Work

QR in Child Grammar: Evidence from Antecedent-Contained Deletion

Year: 2009

Type: article

Abstract: We show that 4-year-olds assign the correct interpretation to antecedent-contained deletion (ACD) sentences because they have the correct representation of these structures. This representation involves Quantifier Raising (QR) of a Quantificational Noun Phrase (QNP) that must move out of the site of the verb phrase in which it is contained to resolve a case of verb phrase ellipsis. Furthermore, not only do children provide clear justifications for such sentences with ACD, but they treat ACD sentences differently from sentences with coordinated conjunction, a plausible alternative if they lacked QR. The findings have implications for the interpretation of experimental results in which children appear to lack this grammatical operation, and instead point to extragrammatical factors as the source of this pattern.

Source: Language Acquisition

DOI: 10.1080/10489220902769226

Authors: Kristen Syrett, Jeffrey Lidz

Institutions: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, University of Maryland, College Park

Language: English

Topic: Language Development and Disorders

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Science Foundation, University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, National Institutes of Health, Graduate Center

OpenAlex ID: W2101164642

FWCI: 1.172

Cites: 60

Cited by: 113

Related to: 10