ConSOLE 17 2009 • University of Nova Gorica

A-chains, arguments, and maturation in child passives

Susannah Kirby

University of British Columbia

suki@ibiblio.org
AcquisitionEnglish passivesA-chains

Abstract

In this paper I evaluate the claim that semantic difficulties underlie young English-acquiring children’s poor performance on the passive construction. I propose an account of children’s comprehension of the passive that rests on the prototypicality of subjects being agents and objects being patients, arguing against the view that difficulty with passives results from an inability to form A-chains.

Access & Citation

Citation Formats

APA Style

Susannah Kirby (2009). a-chains, arguments, and maturation in child passives. In Proceedings of ConSOLE 17, edited by Camelia Constantinescu, Bert Le Bruyn, Kathrin Linke, (pp. 191-208).

BibTeX

@inproceedings{Kirby-Acquisition-2012, title={A-chains, arguments, and maturation in child passives}, author={Susannah Kirby}, booktitle={Proceedings of ConSOLE 17}, year={2009}, pages={191-208}, editor={Camelia Constantinescu and Bert Le Bruyn and Kathrin Linke} }

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