Universal Minimal Structure
Evidence and theoretical ramifications
This paper addresses the fundamental question of whether (or how) functional projections are acquired during the development of syntax. However, rather than concentrating on the actual acquisition of functional projections, we consider the starting point of syntactic development: if functional projections develop during acquisition, there must be an early stage that can at least occasionally be attested that does not reveal evidence of functional projections. The relevant data concerns utterances distinct from the target language that appear to involve reduced structure. By briefly reviewing the relevant literature, we conclude that there is suggestive evidence that reduced structure is an option for all language learners. This points to the conclusion that the possibility of positing reduced structure is an option in the language module, regardless of age.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 1.1The need for an acquisition mechanism
- 1.2The problem with maturation
- 1.3Questions without a CP?
- 2.Root Defaults in typical L1 acquisition
- 3.Root Defaults in second language acquisition
- 3.1
Root Defaults in child second language acquisition
- 3.2RDs in adult second language acquisition
- 4.Atypical L1 development and the bare VP stage
- 4.1Complete lack of input during the critical period: Genie and Kaspar Hauser
- 4.2Little usable input
- 4.3Cognitive and linguistic impairment
- 4.4German SLI
-
4.5Summary of the atypical L1 studies
- 5.Discussion
- 5.1The universal VP-stage
-
5.2Preliminary thoughts on the acquisition mechanism
- 6.Conclusion
-
References
References (93)
References
Baker, M. (2008). The syntax of agreement and concord. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 

Boser, K., Lust, B., Santelman, L., & Whitman, J. (1992). The syntax of CP and V-2 in early child German (ECG). The Strong Continuity Hypothesis. In NELS Proceedings 221 (pp. 51–65). University of Massachusetts, Amherst: GLSA.
Chomsky, N. (1995). The Minimalist Program. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Chomsky, N. (2001). Derivation by phase. In M. Kenstowicz (Ed.), Ken Hale: A life in language (pp. 1–52). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Chomsky, N. (2008). On phases. In C.P. Otero, R. Freidin, & M.L. Zubizarreta (Eds.), Foundational issues in linguistic theory (pp. 133–166). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 

Cinque, G. (1999). Adverbs and functional heads. A cross-linguistic perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cinque, G. (2010). The syntax of adjectives. A comparative study. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 

Clahsen, H. (1988). Kritische Phasen der Grammatikenwicklung. Eine Untersuchung zum Negationserwerb bei Kindern and Erwachsenen. Zeitschrift für Sprachwissenschaft, 71, 3–31. 

Clahsen, H. (1991). Constraints on parameter setting. A grammatical analysis of some acquisition stages in German child language. Language Acquisition, 11, 361–391. 

Clahsen, H., Meisel, J., & Pienemann, M. (1983). Deutsch als Zweitsprache: Der Spracherwerb ausländischer Arbeiter. Tübingen: Narr.
Culicover, P., & Jackendoff, R. (2005). Simpler syntax. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

Curtiss, S. (1982). Developmental dissociations of language and cognition. In L. Obler & L. Menn (Eds.), Exceptional language and linguistics (pp. 285–312). New York: Academic Press.
Curtiss, S., & de Bode, S. (2001). Language after hemispherectomy: If neither side nor age matters, what does? In L. Dominguez & A. Johansen (Eds.), Proceedings of the 25th Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD) (pp. 202–213) Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
Curtiss, S., & Schaeffer, J. (1997). Syntactic development in children with hemispherectomy: The INFL-system. In E. Hughes, M. Hughes, & A. Greenhill (Eds.), Proceedings of the 21st Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD) (pp. 103–114). Somerville: Cascadilla Press.
Dimroth, C. (2002). Topics, assertions, and additive words: How L2 learners get from information structure to target-language syntax. Linguistics, 401, 891–923. 

Dulay, H., & Burt, M. (1973). Should we teach children syntax? Language Learning, 231, 245–258.. 

Epstein, S.D., Flynn, S., & Martohardjono, G. (1996). Second language acquisition: Theoretical and experimental issues in contemporary research. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 191, 677–758. 

Fromkin, V., Krashen, S., Curtiss, S., Rigler, D., & Rigler, M. (1974). The development of language in Genie: A case of language acquisition beyond the ‘Critical Period’. Brain and Language, 11, 81–107. 

