Download or read book Acquisition of Cantonese Verbs in Ostensive and Non Ostensive Contexts in Three and Four Years Old Children written by Li-Ying Lorinda Chen and published by . This book was released on 2017-01-26 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation, "Acquisition of Cantonese Verbs in Ostensive and Non-ostensive Contexts in Three and Four Years Old Children" by Li-ying, Lorinda, Chen, 陳立穎, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. DOI: 10.5353/th_b3195852 Subjects: Cantonese dialects - Study and teaching (Early childhood) Cantonese dialects - Verb Cantonese dialects - Acquisition Cantonese dialects - Study and teaching (Early childhood) - China - Hong Kong Preschool children - China - Hong Kong - Language Language acquisition Preschool children - Language

Download or read book Acquisition of Cantonese Verbs in Ostensive and Non ostensive Contexts in Three and Four Years Old Children written by Li-ying Chen (Lorinda) and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Early Child Cantonese written by Shek Tse and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2011-08-29 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the first publication on record that systematically and comprehensively addresses the acquisition and development of Cantonese in early childhood. It draws upon evidence from up-to-date reviews of associated literature, on the outcomes of numerous research studies conducted by the authors and on the outcomes of an in-depth study of the largest corpus of early childhood Cantonese. To supplement and illuminate published trends in the literature, carefully gathered reliable and valid empirical data are critically scrutinized. The evidence is used to clarify and examine theoretical assumptions and to outline putative developmental trends in early childhood Cantonese pragmatics.

Download or read book The Acquisition of Verb Argument Structures in Young Cantonese speaking Children written by Cheuk-lan Chan (Carol) and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book A Study of Generic Noun Phrases in Child Cantonese written by Ka-Sinn Kitty Szeto and published by . This book was released on 2017-01-26 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation, "A Study of Generic Noun Phrases in Child Cantonese" by Ka-sinn, Kitty, Szeto, 司徒嘉善, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: This study investigated how Cantonese-speaking children use and comprehend generic noun phrases. Previous studies revealed that generic noun phrases were found in the speech of English-speaking children at age two. In terms of understanding of the meaning of generic noun phrases, experimental results also revealed that children speaking different languages showed sensitivity to the meaning of a generic noun phrase as different from quantified noun phrases which involved "all" and "some." However, the development of generic noun phrases was not identical in children speaking different languages. Cantonese offers an interesting case for examining the development of generic noun phrases as Cantonese and Mandarin use the same form (i.e., bare noun phrases) as generic noun phrases yet Cantonese also employs a unique form of using a classifier phrase in the form of di1-NPs as a generic noun phrase which is not found in Mandarin. This dissertation reported findings of the production and comprehension of generic noun phrases by Cantonese-speaking children by using both longitudinal data and experimental data. Longitudinal data from three children between two and three years of age were examined. Adult speech data were also analyzed in order to obtain a baseline for measuring the children's use of generic noun phrases. An experimental study was conducted to test Cantonese-speaking children's understanding of the intermediate meaning of generic noun phrases. The experimental study included 24 Cantonese-speaking adults and 72 Cantonese-speaking children in three age groups (three-, four-, and five-year-olds). The task used was a series of yes/no questions which involved three property types (broad-scope, narrow-scope, irrelevant) and four linguistic form conditions ("all," "some," bare-NP generic, di1-NP generic). The responses to the narrow-scope items highlight the distinction between generic noun phrases and quantified noun phrases in Cantonese-speaking children as the responses vary as a function of the linguistic form condition. Results from the longitudinal study showed that: (1) Cantonese-speaking children at age two already produced generic noun phrases in their spontaneous speech; (2) Almost all of the generic noun phrases produced by Cantonese-speaking children were bare noun phrases. The use of di1-NP as generic noun phrases was highly restrained; (3) The domain-specificity effect was not apparent in the noun phrases used by Cantonese-speaking children. Results from the experimental study showed that: (1) Cantonese-speaking children treated the two forms of generic noun phrases (i.e., bare NPs and di1-NP as similar in meaning; (2) Cantonese-speaking children showed early distinctions between the meaning of generics and the meaning of "all"; (3) However, Cantonese-speaking at age five have not yet achieved adults proficiency in differentiating the meaning of generics as intermediate between the meaning of "all" and the meaning of "some." The results were discussed with reference to the proposal that generic meanings are the default interpretations for children. Generics are learned by noticing an absence of cues specifying particular reference. Subjects: Children - Language Cantonese dialects - Noun phrase

