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ERIC Number: EJ813838
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Oct
Pages: 45
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1048-9223
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Roots and Rogues in German Child Language
Duffield, Nigel
Language Acquisition: A Journal of Developmental Linguistics, v15 n4 p225-269 Oct 2008
This article is concerned with the proper characterization of subject omission at a particular stage in German child language. It focuses on post-verbal null subjects in finite clauses, here termed Rogues. It is argued that the statistically significant presence of Rogues, in conjunction with their distinct developmental profile, speaks against a Strong Continuity approach to the acquisition of null subject knowledge in German, and urges a reconsideration of the notion of Optionality in early grammars. The significance of the Rogues stage is considered in the context of specific theoretical proposals about argument omission: those of Rizzi (1992; 1994; 2000), and of Wexler (1994; 1998), are contrasted with the Weak Continuity approach proposed by Clahsen and his associates (e.g., Clahsen (1990/1991), Clahsen and Penke (1992), Clahsen, Eisenbeiss, and Penke (1996)). The data presented here, which complement related work by Hamann (1996), provide additional empirical support for these latter hypotheses. (Contains 5 tables, 8 figures and 20 footnotes.)
Psychology Press. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A