<OT> New Posting: ROA-664

[roa at ruccs.rutgers.edu]

ROA 664-0504

A bidirectional explanation of the pronoun interpretation problem

Petra Hendriks <P.Hendriks at let.rug.nl>
Jennifer Spenader <j.k.spenader at let.rug.nl>

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=664


Abstract:
There is a well-known asymmetry in children's pattern of
acquisition of the binding principles A and B. Children
correctly interpret reflexives from the age of 3:0, but
they continue to perform poorly on the interpretation of
pronouns even up to the age of 6;6 (Chien & Wexler, 1990;
Grimshaw & Rosen, 1990). At the same time, data from child
language production shows that children correctly produce
both pronouns and reflexives from the age of 2-3 (Bloom
et al., 1994). Current explanations of this delay in comprehensio
n have either rejected the comprehension data outright (e.g.,
Bloom et al.) or have tried to argue that the problems should
be accounted for outside the grammar (e.g., Reinhart, 1983;
Chien & Wexler, 1990; Grodzinsky & Reinhart, 1993). We account
for the experimental evidence by instead arguing that children
acquire the ability to optimize bidirectionally relatively
late. It is this type of optimization, which involves reasoning
about alternative forms, that is necessary for correctly
interpreting pronouns.

Comments: To appear in: Proceedings of the ESSLLI'04 - Workshop on Semantic Approaches to Binding Theory, Nancy, France.
Keywords: pronouns, comprehension, bidirectional OT, binding theory
Areas: Language Acquisition
Type: Conference Proceedings Chapter

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=664