Goldin-Meadow, S., & Mylander, C. (1990). Beyond the input given: The child’s role in the acquisition of language. Language, 661, 323–355. 

Guilfoyle, E., & Noonan, M. (1992). Functional categories in language acquisition. Canadian Journal of Linguistics, 371, 241–272. 

Gülzow, I., & Gagarina, N. (2006). Analytic and synthetic verb constructions in Russian and English child language. In N. Gagarina & I. Gülzow (Eds.), The acquisition of verbs and their grammar. The effect of particular languages (pp. 229–259). Berlin: Springer.
Hamann, C., Penner, Z., & Lindner, K. (1998). German impaired grammar: The clause structure revisited. Language Acquisition, 71, 193–245. 

Hawkins, R. (2001). Second language syntax: A generative introduction. Oxford: Blackwell.
Haznedar, B. (1997). Child second language acquisition of English: A longitudinal case study of a Turkish-speaking child. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Durham, Durham, UK.
Haznedar, B., & Schwartz, B.D. (1997). Are there optional infinitives in child L2 acquisition? In E. Hughes, M. Hughes, & A. Greenhill (Eds.), Proceedings of the 21st Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD) (pp. 257–268) Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
Hegarty, M. (2005). A feature-based syntax of functional categories: The structure, acquisition and specific impairment of functional systems. New York: Mouton de Gruyter. 

Hyams, N. (1992). The genesis of clausal structure. In J. Meisel (Ed.), The acquisition of verb placement: Functional categories and V2 phenomena in language acquisition (pp. 371–400). Dordrecht: Kluwer. 

Hyams, N. (2005). Child non-finite clauses and the mood-aspect connection: Evidence from child Greek. In P. Kempchinksy & R. Slabakova (Eds.), Aspectual inquiries (pp. 292–315). Dordrecht: Kluwer. 

Hyams, N. (2007). Aspectual effects on interpretation in early grammar. Language Acquisition, 141, 231–268. 

Jakubowicz, C., & Tuller, L. (2008). Specific language impairment in French. In D. Ayoun (Ed.), Studies in French applied linguistics (pp. 97–134). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Kallestinova, E. (2007). Three stages of root infinitive production in early child Russian. First Language, 271, 99–131. 

Kegl, J. (1994). The Nicaraguan sign language project: An overview. Signpost, 71, 24–46.
Klein, W., & Perdue, C. (1997). The basic variety (or: Couldn’t natural languages be much simpler?). Second Language Research, 131, 301–347. 

Ko, H., Ionin, T., & Wexler, K. (2010). The role of presupposionality in the second language acquisition of English articles. Linguistic Inquiry, 411, 213–254. 

Krashen, S. (1985). The Input Hypothesis. London: Longman.
Lardiere, D. (1998). Dissociating syntax from morphology in divergent end-state grammars. Second Language Research, 141, 359–375. 

Lardiere, D. (2003). Revisiting the comparative fallacy: A reply to Lakshmanan & Selinker (2001). Second Language Research, 191, 129–143.. 

Lardiere, D. (2009). Some thoughts on the contrastive analysis of features in second language acquisition. Second Language Research, 251, 173–227. 

Lebeaux, D. (1988). Language acquisition and the form of the grammar. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA.
Lenneberg, E. (1967). The biological foundations of language. New York: Wiley. 

Leonard, L. (2000). Specific language impairment across languages. In D.V.M. Bishop & L.B. Leonard (Eds.), Speech and language impairments in children (pp. 155–129). Hove: Psychology Press.
Letts, C. (1993). Do explanatory theories of language acquisition have any practical value? In J. Clibbens & B. Pendleton (Eds.), Proceedings of the Child Language Seminar (pp. 93–107). Plymouth, UK: University of Plymouth.
Liceras, J., Bel, A., & Perales, S. (2006). Living with optionality: Root infinitives, bare forms and inflected forms in child null subject languages. In N. Sagarra & A.J. Toribio (Eds.), Selected Proceedings of the 9th Hispanic Linguistics Symposium (pp. 203–216). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
Lindner, K. (2002). Finiteness and children with specific language impairment: An exploratory study. Linguistics, 401, 797–847. 

