Experiencer troubles: A reappraisal of the predicate-based asymmetry in child passives
Athulya Aravind,Loes Koring +1 more
2
TL;DR: The authors argue that children’s understanding of certain mental state predicates appears to lag behind passives of so-called actional predicates, an asymmetry that has posed a major empirical challenge for theories of passive acquisition.
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Abstract: ABSTRACT Children’s understanding of passives of certain mental state predicates appears to lag behind passives of so-called actional predicates, an asymmetry that has posed a major empirical challenge for theories of passive acquisition. This paper argues against the dominant view in the literature that treats the predicate-based asymmetry as theoretically irrelevant. We instead propose a novel account that locates the problem in the syntax of experiencer constructions. Synthesizing theoretical and developmental evidence, we build a case for an early misanalysis of transitive subject-experiencer constructions as unaccusatives – structures that, by design, cannot passivize.
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Citations
The acquisition of the verbal passive: The role of verb type
Celina Agostinho,Anna Gavarró,Ana Lúcia Santos +2 more
TL;DR: This study examines European Portuguese children's comprehension of verbal passives, testing predictions of the Universal Phase Requirement and Universal Freezing Hypothesis, and finds mixed results, proposing that affectedness, not result state, influences children's performance with different predicate types.
Children’s Acquisition of Passive Constructions in Najdi Arabic
Bayan Albedaiwi,Yasser Albaty +1 more
- 16 Apr 2024
TL;DR: Children's acquisition of passive constructions in Najdi Arabic is characterized by high accuracy with early mastery around the age of 3.
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