Eduardo D. Faingold

The development of grammar in Spanish and the Romance languages

Introduction Articles Demonstrative Pronouns Prepositions and Adverbs Subjunctive Verbs The Mental Representation of Linguistic Markedness Summary and Conclusion Appendices Bibliography Index

Variation in the application of natural processes: language-dependent constraints in the phonological acquisition of bilingual children.

This paper studies phonological processes and constraints on early phonological and lexical development, as well as the strategies employed by a young Spanish-, Portuguese-, and Hebrew-speaking child—Nurit (the authors niece)—in the construction of her early lexicon. Nurits linguistic development is compared to that of another Spanish-, Portuguese-, and Hebrew-speaking child—Noam (the authors son). Noam and Nurits linguistic development is contrasted to that of Bermans (1977) English- and Hebrew-speaking daughter (Shelli). The simultaneous acquisition of similar (closely related languages) such as Spanish and Portuguese versus that of nonrelated languages such as English and Hebrew yields different results: Children acquiring similar languages seem to prefer maintenance as a strategy for the construction of their early lexicon, while children exposed to nonrelated languages appear to prefer reduction to a large extent (Faingold, 1990). The Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking childrens high accuracy stems from a wider choice of target words, where the diachronic development of two closely related languages provides a simplified model lexicon to the child.

The acquisition of syllabic and word structure: Individual differences and universal constraints1

Abstract Natural phonological processes, constraints and strategies at the one word stage are investigated in one trilingual, Spanish, Portuguese and Hebrew speaking child (Noam). Concern is with word, syllable and segmental articulation. This childs phonological and lexical development is contrasted with that of another bilingual English and Hebrew speaking child (Shelli). Two opposite strategies in the application of selected phonological processes were observed: Noams maintenance (his data shows a large number of full words, trisyllabic and reduplicated forms) vs Shellis reduction (her data shows a small number of full words, a wide use of syllable reduction, and a vocabulary strictly limited to monosyllabic and bisyllabic forms). A universal constraint on word initial - word final consonants seems to be operating, despite the different strategies and despite the multilingual input and acquisition setting. Thus this paper argues for the coexistence of universal processes and individual patternings in early (phonological) development, prior to the period of expansion, when children produce more adult-like versions of the words and a larger number of full words.

The Re-Emergence of Spanish and Hebrew in a Multilingual Adolescent.

This paper traces the re-emergence of Spanish and Hebrew, the first languages of the authors son, after six years spent in an all English-speaking environment. In adolescence, Spanish and Hebrew are re-emerging, due to positive attitudes towards the minority languages in the teenagers surroundings. The data consists of tape-recorded sessions, supplemented by a diary and cards with notes and linguistic examples from age 0;6 until 14;3.

An Annotated Bibliography of 19 th -Century Grammars of English

1. Frontispiece 2. Preface 3. List of Abbreviations 4. Contents 5. I. An annotated bibliography of the 19th-century grammars of English (ABiNGE) 6. II. Alphabetical List of 19th-century English Grammars by British and American Authors 7. Appendix: Titles not included in the main list 8. Indices 9. Index of Names 10. Index of Places of Publications (publishers for London)

Articles: A Result of Natural Morphological Processes in First Language Acquisition, Creolization, and Language History

This chapter studies natural morphological processes in the emergence of the article system in first-language acquisition, creolization, and language history, and examines these developments in light of Bickerton’s (1981) predictions for specificity in his bioprogram. The present study reveals that these phenomena exhibit similar developmental patterns for both the definite and the (specific and non-specific) indefinite articles. The developmental paths of these phenomena are explained in terms of a universal hierarchy of markedness that reflects natural morphological processes: less-marked, that is more natural, structures are acquired earlier by children; they also result from creolization processes and tend to be the basis of neutralization and analogical change.

The Mental Representation of Linguistic Markedness: Cognitive Aspects of the Spanish Subjunctive

This chapter studies cognitive aspects of the Spanish subjunctive. Rather than the loosely connected list of structures usually found in Spanish grammars (e.g. Alarcos Llorach 1994; Butt & Benjamin 1996), the uses of the present and past subjunctives in Spanish can be derived from a formula that captures the mental representation of these tenses. Also, in this chapter, I develop a cognitive rule explaining the retention of frequently used irregular future subjunctives in Spanish legalese. Apparently, diverse patterns in the uses of the Spanish subjunctive can be handled by such cognitive formula and functional mechanisms of language use, in interaction with markedness principles, whereby systematic developments occur in marked and unmarked categories and environments.

Subjunctive Verbs: A Result of Natural Grammatical Processes in First Language Acquisition, Second Language Learning, Language Variation, and Language History

This chapter shows that less-marked structures are acquired earlier by children and tend to be the basis of neutralization and analogical change in child language, as well as in second language learning, language variation, and historical change. I search for parallels in the acquisition, learning, variation, and history of mood in Spanish and French; I will construct a hierarchy of markedness explaining the development of mood in all these linguistic areas and language systems.

Prepositions and Adverbs: Similar Development Patterns in First and Second Language Acquisition

This chapter examines natural morphological processes of spatial prepositions and temporal adverbs in first and second language acquisition by children and adult immigrants. The constructions under consideration are such diverse grammatical structures as simple morphemes (e.g. in, between, yet, again) and complex structures (e.g. in front of, in between, no longer, not yet). This data is used to account for the natural morphological developments described in terms of markedness theory. The present study reveals that first and second language phenomena exhibit similar developmental patterns in French, Italian, Spanish, and a number of other languages. The developmental path of these phenomena can be explained in terms of universal hierachies of markedness that reflect natural morphological processes: in a natural environment (i.e. outside the classroom), less-marked structures are acquired earlier by both children and second language speakers. This chapter surveys numerous published papers and provides a summary of the literature compared with my own findings.

Demonstrative Pronouns: A Source of Definite Articles in History

This chapter discusses the emergence of the definite article in the Romance languages, a topic focal to Romance linguistics for a long while (see, e.g. Bouvier 1972; Garrido 1988; Lapesa 1979; Renzi 1976; Trager 1932; Vaananen 1987). I offer an up-to-date explanation in terms of grammaticalization theory (Heine et al. 1991) and discourse analysis as well as other linguistic devices (statistical, structural, and functional analysis, iconicity, and naturalness).