Selective learning in the acquisition of Kannada ditransitives

In this article we offer up a particular linguistic phenomenon, quantifier-variable binding in Kannada ditransitives, as a proving ground upon which competing claims about learnability can be evaluated with respect to the relative abstractness of children’s grammatical knowledge. We first identify one aspect of syntactic representation that exhibits a range of syntactic, morphological, and semantic consequences both within and across languages, namely the hierarchical structure of ditransitive verb phrases (Barss & Lasnik 1986, Larson 1988, Harley 2002). Next we show that while the semantic consequences of this structure are parallel in English, Kannada, and Spanish, the word order and morphological reflexes of this structure diverge. Thus, although it is clear that the same structures are exhibited crosslinguistically, the evidence available to learners that would allow them to identify these structures is variable. We then turn to an examination of children learning Kannada, demonstrating that they have command of the relation between morphological form and semantic interpretation in ditransitives with respect to quantifier-variable binding. Finally, we offer a proposal on how a selective learning mechanism might succeed in identifying the appropriate structures in this domain despite the variability in surface expression

Kannada · Learnability · Linguistics · Natural language processing · Quantifier (linguistics) · Semantic property · Variable (mathematics) · Verb · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Language Development and Disorders · Mathematics · Reading and Literacy Development · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

• Swimming in the desert? The role of environment in motion verb acquisition

  Open Access•Alice Benjamin, Kaitlyn Harrigan•Proceedings of the Linguistic…•2023

  Añadir item

• The role of indirect positive evidence in syntactic acquisition

  Open Access•Lisa Pearl, Lisa S Pearl et al.•Language•2016

  Añadir item

• Child language acquisition

  Open Access•Ben Ambridge, Julian M Pine et al.•Language•2014

  Añadir item

• “Really, he dased the doll to the girl?” Two-year-olds can exploit grammatical and thematic content to learn novel verb meanings

  Open Access•Giulio Massari, Vincenzo Moscati et al.•Cognition•2026

  Añadir item

• The importance of input representations

  Open Access•Jeffrey Lidz, Laurel Perkins•Linguistic Approaches to…•2018

  Añadir item

• How Nature Meets Nurture

  Jeffrey Lidz, Annie Gagliardi•Annual Review of Linguistics•2014

  Añadir item

• Constructions at Work

  Adele Goldberg, Adele Ε Goldberg•Constructions at Work•2005

  Añadir item

• First Verbs

  Open Access•M Tomasello•First Verbs•1992

  Añadir item

• The Polysynthesis Parameter

  Mark C Baker•The polysynthesis parameter•1996

  Añadir item

• Simpler Syntax

  Peter W Culicover, Ray Jackendoff•Simpler syntax•2005

  Añadir item

• Issues in Italian Syntax

  Laura Rizzi, Luigi Rizzi•Issues in Italian Syntax•1982

  Añadir item

• A First Language

  Roger Brown•First Language•1973

  Añadir item

• Learning Words and Rules

  Open Access•Yael Gertner, Cynthia Fisher et al.•Psychological Science•2006

  Añadir item

• Children's Knowledge of Locality Conditions in Binding as Evidence for the Modularity of Syntax and Pragmatics

  Yu-Chin Chien, Kenneth Wexler•Language Acquisition•1990

  Añadir item

• A computational learning model for metrical phonology

  Open Access•B Elan Dresher, Jonathan D Kaye•Cognition•1990

  Añadir item

• Coreference and bound anaphora

  Open Access•Tanya Reinhart•Linguistics and Philosophy•1983

  Añadir item

• When children are more logical than adults

  Open Access•Ira Noveck, Ira A Noveck•Cognition•2001

  Añadir item

• Testing the abstractness of children's linguistic representations

  Open Access•Ceri Savage, Elena Lieven et al.•Developmental Science•2003

  Añadir item

• Rules and representations

  Open Access•Noam Chomsky•Behavioral and Brain Sciences•1980

  Añadir item

• Understanding how input matters

  Open Access•Jeffrey Lidz, Henry Gleitman et al.•Cognition•2003

  Añadir item

• Thematic Roles and Syntactic Structure

  Mark C Baker•Elements of Grammar•1997

  Añadir item

• Do young children have adult syntactic competence?

