The dynamics of syntax acquisition: facilitation between syntactic structures

This paper sets out to show how facilitation between different clause structures operates over time in syntax acquisition. The phenomenon of facilitation within given structures has been widely documented, yet inter-structure facilitation has rarely been reported so far. Our findings are based on the naturalistic production corpora of six toddlers learning Hebrew as their first language. We use regression analysis, a method that has not been used to study this phenomenon. We find that the proportion of errors among the earliest produced clauses in a structure is related to the degree of acceleration of that structure's learning curve; that with the accretion of structures the proportion of errors among the first clauses of new structures declines, as does the acceleration of their learning curves. We interpret our findings as showing that learning new syntactic structures is made easier, or facilitated, by previously acquired ones

The development of asymmetrical serial verb constructions in an Australian mixed language

Gurindji Kriol is a mixed language spoken in northern Australia. It is derived from Gurindji, a Pama-Nyungan language, and Kriol, an English-lexifier creole language. Despite these clear sources, Gurindji Kriol contains grammatical systems which are not found in Gurindji or Kriol, for example asymmetrical serial verb constructions. The origin of these constructions is unclear given that Kriol only contains a very limited set of serial verb constructions and they are not found in Gurindji. The development of asymmetrical serial verb constructions is examined and it is suggested that they are a product of the more restricted Kriol serial verb construction developing and expanding under the influence of the Gurindji complex verb. The formation of this construction was a part of the more general genesis of the mixed language which was derived from code-switching

Reduction in remoteness distinctions and reconfiguration in the Bemba past tense

Bantu languages are well-known for having multiple remoteness distinctions in both the past and the future. This paper looks at the 4-way remoteness distinction of Bemba (central Bantu) showing that the system is undergoing change that is resulting in the loss of an intermediate past tense, by merger with the remote past. Two factors are central in driving this change; a merger of forms by tone loss and neutralisation and a shift in the scope of semantic function. Because the Bemba tense-aspect system manifests the so-called conjoint-disjoint alternation, there is also some reconfiguration of the TA system that accompanies the merger. The different factors involved in this change are unified under a cognitive multi-dimensional approach to tense, which is here extended to account for language change in tense systems

English 'why don’t you X' as a formulaic expression

In this chapter we examine a formulaic expression in English, why don’t you + action verb/predicate (= WDY). We show that WDY is used in everyday conversation to carry out the social work of giving advice, as in why don't you try taking it again? We argue that this construction is a formulaic expression because it is not understood compositionally: the WDY format does not ask a question, but proposes a future action that the speaker is recommending that the recipient undertake. Our chapter explores the implicativeness of WDY for subsequent talk, and reveals the intricate relationship between the grammar of WDY and the social work that it is used to do.Peer reviewe

Textual Deixis and the ‘Anchoring’ Use of the Latin Pronoun hic

This article evaluates the results of prior research on anaphoric reference in Latin, and tries to account for the various observations within a single explanatory framework. This framework combines insights from cognitive linguistic theory and from ongoing empirical research on the linguistic marking of discourse organization in Latin. After a brief discussion of recent cognitive linguistic views on the relation between deixis and anaphora, I concentrate on the various uses of the Latin demonstrative hic in Virgil’s Aeneid and Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The examples discussed show that hic’s deictic aspect of proximity can be discerned in all its uses, the variety of which can best be described in terms of a ‘cline’, running from canonical deixis to canonical anaphora, with various stages of anadeixis in between. It is argued that in its anaphoric use, Latin hic behaves as a linguistic ‘anchoring’ device, and is used as part of a communicative strategy referred to as ‘reculer pour mieux sauter’

Translation and Cognition: Cases of Asymmetry. An Editorial

This editorial outlines the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of the current special issue, signalling some of the practical implications of the problems investigated. As the title of the collection highlights the convergence of “translation” and “cognition”, emphasis is here first placed on what “cognitive” can be taken to stand for in translationcentred research. I then discuss the other identifying idea of the issue - that of asymmetry - i.e. the observation that conceptual-semantic content is variably partitioned as it gets coded in different languages. Special attention is paid to cross-linguistic conventionalisation misalignment which requires sensitisation to translation scenarios where the symmetry of the source and target structures is only illusory

