TY - JOUR

T1 - Development of word order in German complement-clause constructions

T2 - effects of input frequencies, lexical items, and discourse function

AU - Brandt, Silke

AU - Lieven, Elena

AU - Tomasello, Michael

PY - 2010/9

Y1 - 2010/9

N2 - We investigate the development of word order in German children's spontaneous production of complement clauses. From soon idler their second birthday. young German children use both verb-final complements with complementizers and verb-second complements without complementizers. By their third birthday they use both kinds of complement clauses with a variety of complement-taking verbs. Early in development, however, verb-final complements and verb-second complements are used with separate sets of complement-taking verbs, and they are used with separate sets of item-specific main-clause phrases. For example, initially phrases such as 'I want to see' were used exclusively with verb-final complements, whereas phrases such as 'do you see' and 'you have to say' were used exclusively with verb-second complements. Only later in development when specific complement-taking verbs were used with both verb-second and verb-final complements, with a greater variety of main-clause phrases, and when specific main-clause phrases were used with both verb-second and verb-final complements was there evidence for structural links between these various, item-based, complement-clause constructions.*

AB - We investigate the development of word order in German children's spontaneous production of complement clauses. From soon idler their second birthday. young German children use both verb-final complements with complementizers and verb-second complements without complementizers. By their third birthday they use both kinds of complement clauses with a variety of complement-taking verbs. Early in development, however, verb-final complements and verb-second complements are used with separate sets of complement-taking verbs, and they are used with separate sets of item-specific main-clause phrases. For example, initially phrases such as 'I want to see' were used exclusively with verb-final complements, whereas phrases such as 'do you see' and 'you have to say' were used exclusively with verb-second complements. Only later in development when specific complement-taking verbs were used with both verb-second and verb-final complements, with a greater variety of main-clause phrases, and when specific main-clause phrases were used with both verb-second and verb-final complements was there evidence for structural links between these various, item-based, complement-clause constructions.*

U2 - 10.1353/lan.2010.0010

DO - 10.1353/lan.2010.0010

M3 - Journal article

VL - 86

SP - 583

EP - 610

JO - Language

JF - Language

SN - 0097-8507

IS - 3

ER -