Learning How to License Null Noun-Class Prefixes in Sesotho

Autor/inn/en	Demuth, Katherine; Machobane, Malillo; Moloi, Francina
Titel	Learning How to License Null Noun-Class Prefixes in Sesotho
Quelle	In: Language, 85 (2009) 4, S.864-883 (20 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0097-8507
Schlagwörter	Nouns; Language Acquisition; African Languages; Morphemes; Phonology; Syntax; Longitudinal Studies; Children; Child Language; Grammar; Generalization; Linguistic Theory + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Sprachaneignung; Spracherwerb; Africa; Language; Languages; Afrika; Sprachen; Afrikanische Sprache; Morphem; Fonologie; Longitudinal study; Longitudinal method; Longitudinal methods; Längsschnittuntersuchung; Child; Kind; Kinder; 'Children''s language'; Kindersprache; Grammatik; Linguistische Theorie
Abstract	Noun-class prefixes are obligatory in most Bantu languages. However, the Sotho languages (Sesotho, Setswana, Sepedi) permit a subset of prefixes to be realized as null at the intersection of "unmarked" phonological, syntactic, and discourse conditions. This raises the question of how and when the licensing of null prefixes is learned. Using longitudinal data from three Sesotho-speaking children, this article shows that the conditions needed to license null prefixes have been learned before the age of three, suggesting early abilities for grammatical generalization even at the intersection of different levels of linguistic structure. The implications for learnability theory and Bantu linguistic structure more generally are discussed. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Linguistic Society of America. 1325 18th Street NW Suite 211, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-835-1714; Fax: 202-835-1717; Web site: http://www.lsadc.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10