Abstract
The ‘root infinitive’ phenomenon in child speech is known from major languages such as Dutch. In this case study, a child acquiring the Papuan language Nungon in a remote village setting in Papua New Guinea uses two different non-finite verb forms as predicates of main clauses (‘root’ contexts) between ages 2;3 and 3;3. The first root non-finite form is an apparent innovation of the child, unacceptable in adult-to-adult speech, which must be learned from a special auxiliary construction in child-directed speech. The second root non-finite form functions like attested adult main clause use of the same form. During the study period, the first root non-finite form increases sharply to function as a default verb form, then decreases to nil by 3;2. The second increases gradually to near-adult levels. Both forms are non-finite and have similar proportions in the input. Thus, factors other than finiteness and frequency must explain their distributions.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1073-1101 |
Number of pages | 29 |
Journal | Journal of Child Language |
Volume | 46 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2019 |
Keywords
- Nungon language
- Papua New Guinea
- Papuan languages
- children
- speech
- verb