  Open Access•M Tomasello•Cognition•2000

  Añadir item

• Severing the External Argument from its Verb

  Angelika Kratzer•Phrase Structure and the Lexicon•1996

  Añadir item

• Particles

  Marcel Den Dikken•Particles•1995

  Añadir item

• Lectures on Government and Binding

  Noam Chomsky•Lectures on Government and Binding•1993

  Añadir item

• Argument Structure and Ditransitive Verbs in Japanese

  Open Access•Shigeru Miyagawa, Takae Tsujioka•Journal of East Asian Linguistics•2004

  Añadir item

• The Polysynthesis Parameter

  Jean-Pierre Koenig, Karin Michelson et al.•Language•1998

  Añadir item

• The role of prediction in construction-learning

  Open Access•Adele E Goldberg, Adele Ε Goldberg et al.•Journal of Child Language•2005

  Añadir item

• Rethinking Innateness

  Jeffrey L Elman, Jeffrey Elman et al.•Rethinking Innateness•1996

  Añadir item

• Young children's earliest transitive and intransitive constructions

  Open Access•M Tomasello, Patricia J Brooks•Cognitive Linguistics•1998

  Añadir item

• Learning argument structure generalizations

  Open Access•Adele E Goldberg, Adele Ε Goldberg et al.•Cognitive Linguistics•2004

  Añadir item

• The role of agreement in clitic-doubled constructions

  Open Access•Margarita Su er, Margarita Su�er•Natural Language and Linguistic…•1988

  Añadir item

• How to set Parameters

  Mark Hale, David Lightfoot•Language•1994

  Añadir item

• Zero Syntax

  Christopher D Manning, Christopher Manning et al.•Language•1997

  Añadir item

• Rules and Representations

  Terry L Smith, Noam Chomsky•The Philosophical Review•1982

  Añadir item

• Knowledge of Language

  Norbert Hornstein, Noam Chomsky•The Philosophical Review•1988

  Añadir item

• The English dative alternation

  Open Access•Malka Rappaport Hovav, Beth Levin•Journal of Linguistics•2008

  Añadir item

• Syntactic priming in 3- and 4-year-old children

  Priya Mariana Shimpi, Perla B Gámez et al.•Developmental Psychology•2007

  Añadir item

• On the Nature of Syntactic Variation

  Open Access•Wendy Snyder, William Snyder•Language•2001

  Añadir item

• Parsing to Learn

  Open Access•Janet Dean Fodor•Journal of Psycholinguistic…•1998

  Añadir item

• Argument Marking in Ditransitive Alignment Types

  Open Access•Martin Haspelmath•Linguistic Discovery•2005

  Añadir item

• Possession and the double object construction

  Heidi Harley•Linguistic Variation Yearbook•2002

  Añadir item

• Double Objects Again

  Beck, Sigrid Beck et al.•Linguistic Inquiry•2004

  Añadir item

• Why children aren't universally successful with quantification

  Open Access•Julien Musolino, Jeffrey Lidz•Linguistics•2006

  Añadir item

• Language-Internal Explanation

  Open Access•David M Perlmutter, John C Moore et al.•Language•2002

  Añadir item

• Semantics and Syntactic Regularity

  Richard T Oehrle, Georgia M Green•Language•1977

  Añadir item

• Verbal behavior

  Noam Chomsky, B F Skinner•Language•1959

  Añadir item

• The Learnability and Acquisition of the Dative Alternation in English

  Jess Gropen, Steven Pinker et al.•Language•1989

  Añadir item

• The Language Lottery

  Lyle Jenkins, David A Lightfoot et al.•Language•1984

  Añadir item

• How Children Constrain Their Argument Structure Constructions

  Patricia J Brooks, M Tomasello•Language•1999

  Añadir item

• Resumptive Restrictive Relatives

  Margarita Suner•Language•1998

  Añadir item