Agent control and the acquisition of event culmination in Basque, Dutch, English, Spanish and Mandarin

Angeliek van Hout, Maria J. Arche, Hamida Demirdache, Isabel García del Real, Ainara García Sanz, Anna Gavarró, Lucía Gomez Marzo, Saar Hommes, Nina Kazanina, Jinhong Liu, Oana Lungu, Fabienne Martin, Iris M. Strangmann

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Abstract

In this paper we investigate if there is a connection between the acceptance of non-culmination in child language and a seemingly similar phenomenon in certain adult languages. In Mandarin, among other languages, adults accept telic-perfective clauses for non-culminating situations. The types of verbs that allow such readings are referred to as non-culminating accomplishments. Recently, novel developments in semantic theory have established that subject type plays a role in the acceptance of non-culmination in these languages. According to the Agent Control hypothesis (Demirdache & Martin 2015), denying the result as encoded by such accomplishment verbs is easier when the subject’s referent is an intentional Agent than when it is an inanimate Cause. Our study revisits non-target-like acceptance of non-culmination in learners by asking: does non-culmination in child language reflect the same cause as non-culmination in languages like Mandarin?
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 41st Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development
EditorsMaria LaMendola, Jennifer Scott
PublisherCascadilla Press
Pages323-332
Number of pages10
ISBN (Print)978-1-57473-076-0
Publication statusPublished - 2017
EventTHE 41st ANNUAL BOSTON UNIVERSITY CONFERENCE ON LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT - Boston University, Boston, United States
Duration: 4-Nov-20166-Nov-2016
Conference number: 41st
https://www.bu.edu/bucld/

Conference

ConferenceTHE 41st ANNUAL BOSTON UNIVERSITY CONFERENCE ON LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Abbreviated titleBUCLD
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityBoston
Period04/11/201606/11/2016
Internet address

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