Knowledge of Variable Binding in VP–Ellipsis
Language Acquisition Research and Theory Converge
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8022480 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Claire Foley (Cornell University), Zelmira Núñez del Prado (Cornell University), Isabella Barbier (Cornell University), Barbara Lust (0000-0002-7923-7937, Cornell University) |
| Year | 2003 |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 52-83 |
| Publication date | 2003-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Syntax (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1368-0005 • E-ISSN: 1467-9612 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/1467-9612.00056 |
| OpenAlex | W2016707253 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 11 |
| References cited | 19 |
In this paper, we relate results from recent experimental study of young children's (3;0–7;11) comprehension of coordinate VP–ellipsis structures in English to a new theoretical proposal regarding their representation. Historically, theoretical treatments of these structures have been challenged by the nature of the ambiguity they involve, which includes both a “sloppy” interpretation (represented in terms of a bound variable) and a “strict” interpretation (represented as referential), at the same time that other interpretations are ruled out. Based on our study of language acquisition, we propose a solution capturing the ambiguity in the syntax, including two different types of operator–variable binding (local and long–distance) over a shared coordinate configuration. Pragmatic focus motivates the choice of the syntactic option for the long–distance strict interpretation. Empirical results reveal that, at all ages, (i) the sloppy interpretation is preferred, (ii) the strict interpretation is nevertheless in evidence, (iii) ungrammatical interpretations are ruled out, and (iv) choice of the strict reading is influenced by semantic/pragmatic factors
Ambiguity · Comprehension · Ellipsis (linguistics · Interpretation (philosophy · Linguistics · Natural language processing · Operator (biology · Representation (politics · Syntax · Variable (mathematics · Computer Science · Language Development and Disorders · Mathematics · Philosophy · Reading and Literacy Development · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation · Artificial Intelligence
The Oxford Handbook of Ellipsis
Empty or non-empty site? Evidence from the acquisition of Najdi Arabic sluicing
The comprehension of ellipsis in isiXhosa-speaking Grade 1 learners
Structural intervention effects in the acquisition of sluicing
“The tiger is hitting! the duck too!” 3-year-olds can use prosodic information to constrain their interpretation of ellipsis
Assessing child bilingualism
Children's production of verb-phrase anaphora in a spoken task
Brazilian-Portuguese-learning preschoolers use phrasal prosody to constrain their interpretation of ellipsis
Children's Knowledge of Ellipsis Constructions in Mandarin Chinese
Varieties of crossing dependencies
Binding principles and ACD constructions in child grammars
Coordination
Ellipsis
The Syntax of Silence
Linguistics and Philosophy
Locality and Anaphoric Binding
On so-called ?sloppy identity
On Bound Variable Interpretations
Lexical Anaphors and Pronouns in Selected South Asian Languages
Economy and scope
Some remarks on superiority effects
Ellipsis and discourse-linking
Topicalisation structures and constraints on coreference
| Unique citing works | 11 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2004 - 2025 (22) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 11 |