Louden, M.L. (1999). Incomplete L1 acquisition: The morphosyntax of Kaspar Hauser. In A. Greenhill, H. Littlefield, & C. Tano (Eds.), Proceedings of the 23rd Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD) (pp. 419–430). Somerville: Cascadilla Press.
Lust, B. (2006). Child language. Acquisition and growth. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

McGuckian, M., & Henry, A. (2003). Grammatical morpheme omission in children with hearing impairment acquiring spoken English. In B. Beachley, A. Brown, & F. Conlin (Eds.), Proceedings of the 27th Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD) (pp. 519–530). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
Meisel, J.M., & Müller, N. (1992). Finiteness and verb placement in early child grammars. In J.M. Meisel (Ed.), The acquisition of verb placement: Functional categories and V2 phenomena in language acquisition (pp. 109–138). Dordrecht: Kluwer. 

Mills, A. (1985). The acquisition of German. In D.I. Slobin (Ed.), The cross-linguistic study of language acquisition, vol. 11 (pp. 141–254). London: Erlbaum.
Mogford, K. (1993). Oral language acquisition in the prelinguistically deaf. In D. Bishop & K. Mogford (Eds.), Language development in exceptional circumstances (pp. 110–131). Hove: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Myles, F. (2004). From data to theory. Transactions of the Philological Society, 1021, 139–168. 

Myles, F. (2005). The emergence of morphosyntax in classroom learners of French. In J.-M. Dewaele (Ed.), Focus on French as a foreign language: Multidisciplinary approaches (pp. 88–113). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. 

Newport, E. (1990). Maturational constraints on language learning. Cognitive Science, 141, 11–28. 

Orfitelli, R., & Hyams, N. (2008). An experimental study of children’s comprehension of null subjects: Implications for grammatical/performance accounts. In H. Chan, H. Jacob, & E. Kapia (Eds.), Proceedings of the 32nd Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD) (pp. 335–346). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
Paradis, J., & Crago, M. (2001). The morphosyntax of specific language impairment in French: Evidence for an extended optional default account. Language Acquisition, 91, 269–300. 

Paradis, J., Rice, M., Crago, M., & Marquis, J. (2008). The acquisition of tense in English: Distinguishing child L2 from L1 and SLI. Applied Psycholinguistics, 291, 1–34.. 

Penner, Z., & Roeper, T. (1998). Trigger theory and the acquisition of complement idioms. In N. Dittmar & Z. Penner (Eds.), Essays in language acquisition. Festschrift in honor of Jürgen Weissenborn (pp. 77–112). Bern: Peter Lang.
Phillips, C. (1995). Syntax at age two: Cross-linguistic differences. In C. Schütze, J. Ganger, & K. Broihier (Eds.), Papers on language processing and acquisition (pp. 225–282). Cambridge, MA: MITWPL.
Pienemann, M. (1981). Der Zweitspracherberb ausländischer Arbeiterkinder. Bonn: Bouvier Verlag Herbert Grundmann.
Poeppel, D., & Wexler, K. (1993). The full competence hypothesis of clause structure in early German. Language, 691, 1–33. 

Powers, S. (1995). The acquisition of pronouns in Dutch and English: The case for continuity. In D. MacLaughlin & S. McEwen (Eds.), Proceedings of the 19th Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD) (pp. 439–450). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
Prévost, P. (1997) Truncation in second language acquisition. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
Prévost, P. (2003). Truncation and missing inflection in initial child L2 German. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 251, 65–97. 

Prévost, P., & White, L. (2000a). Missing surface inflection or impairment in second language acquisition. Evidence from tense and agreement. Second Language Research, 161, 103–134. 

Prévost, P., & White, L. (2000b). Finiteness and variability in SLA: More evidence for missing surface inflection. In A. Greenhill, H. Littlefield, & C. Tano (Eds.), Proceedings of the 23rd Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD) (pp. 575–586). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
Prévost, P., & White, L. (2000c). Accounting for morphological variation in second language acquisition: Truncation or missing inflection? In M.A. Friedman & L. Rizzi (Eds.), The acquisition of syntax: Studies in comparative developmental linguistics (pp. 202–235). London: Longman.
Radford, A. (1990). Syntactic theory and the acquisition of English syntax. Oxford: Blackwell.
Radford, A. (1995). Children: Architects or brickies? In D. MacLaughlin & S. McEwen (Eds.), Proceedings of the 19th Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD) (pp. 1–19). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
Rice, M., Wexler, K., & Cleave, P. (1995). Specific language impairment as a period of extended optional infinitive. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 381, 850–863. 

