Rights statement: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=JCL The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Journal of Child Language, 35 (2), pp 325-348 2008, © 2008 Cambridge University Press.
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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The acquisition of German relative clauses: A case study
AU - Brandt, Silke
AU - Diessel, Holger
AU - Tomasello, Michael
N1 - http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=JCL The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Journal of Child Language, 35 (2), pp 325-348 2008, © 2008 Cambridge University Press.
PY - 2008/5
Y1 - 2008/5
N2 - This paper investigates the development of relative clauses in the speech of one German-speaking child aged 2;0 to 5;0. The earliest relative clauses we found in the data occur in topicalization constructions that are only a little different from simple sentences: they contain a single proposition, express the actor prior to other participants, assert new information and often occur with main-clause word order. In the course of the development, more complex relative constructions emerge, in which the relative clause is embedded in a fully-fledged main clause. We argue that German relative clauses develop in an incremental fashion from simple non-embedded sentences that gradually evolve into complex sentence constructions.
AB - This paper investigates the development of relative clauses in the speech of one German-speaking child aged 2;0 to 5;0. The earliest relative clauses we found in the data occur in topicalization constructions that are only a little different from simple sentences: they contain a single proposition, express the actor prior to other participants, assert new information and often occur with main-clause word order. In the course of the development, more complex relative constructions emerge, in which the relative clause is embedded in a fully-fledged main clause. We argue that German relative clauses develop in an incremental fashion from simple non-embedded sentences that gradually evolve into complex sentence constructions.
U2 - 10.1017/S0305000907008379
DO - 10.1017/S0305000907008379
M3 - Journal article
VL - 35
SP - 325
EP - 348
JO - Journal of Child Language
JF - Journal of Child Language
SN - 0305-0009
IS - 2
ER -