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On the developmental contour of child language: a reply to Smith & Weist*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2009

Lois Bloom  and
Lorraine Harner
Lois Bloom*
Affiliation:
Teachers College, Columbia University
Lorraine Harner*
Affiliation:
Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
*
Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
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Abstract

A developmental perspective in child language research begins with a focus on the child and the processes that contribute to change in the child's knowledge of language. Developmental change occurs in an organized, systematic way, with later changes influenced at least in part by developments at an earlier time. The acquisition of tense and aspect provides a relevant example. Data previously published by Weist, Wysocka, Witkowska-Stadnik, Buczowska & Konieczna (1984) are reanalysed here to show, statistically, that children learning Polish are influenced by aspect in aquiring verb tense, just as children are in learning English, Italian, Hebrew, Turkish and other languages. Children beginning to learn verb inflections find aspectual contour particularly compelling in leading them to learn tense distinctions.

Type
Notes and Discussion
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 16 , Issue 1 , February 1989 , pp. 207 - 216
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

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Footnotes

*

We thank Martin Braine and Richard Beckwith, for their helpful comments after reading an earlier version of the manuscript and Mark Liwszyc, for discussions regarding verb inflection in Polish. Preparation of these remarks was supported by research funds provided by the National Science Foundation.

References

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