Rice, M., & Wexler, K. (1996). A phenotype of specific language impairment: Extended optional infinitives. In M. Rice (Ed.), Toward a genetics of language (pp. 215–237). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Rizzi, L. (1993/4). Some notes on linguistic theory and language development: The case of root infinitives. Language Acquisition, 31, 371–393. 

Rizzi, L. (2005). On the grammatical basis of language development: A case study. In G. Cinque & R. Kayne (Eds.), Handbook of comparative syntax (pp. 70–109). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rohrbacher, B., & Vainikka, A. (1994). Verbs and subjects before age 2: The earliest stages in Germanic L1 acquisition. In J. Beckman (Ed.), Proceedings of NELS 25, vol. 21 (pp. 55–69). Amherst, MA: GLSA.
Sakus, W.G., & Fodor, J.D. (2001). The structural triggers learner. In S. Bertolo (Ed.), Language acquisition and learnability (pp. 172–233). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

Schwartz, B.D., & Sprouse, R. (1996). L2 cognitive states and the Full Transfer/Full Access model. Second Language Research, 121, 40–72. 

Senghas, A., Kita, S., & Özyürek, A. (2004). Children creating core properties of language: Evidence from an emerging sign language in Nicaragua. Science, 3051, 1779–1782. 

Thordardottir, E.T., Chapman, R.S., & Wagner, L. (2002). Complex sentence production by adolescents with Down syndrome. Applied Psycholinguistics, 231, 163–183. 

Vainikka, A. (1993/4). Case in the development of English syntax. Language Acquisition, 31, 257–325. 

Vainikka, A., & Young-Scholten, M. (1996). The early stages in adult L2 syntax: Additional evidence from Romance speakers. Second Language Research, 121, 140–176. 

Vainikka, A., & Young-Scholten, M. (2002). Restructuring the CP in L2 German. In B. Skarabela, S. Fish, & A.H.-J. Do (Eds.), Proceedings of the 26th Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD) (pp. 712–722). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
Vainikka, A. & Young-Scholten, M. (2011). The acquisition of German. Introducing organic grammar. Berlin/Boston: Mouton de Gruyter. 

Varlokosta, S., Vainikka, A., & Rohrbacher, B. (1998). Functional projections, markedness and ‘root infinitives’ in early child Greek. The Linguistic Review, 151, 187–207. 

Webelhuth, G. (1995). X-bar theory and case theory. In G. Webelhuth (Ed.), Government and binding theory and the Minimalist Program (pp. 15–95). Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers.
Wexler, K. (1998). Very early parameter setting and the unique checking constraint: A new explanation of the optional infinitive stage. Lingua, 1061, 23–79. 

Wexler, K. (2000). Three problems in the theory of the optional infinitive stage: Stage/individual predicates, eventive verbs and finite null-subjects. Proceedings of the West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics, 191, 560–573.
Wexler, K. (2004). Theory of phrasal development: Perfection in child grammar. In A. Csirmaz, A. Gualmini, & A. Nevins (Eds.), Plato’s problems: Papers on language acquisition (pp. 159–209). Cambridge, MA: MITWPL.
Wexler, K., Schütze, C.T., & Rice, M. (1998). Subject case in children with SLI and unaffected controls: Evidence for the Agr/Tns omission model. Language Acquisition, 71, 317–344. 

White, L. (2003). Second language acquisition and Universal Grammar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

Yamada-Yamamoto, A. (1993). The acquisition of English syntax by a Japanese-speaking child: With special emphasis on the VO-sequence acquisition. In J. Clibbens & B. Pendleton (Eds.), Proceedings of the Child Language Seminar (pp. 109–120). Plymouth, UK: University of Plymouth.
Zanuttini, R. (2008). Encoding the addressee in syntax: Evidence from English imperative subjects. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 261, 185–218. 

Cited by (1)
Cited by one other publication
Hsin, Lisa & Geraldine Legendre
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 5 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.