<OT> New Posting: ROA-803

[roa at ruccs.rutgers.edu]

ROA 803-0106

When production precedes comprehension: An optimization approach to the acquisition of pronouns

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

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=803


Abstract:
Data from child language comprehension shows that children
make errors in interpreting pronouns as late as age 6;6,
yet correctly comprehend reflexives from the age of 3;0.
On the other hand, data from child language production shows
that children correctly produce both pronouns and reflexives
from the age of 2 or 3. Current explanations of this asymmetric
delay in comprehension have either rejected the comprehension
data outright or have argued that the problems are pragmatic
or caused by processing limitations. In contrast our account,
formulated in the framework of Optimality Theory, handles
the comprehension data as well as the production data by
arguing that children acquire the ability to reason about
alternatives available to other conversation participants
relatively late. It is this type of bidirectional reasoning,
we argue, that is necessary for correctly interpreting pronouns.
While our analysis is similar in spirit to the processing
account given in Grodzinsky and Reinhart (1993) and Reinhart
(to appear), it explains the data from the properties of
the grammar, and is supported by related experimental evidence.

Comments: Accepted for publication in Language Acquisition. Please contact copyright holder Lawrence Erlbaum Associates for permission to reprint or use the material in any form.
Keywords: pronouns, reflexives, comprehension, production, bidirectional OT, pragmatics
Areas: Language Acquisition,Semantics
Type: Journal Article

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=803