The pronoun-to-agreement cycle in Iranian : Subjects do, objects don’t

There is a broad consensus within linguistics that personal pronouns may undergo grammaticalization to yield person agreement morphology. Furthermore, it is widely assumed that similar processes apply to both subject and object pronouns. In this chapter I consider the fate of a phonologically identical set of clitic pronouns in Middle West Iranian languages, which were deployed in both subject and object indexing. The modern outcomes have been rather different; while erstwhile clitic subject pronouns have spawned subject agreement morphology in some languages, these clitic pronouns have not yielded obligatory object agreement in the category of person in any Iranian language. Neither traditional grammaticalization theory, nor recent formalizations of grammaticalization within Minimalism, offer a compelling explanation for this asymmetry. I suggest it reflects a fundamental difference in the informativity of subject as opposed to object indexing with respect to the category of person, as opposed to that of gender and number

SELECCIÓN Y DISTRIBUCIÓN DE LOS PRONOMBRES EN EL ESPAÑOL L2 DE LOS HABLANTES DE ÁRABE

[EN] Taking the Position of Antecedent Hypothesis, Carminati (2002), and the works of Alonso-Ovalle et al. (2002) regarding the Spanish language as a starting point, this paper investigates third person personal pronouns, null and overt, in non-native discourse. Specifically, we examine whether pronouns show preferences in their selection of antecedents, if they perform a particular discursive function and to what extent language transfer can explain the similarities and differences between native and non-native discourse. We work with narrative oral and written texts produced semi-spontaneously by two experimental groups: adolescent bilingual Spanish-Dariya (Moroccan Arabic) and L2 Spanish learners with L1 Dariya. The results show a certain specialization of the pronouns to establish coreference and to carry out a particular discursive function. Furthermore, L2 Spanish learners may not benefit from the positive transfer of their L1 and the knowledge and usage of the Spanish language by the bilingual subjects may not be totally comparable to the control group[ES] Partiendo de la Hipótesis de la Posición del Antecedente, Carminati (2002), y de los trabajos de Alonso-Ovalle et al. (2002) para el español, en este trabajo investigamos si en el discurso no nativo los pronombres personales de tercera persona, nulo y explícito, muestran preferencias en la selección de sus antecedentes, si cumplen una función discursiva determinada y hasta qué punto la transferencia puede explicar las similitudes y diferencias entre el discurso nativo y no nativo. Trabajamos con textos narrativos orales y escritos de producción semiespontánea de dos grupos experimentales: adolescentes bilingües español-dariya y aprendices de español L2 con dariya L1. Los resultados muestran cierta especialización de los pronombres para establecer correferencia y cumplir una función discursiva determinada. Asimismo, los aprendices de E/L2 no se beneficiarían de la transferencia positiva de su L1 y el conocimiento y uso de la lengua española de los bilingües no sería totalmente equiparable al de los controles.Este trabajo se ha realizado en el marco del proyecto Periferias: tópicos y argumentos en la adquisición y contacto de lenguas (FFI2009-09349) y ha sido parcialmente financiado por el Ministerio de Educación mediante el proyecto mencionado y el Programa de Formación del Profesorado Universitario.García-Alcaraz, E.; Bel, A. (2011). SELECCIÓN Y DISTRIBUCIÓN DE LOS PRONOMBRES EN EL ESPAÑOL L2 DE LOS HABLANTES DE ÁRABE. Revista de Lingüística y Lenguas Aplicadas. 6:165-180. https://doi.org/10.4995/rlyla.2011.901SWORD165180

Goldilocks Forgetting in Cross-Situational Learning

Given that there is referential uncertainty (noise) when learning words, to what extent can forgetting filter some of that noise out, and be an aid to learning? Using a Cross Situational Learning model we find a U-shaped function of errors indicative of a "Goldilocks" zone of forgetting: an optimum store-loss ratio that is neither too aggressive nor too weak, but just the right amount to produce better learning outcomes. Forgetting acts as a high-pass filter that actively deletes (part of) the referential ambiguity noise, retains intended referents, and effectively amplifies the signal. The model achieves this performance without incorporating any specific cognitive biases of the type proposed in the constraints and principles account, and without any prescribed developmental changes in the underlying learning mechanism. Instead we interpret the model performance as more of a by-product of exposure to input, where the associative strengths in the lexicon grow as a function of linguistic experience in combination with memory limitations. The result adds a mechanistic explanation for the experimental evidence on spaced learning and, more generally, advocates integrating domain-general aspects of cognition, such as memory, into the language acquisition process