Publicação
How do children interpret novel control verbs?
| Resumo: | In this paper,*we discuss children’s initial preferences concerning the interpretation of control verbs. It is generally assumed that once the child is able to interpret obligatory control, subject control with want-type verbs is not problematic. In contrast, the interpretation of obligatory control with ditransitive verbs raises different issues. In general, it is assumed that subject control with promise-type verbs is difficult for preschool children, a fact resulting from a preference for a ‘closer’ controller and favouring object control readings with ditransitive verbs. As we will see, this preference for a closer controller can be derived from either the analysis of control as movement (Hornstein, 1999) or from alternative accounts, such as an analysis of subject control in ditransitives as an effect of smuggling (Belletti & Rizzi, 2013). The present paper aims at defying this view, by testing how children interpret the subject of an infinitive under a novel ditransitive verb. Since the experiment is run in European Portuguese, a language with inflected infinitives, we will address the possible effect of an inflected infinitive in the interpretation of (object) control contexts. Possible effects were expected in the type of interpretation and in reaction times. It is shown that even though children prefer object control readings in these contexts, they give more subject control readings than adults, which is contrary to the expectation. No effect of the inflected infinitive was found in the interpretation of these particular contexts. |
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| Autores principais: | Santos, Ana Lúcia |
| Outros Autores: | Jesus, Alice; Abalada, Silvana |
| Ano: | 2019 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | documento de conferência |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade de Lisboa |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa |
| Resumo: | In this paper,*we discuss children’s initial preferences concerning the interpretation of control verbs. It is generally assumed that once the child is able to interpret obligatory control, subject control with want-type verbs is not problematic. In contrast, the interpretation of obligatory control with ditransitive verbs raises different issues. In general, it is assumed that subject control with promise-type verbs is difficult for preschool children, a fact resulting from a preference for a ‘closer’ controller and favouring object control readings with ditransitive verbs. As we will see, this preference for a closer controller can be derived from either the analysis of control as movement (Hornstein, 1999) or from alternative accounts, such as an analysis of subject control in ditransitives as an effect of smuggling (Belletti & Rizzi, 2013). The present paper aims at defying this view, by testing how children interpret the subject of an infinitive under a novel ditransitive verb. Since the experiment is run in European Portuguese, a language with inflected infinitives, we will address the possible effect of an inflected infinitive in the interpretation of (object) control contexts. Possible effects were expected in the type of interpretation and in reaction times. It is shown that even though children prefer object control readings in these contexts, they give more subject control readings than adults, which is contrary to the expectation. No effect of the inflected infinitive was found in the interpretation of these particular contexts. |
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