Download or read book The Acquisition of Relative Clauses by Cantonese Children written by Elaine Lau and published by Open Dissertation Press. This book was released on 2017-01-27 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation, "The Acquisition of Relative Clauses by Cantonese Children: an Experimental Approach" by Elaine, Lau, 劉綺雯, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Abstract of thesis entitled "The Acquisition of Relative Clauses by Cantonese Children: an experimental approach" Submitted by Elaine Lau for the degree of Master of Philosophy at The University of Hong Kong in June 2006 Chinese, as an head-initial language with prenominal relative clauses, is of particular interest to theories of processing and acquisition. Contrary to the subject advantage found in other languages, several theories predict an advantage (for both acquisition and processing) for object-extracted relative clauses (RCs) over subject-extracted RCs in Chinese. On the other hand, some accounts maintain a universal subject advantage across languages. Two experiments were conducted to examine the production and comprehension of relative clauses by Cantonese monolingual children aged 4 to 6. In addition to adopting the prototypical test sentences as used in research on relative clauses, this study incorporates relative clauses in copular constructions, with the intention of lowering the processing demands as suggested by Diessel and Tomasello (2005). Results from both tasks showed the best performance with subject-relatives, followed by agent- and patient-relatives, forming a hierarchy with significant differences, while performance on indirect object-, oblique- and genitive-relatives varied markedly between tasks. This accords with the developmental predictions derived from Keenan and Comrie's (1977) Noun Phrase Accessibility Hierarchy, thus reinforcing its universality. Children's erroneous responses suggest that canonical word order is not so much a cue used by children to process RCs, but rather misleads them to interpret them as main clauses (MCs). Relative clauses in copular constructions are found to be less demanding than relative clauses in main clause constructions, giving support to Diessel and Tomasello (2005)'s claims. A developmental trend is observed, with elder children aged 5;0-6;1 having better performance than young children aged 4;0-4;11. The discrepancy in performance between comprehension and production demonstrates the dissimilarity of the two processes. However, the combined role of the two processes in revealing the breadth of linguistic knowledge and proficiency in linguistic skills of children is maintained. DOI: 10.5353/th_b3723334 Subjects: Cantonese dialects - Relative clauses Language acquisition Preschool children - China - Hong Kong - Language

Download or read book The Emergence of Serial Verb Constructions in Child Cantonese written by So-Hing Sandra Fung and published by . This book was released on 2017-01-26 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation, "The Emergence of Serial Verb Constructions in Child Cantonese" by So-hing, Sandra, Fung, 馮素卿, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: This study examines the emergence and development of the Cantonese serial verb construction (SVC) in children from 1;03 to 4;06 by investigating the naturalistic data from two longitudinal corpora. This study presents a descriptive account of the emergence and development of SVCs in early child Cantonese, seeks to explain the developmental facts from a constructionist usage-based perspective, and compares the development of SVCs in Cantonese-English bilinguals with that in Cantonese monolinguals. It is found that children start to produce SVCs spontaneously at an early age of 1;10 and that the overall frequency of occurrence is low during the developmental period studied. The early emergence of SVCs is attributed to children's preference for iconic structures. Four surface forms are identified and shown to emerge with a consistent order: two-verb contiguous (1;10-11) contiguous (2;02) complexities are suggested to be the possible factors that influence the order. The earlier emergence of contiguous forms than non-contiguous forms is explained by the hypothesis that cross-linguistically unmarked structures tend to be acquired earlier than the marked ones (O'Grady 2000). Such a generalization is compatible with constructionist approaches in suggesting cross-linguistic cognitive functional preferences for language processing. Children tend to use certain component verbs that express eight main semantic notions. The study interprets children's SVCs as concrete instantiations of eight sub-constructions, which are subsumed by a more abstract high level SVC schema. It is observed that sub-constructions develop asynchronously, as the developmental paths of the four more frequently used SVCs (directional, dative, purpose and resultative SVCs) are more advanced than the four less often produced SVCs (instrumental, benefactive, comitative and locative SVCs). Developmental paths of the former are shown to be consistent with Tomasello's (2003) usage-based account of language development: from concrete expressions, to pivot schemas, then to item-based constructions. However, this study does not have enough data to suggest the emergence of an abstract schema for the high level SVC. It is found that children imitate adults' previous SVCs and repeat their own spontaneous productions frequently. These highlight the roles of the ambient language and linguistic use to children's language development. The overall error rates of SVCs are found to be low. The reasons proposed for error production, that are, adult input, generalization from item-based constructions and complexity of target constructions, are considered as evidence to support the constructionist usage-based approach. This study shows that Cantonese-dominant bilinguals resemble Cantonese monolinguals in developing SVCs. Language dominance is invoked to account for the developmental similarities observed. Only a few code-mixed instances are recorded, suggesting limited English influence on Cantonese SVCs. It is argued that SVCs are not a vulnerable doma

