Lg 56. 759–76.Google Scholar
Berman, R. A. (1982). Dative marking of the affectee role. Hebrew Annual Review 6. 35–9.Google Scholar
Berman, R. A. (1985). On the ability to relate events in narrative. Paper given at the Stanford Child Language Research Forum, Stanford, California.Google Scholar
Berman, R. A. (in press). Acquisition of Hebrew. In Slobin, D. I. (ed.), Crosslinguistic study of language acquisition. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Berman, R. A. & Dromi, E. (1984). On marking time without aspect in child language. PRCLD 23. 23–32.Google Scholar
Bloom, L., Lahey, M., Hood, L., Lifter, K. & Fiess, K. (1980). Complex sentences: acquisition of syntactic connectives and the semantic relations they encode. JChLang 7. 235–61.Google ScholarPubMed
Bowerman, M. (1979). The acquisition of complex sentences. In Fletcher, P. & Garman, M. (eds), Language acquisition. Cambridge: C.U.P.Google Scholar
Brown, R. (1973). A first language: the early stages. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crystal, D., Fletcher, P. & Garman, M. (1976). The grammatical analysis of language disability. London: Arnold.Google Scholar
de Villiers, J. (1980). The process of rule-learning in child speech: a new look. In Nelson, K. (ed.), Children's language, Vol. 2. New York: Gardner Press.Google Scholar
Dromi, E. (1982). In pursuit of meaningful words: a case-study analysis of early lexical development. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Kansas, Lawrence.Google Scholar
Dromi, E. (1986). The one-word period as a stage in language development: quantitative and qualitative accounts. In Levin, I. (ed.), Stage and structure. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
Dromi, E. & Berman, R. A. (1982). A morphemic measure of early language development: data from Modern Hebrew. JChLang 9. 403–24.Google ScholarPubMed
Foster, S. (1984). Modularity of language acquisition: distinguishing syntax and pragmatics. Paper presented at the International Association for the Study of Child Language, Austin, Texas.Google Scholar
Givon, T. (1976). On the VS order in Israeli Hebrew: pragmatics and typological change. In Cole, P. (ed.), Studies in Hebrew syntax and semantics. Amsterdam: North-Holland.Google Scholar
Hyams, N. M. (1983). The acquisition of parameterized grammars. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation: City University of New York.Google Scholar
Kaplan, D. (1983). Order of acquisition of morpho-syntactic categories among Hebrew-speaking children aged 1; 9–3; 6 (in Hebrew). Unpublished M.A. dissertation, School of Communication Disorders, Tel-Aviv University.Google Scholar
Keenan, E. J. (1984). Testing the accessibility hierarchy. Talk given at Max-Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, Holland.Google Scholar
Levi, Y. (1983). The acquisition of Hebrew plurals: the case of the missing gender category. JChLang 10. 107–21.Google Scholar
Limber, J. (1973). The genesis of complex sentences. In Moore, T. E. (ed.), Cognitive development and the acquisition of language. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
MacWhinney, B. (1982). Basic syntactic processes. In Kuczaj, S. A. (ed.), Language development, Vol. 1. Syntax and semantics. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Maratsos, M. (1983). Some current issues in the study of grammar. In Mussen, P. (ed.), Carmichael's manual of child psychology, fourth edition. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Rabinowitch, S. (1985). Proficiency in Hebrew of English–Hebrew bilinguals as compared with their monolingual Hebrew-speaking peers (in Hebrew). Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Tel-Aviv University.Google Scholar
Scollon, R. (1976). Conversations with a one-year-old. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silva, M. N. (1983). The development of conjunction in later childhood. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Slobin, D. I. (1982). The acquisition and use of relative clauses in Turkic and Indo-European languages. Paper presented at the Conference on Turkish Language and Linguistics in Ataturk's Turkey,University of California,Berkeley.Google Scholar
Tager-Flusberg, H., de Villiers, J. & Hakuta, K. (1982). The development of coordination. In Kuczaj, S. A. (ed.), Language development, Vol. 1. Syntax and semantics. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Wells, G. (1979). Learning and using the auxiliary verb in English. In Lee, V. (ed.), Language development. London: Croom Helm.Google Scholar
Wells, G. (1981). Learning through interaction: the study of language development. Cambridge: C.U.P.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ziv, Y. (1984). Word order in children's literature: FSP and markedness. Paper given at conference on the Prague School and its Legacy,Ben-Gurion University,Beersheva.Google Scholar