The Acquisition of Italian
Morphosyntax and its interfaces in different modes of acquisition
| University of Siena/University of Geneva
| University of Milano Bicocca
A major contribution to the study of language acquisition and language development inspired by theoretical linguistics has been made by research on the acquisition of Italian syntax. This book offers an updated overview of results from theory-driven experimental and corpus-based research on the acquisition of Italian in different modes (monolingual, early and late L2, SLI, etc.), as well as exploring possible developments for future research. The book focuses on experimental studies which address research questions generated by linguistic theory, providing a detailed illustration of the fruitful interaction between linguistic theorizing and developmental studies. The authors are leading figures in theoretical linguistics and language acquisition; their own work is featured in the research presented here. Students and advanced researchers will benefit from the systematic review offered by this book and the critical assessment of the field that it provides.
[Language Acquisition and Language Disorders, 57] 2015. xiv, 326 pp.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
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ix–x
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Introduction
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xi–xiv
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Chapter 1. The acquisition of verb inflections and clause structure
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1–46
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Chapter 2. The acquisition of articles and aspects of nominal inflection
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47–80
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Chapter 3. The acquisition of pronominal clitics
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81–128
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Chapter 4. The acquisition of passive voices
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129–150
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Chapter 5. The acquisition of relative clauses
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151–202
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Chapter 6. The acquisition of Wh-questions
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203–230
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Chapter 7. The acquisition of the syntax and interpretation of subjects
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231–262
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Chapter 8. The acquisition of aspects of Italian compositional semantics and of semantic-pragmatic interface
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263–296
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Conclusion
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297–300
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References
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301–324
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Index
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325–326
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“The ease with which children acquire language has always seemed almost magical in comparison with the effort it takes in adults. This book, by two leading world-class linguists, documents language development in Italian, from the very early stages to the acquisition of all major syntactic structures and their semantics (and pragmatics), placing it all against the background of what is known about the development of other languages. And as they go along, Belletti and Guasti provide a series of detailed, and original hypotheses on what the ‘initial state’ of the child might be, and what changes take place, as children converge on the adult language. A great deal of their insight stems from the topic by topic comparison of ‘typical’ acquisition vis-à-vis acquisition by (L2) adult learners, and by linguistically impaired children. The results vividly show how exciting and revealing developmental studies can be, when insightful formal modeling meets careful data mining and controlled experimentation. A highly readable, truly informative, and remarkably thought provoking piece of work.”
Gennaro Chierchia, Harvard University
“
The Acquisition of Italian is a comprehensive, up-to-date overview of grammatical development in Italian-speaking children. The authors do an excellent job of balancing empirical coverage of a range of topics with discussion of important theoretical issues, giving the book a wide appeal. The volume focuses largely on typical L1 acquisition, but also includes work on SLI and other impaired populations as well as L2 acquisition. I highly recommend this volume to anyone interested in grammar acquisition in young children, especially as viewed through the lens of Italian.”
Nina Hyams, UCLA
References
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Cited by other publications
Belletti, Adriana & Claudia Manetti
Crocetti, Perla, Stefano Fancelli, Ilaria Colpizzi, Alice Suozzi, Emanuele Crocetti, Elisa Borgogni & Gloria Gagliardi
D’Ortenzio, Silvia & Francesca Volpato
Garraffa, Maria, Madeleine Beveridge & Antonella Sorace
Garraffa, Maria, Mateo Obregon & Antonella Sorace
Giustolisi, Beatrice, Maria Teresa Guasti, Maria Nicastri, Patrizia Mancini, Silvia Palma, Elisabetta Genovese & Fabrizio Arosio
Hu, Shenai, Francesca Costa & Maria Teresa Guasti
Martini, Karen, Adriana Belletti, Santi Centorrino & Maria Garraffa
Spit, Sybren & Judith Rispens
Velnić, Marta
Vender, Maria, Shenai Hu, Federica Mantione, Denis Delfitto & Chiara Melloni
Vogelzang, Margreet, Francesca Foppolo, Maria Teresa Guasti, Hedderik van Rijn & Petra Hendriks
Vogelzang, Margreet, Anne C. Mills, David Reitter, Jacolien Van Rij, Petra Hendriks & Hedderik Van Rijn
Xia, Vera Yunxiao, Lydia White & Natália Brambatti Guzzo
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Subjects
BIC Subject: CFDC – Language acquisition
BISAC Subject: LAN009000 – LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General