Download or read book The Acquisition of Verb Particle Construction in Cantonese English Bilingual Children written by Hin Yee Wong and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Understanding Second Language Acquisition written by Lourdes Ortega and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-02-04 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether we grow up with one, two, or several languages during our early years of life, many of us will learn a second, foreign, or heritage language in later years. The field of Second language acquisition (SLA, for short) investigates the human capacity to learn additional languages in late childhood, adolescence, or adulthood, after the first language --in the case of monolinguals-- or languages --in the case of bilinguals-- have already been acquired. Understanding Second Language Acquisition offers a wide-encompassing survey of this burgeoning field, its accumulated findings and proposed theories, its developed research paradigms, and its pending questions for the future. The book zooms in and out of universal, individual, and social forces, in each case evaluating the research findings that have been generated across diverse naturalistic and formal contexts for second language acquisition. It assumes no background in SLA and provides helpful chapter-by-chapter summaries and suggestions for further reading. Ideal as a textbook for students of applied linguistics, foreign language education, TESOL, and education, it is also recommended for students of linguistics, developmental psycholinguistics, psychology, and cognitive science. Supporting resources for tutors are available free at www.routledge.com/ortega.

Download or read book Action Meets Word written by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-04-29 with total page 605 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although there has been a surge in our understanding of children's vocabulary growth, theories of word learning lack a primary focus on verbs and adjectives. Researchers throughout the world recognize how our understanding of language acquisition can be at best partial if we cannot comprehend how verbs are learned. This volume represents a proliferation of research on the frontier of early verb learning, enhancing our understanding of the building blocks of language and considering new ways to assess key aspects of language growth.

Download or read book The Psychology of Language written by Trevor A. Harley and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2013-12-16 with total page 1083 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thorough revision and update of the popular second edition contains everything the student needs to know about the psychology of language: how we understand, produce, and store language.

Download or read book Current Perspectives on Child Language Acquisition written by Caroline F. Rowland and published by John Benjamins Publishing Company. This book was released on 2020-09-15 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years the field has seen an increasing realisation that the full complexity of language acquisition demands theories that (a) explain how children integrate information from multiple sources in the environment, (b) build linguistic representations at a number of different levels, and (c) learn how to combine these representations in order to communicate effectively. These new findings have stimulated new theoretical perspectives that are more centered on explaining learning as a complex dynamic interaction between the child and her environment. This book is the first attempt to bring some of these new perspectives together in one place. It is a collection of essays written by a group of researchers who all take an approach centered on child-environment interaction, and all of whom have been influenced by the work of Elena Lieven, to whom this collection is dedicated.

