Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research Vol.52 1471-1492 December 2009. doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2009/08-0037a)
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The Acquisition of Auxiliary Syntax: A Longitudinal Elicitation Study. Part 2: The Modals and Auxiliary DO

Caroline F. Rowland
University of Liverpool, Liverpool, England

Anna L. Theakston
University of Manchester, Manchester, England

Contact author: Caroline F. Rowland, University of Liverpool, School of Psychology, Liverpool L69 7ZA, United Kingdom. E-mail: crowland{at}liverpool.ac.uk.

Purpose: The study of auxiliary acquisition is central to work on language development and has attracted theoretical work from both nativist and constructivist approaches. This study is part of a 2-part companion set that represents a unique attempt to trace the development of auxiliary syntax by using a longitudinal elicitation methodology. The aim of the research described in this part is to track the development of modal auxiliaries and auxiliary DO in questions and declaratives to provide a more complete picture of the development of the auxiliary system in English-speaking children.

Method: Twelve English-speaking children participated in 2 tasks designed to elicit auxiliaries CAN, WILL, and DOES in declaratives and yes/no questions. They completed each task 6 times in total between the ages of 2;10 (years;months) and 3;6.

Results: The children's levels of correct use of the target auxiliaries differed in complex ways according to auxiliary, polarity, and sentence structure, and these relations changed over development. An analysis of the children's errors also revealed complex interactions between these factors.

Conclusions: These data cannot be explained in full by existing theories of auxiliary acquisition. Researchers working within both generativist and constructivist frameworks need to develop more detailed theories of acquisition that predict the pattern of acquisition observed.

KEY WORDS: syntax, auxiliary acquisition, preschool children


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