Frequency effects in language acquisition : defining the limits of frequency as an explanatory concept / edited by Insa Gülzow, Natalia Gagarina.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Gülzow, Insa, 1967-

Gagarina, Natalia.

Series:

Studies on language acquisition ; 32.

Studies on language acquisition ; 32

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Language acquisition.

Frequency (Linguistics).

Physical Description:

vi, 416 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Berlin ; New York : Mouton de Gruyter, [2007]

Summary:

All forms of language acquisition are determined by the human faculty of language processing. This inborn capacity allows linguistic knowledge to be stored and made accessible. The acquisition of one or more languages follows from the properties of human cognition and language processing.

Language acquisition can be studied in various contexts. The purpose of this series is to compile a collection of high-quality monographs on language acquisition. The series serves the needs of everyone who wants to know more about the problem of language acquisition in general and/or about language acquisition in specific contexts.

The book addresses a controversial current topic in language acquisition studies: the impact of frequency on linguistic structure in child language. A major strength of the book is that the role of input frequency in the acquisition process is evaluated in a large variety of languages, topics and the two major theoretical frameworks: UG-based and usage-based accounts. While most papers report a clear frequency effect, different factors that may be interacting with pure statistical effects are critically assessed. An introductory statement is made by Thomas Roeper who calls for caution as he identifies frequency as a non-coherent concept and argues for a precise definition of what can and cannot be explained by statistical effects.

Contents:

Introducing the frequency debate in studies of language acquisition / Insa Gülzow and Natalia Gagarina

What frequency can do and what it can't / Tom Roeper

The role of input frequency in article acquisition in early child Swedish / Ute Bohnacker

Testing the effects of frequency on the rate of learning / Tanja Kupisch

The acquisition of non-agent subjects in child Hebrew / Sigal Uziel-Karl and Nancy Budwig

The role of input frequency in early language production / Maja Savić and Darinka Andelković

Characteristics of maternal input in relation to vocabulary development in children learning German / Christina Kauschke and Gisela Klann-Delius

What happens when adults often use infinitives? / Natalia Gagarina

Structural versus frequency effects in L1 acquisition of the passive and impersonal in Serbian / Milja Djurkovic

The (non-) effect of input frequency on the acquisition of word order in Norwegian embedded clauses / Marit Westergaard and Kristine Bentzen

Factors determining the acquisition of animacy in Czech / Denisa Bordag

A note on acquisition in frequency-based accounts of binding phenomena / Jason Mattausch and Insa Gülzow

Principles, parameters and probabilities / Rosalind Thornton, Stephen Crain and Graciela Tesan

The role of frequency in language acquisition / Katherine Demuth

Counting grammars / Charles Yang.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9783110196719

3110196719

OCLC:

173659527