Abstract
This syntactic priming study investigated semantic and lexical factors in 3- and 4-year-olds’ passives: early use of the English passive is argued to be semantically constrained to action verbs (Maratsos et al 1985) and young children apparently perform better with get- than be-passives (Harris & Flora 1982). Experiment 1 found a reliable priming effect of Structure (active – passive) on passive responses, but no effect of Verb-Type (actional – non-actional) suggesting that by 4, children do have an abstract passive representation that does not appear to be constrained by verb semantics. Experiment 2 confirmed a reliable priming effect from get- as well as be-passives. Priming from be- to get-passives suggests this effect did not arise solely from lexical priming of the auxiliary but that 4-yearolds have a common representation underlying both passives, though the absence of priming in the opposite direction suggests the passive may be acquired with get earlier than with be.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 32nd annual Boston University conference on language development |
Editors | Harvey Chan, Heather Jacob, Enkeleida Kapia |
Place of Publication | Somerville, MA |
Publisher | Cascadilla Press |
Pages | 275-286 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Volume | 1 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781574730845 |
Publication status | Published - Apr 2008 |
Externally published | Yes |
Event | 32nd Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development - Boston, United States Duration: 2 Nov 2007 → 4 Nov 2007 Conference number: 32 |
Publication series
Name | BUCLD: Proceedings of the Boston University Conference on Language Development |
---|---|
Publisher | Cascadilla Press |
Volume | 32 |
ISSN (Print) | 1080-692X |
Conference
Conference | 32nd Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development |
---|---|
Abbreviated title | BUCLD 32 |
Country/Territory | United States |
City | Boston |
Period | 2/11/07 → 4/11/07 |