Download or read book Adjective Classes written by R.M.W. Dixon and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2004-09-16 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book shows that every language has an adjective class and how such classes vary. Thirteen scholars report original research on languages from North, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Pacific. The book throws new light on the nature and classification of adjectives and redefines the cross-linguistic parameters of their variation.

Download or read book English Medium Instruction written by Ernesto Macaro, and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-02-19 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ernesto Macaro brings together a wealth of research on the rapidly expanding phenomenon of English Medium Instruction. Against a backdrop of theory, policy documents, and examples of practice, he weaves together research in both secondary and tertiary education, with a particular focus on the key stakeholders involved in EMI: the teachers and the students. Whilst acknowledging that the momentum of EMI is unlikely to be diminished, and identifying its potential benefits, the author raises questions about the ways it has been introduced and developed, and explores how we can arrive at a true cost–benefit analysis of its future impact. “This state-of-the-art monograph presents a wide-ranging, multi-perspectival yet coherent overview of research, policy, and practice of English Medium Instruction around the globe. It gives a thorough, in-depth, and thought-provoking treatment of an educational phenomenon that is spreading on an unprecedented scale.” Guangwei Hu, National Institute of Education, Singapore Additional online resources are available at www.oup.com/elt/teacher/emi Ernesto Macaro is Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Oxford and is the founding Director of the Centre for Research and Development on English Medium Instruction at the university. Oxford Applied Linguistics Series Advisers: Anne Burns and Diane Larsen-Freeman

Download or read book Nominal Syntax at the Interfaces written by Giuliana Giusti and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2015-10-28 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume offers a new perspective on the syntax of nominal expressions in various European languages, arguing that articles do not directly and biunivocally realise semantic definiteness. The first two chapters provide an accessible introduction to recent developments in generative syntax, namely the cartographic and minimalist approaches, by focusing on the “imperfect” parallels between clauses and nominal expressions. The third chapter shows that feature sharing is not the result of a unique syntactic process, but, rather, the consequence of Merge, which creates syntactic structure instantiating two types of relation: Selection and Modification. It argues for three different ways of transferring features: Agreement allows for an argument (an independent phase, selected by a head) to re-enter the computation as part of the predicate of the new phase. It targets Person features and is not involved in the feature sharing triggered by modification. Concord copies the features of N (notably gender, number and case, where this is present). It is the result of Modification and can coexist with Agreement. Finally, Projection is triggered by multiple internal mergers of the head, bundled with all its interpretable and uninterpretable features, which may be realized in different segments. The fourth chapter focuses on the nature of determiners such as articles, demonstratives, quantifiers, possessive adjectives and pronouns, personal pronouns and proper names, and shows that only articles have the properties to be attributed to “functional heads” because they are a segment of a scattered nominal head. The rest of the volume is devoted to the analysis of syntactic phenomena, such as double definiteness, expletive articles, and weak and strong adjectival inflection, by means of the proposal that (scattered) nominal or adjectival heads concord with their modifiers. This approach reinterprets head movement in a fashion that makes it compatible with minimalist requirements, provides an explanation for the apparent optionality of head movement, eliminates the typology of head movements by adjunction or substitution, and gives an original answer to the doubts raised about the legitimacy of the very notion of “functional category”.

Download or read book Weaving a Lexicon written by D. Geoffrey Hall and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 678 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The contributors to this volume examine the multidimensional way in which infants and children acquire the lexicon of their native language.

Download or read book Doing Pragmatics written by Peter Grundy and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-11-26 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Doing Pragmatics achieved success through its unparalleled capacity to render pragmatics truly accessible to students. Embracing the comprehensive and engaging style which characterised the previous editions, the third edition is fully revised and expanded. Grundy consolidates the strengths of the original version, reinforcing its unique combination of theory and practice with new theory, exercises and up-to-date, real data and examples. New chapters include pragmatic inference and language evolution, and intercultural pragmatics. Doing Pragmatics is designed for pragmatics courses both at an introductory and a more advanced level. It extends beyond theory to promote an applied understanding of empirical data and to provide students with the opportunity to 'do' pragmatics themselves, providing the ideal foundation for all those studying linguistics and ELT.