Direct Objects and Language Acquisition

Ana Teresa Pérez-Leroux, Mihaela Pirvulescu, Yves Roberge

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781107018006
• eBook ISBN: 9781108514590
• Topic: Langues et linguistique
• Subtopic: Linguistique

Direct object omission is a general occurrence, observed in varying degrees across the world's languages. The expression of verbal transitivity in small children begins with the regular use of verbs without their object, even where object omissions are illicit in the ambient language. Grounded in generative grammar and learnability theory, this book presents a comprehensive view of experimental approaches to object acquisition, and is the first to examine how children rely on the lexical, structural and pragmatic components to unravel the system. The results presented lead to the hypothesis that missing objects in child language should not be seen as a deficit but as a continuous process of knowledge integration. The book argues for a new model of how this aspect of grammar is innately represented from birth. Ideal reading for advanced students and researchers in language acquisition and syntactic theory, the book's opening and closing chapters are also suitable for non-specialist readers.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title page
• Series page
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• 1 Missing Objects in Child Language
• 2 From the Missing to the Invisible
• 3 Rome Leads to All Roads
• 4 Interpreting the Missing Object
• 5 How Unusual Is Your Object?
• 6 Conclusion
• References
• Index