Full Description
The main focus of generative language development research in recent decades has been the logical problem of language acquisition - how learners go beyond the input to acquire complex linguistic knowledge. This collection deals with the complementary issue of the developmental problem of language acquisition: How do learners move from one developmental stage to another and how and why do grammars develop in a certain fashion? Building on considerable previous research, the authors address both general and specific issues related to paths of development. These issues are tackled through considering studies of L1 and L2 children and L2 adults learning a range of languages including Dutch, English, French, German, Greek and Japanese.
Contents
1. List of contributors; 2. Introduction (by Unsworth, Sharon); 3. The acquisition of voice and transitivity alternations in Greek as native and second language (by Tsimpli, Ianthi Maria); 4. Do root infinitives ever have an overt subject in child French? (by De Cat, Cecile); 5. The roots of syntax and how they grow: Organic grammar, the basic variety and processability theory (by Vainikka, Anne); 6. Neuter gender and interface vulnerability in child L2/2L1 Dutch (by Hulk, Aafke); 7. The development of PATHS: Spatial complexity and the multiple predicate strategy (by Stringer, David); 8. More evidence on the knowledge of unaccusativity in L2 Japanese (by Hirakawa, Makiko); 9. What transfers? (by Whong, Melinda); 10. Full transfer full access: A processing-oriented interpretation (by Sharwood Smith, Michael); 11. Name index; 12. Subject Index
