The Acquisition of French
The development of inflectional morphology and syntax in L1 acquisition, bilingualism, and L2 acquisition
Author
This book presents a thorough description of morphosyntactic knowledge developed by learners of French in four different learning situations — first language (L1) acquisition, second (L2) language acquisition, bilingualism, and acquisition by children with Specific Language Impairment — within the theoretical framework of generative grammar. This approach allows for multiple comparisons across acquisition contexts, which provides the reader with invaluable insights into the nature of the acquisition process. The book is divided into four parts each dealing with a major morphosyntactic domain of acquisition: the verbal domain, the pronominal domain, the nominal domain, and the CP domain. Each part contains four chapters, the first one presenting an overview of the basic facts and analyses of the relevant properties of French, and the next three focusing on the different acquisition contexts. This book will be useful to anyone interested in the acquisition of French and in language development in general. It is also meant to stimulate cross-linguistic research from a theoretical perspective.
[Language Acquisition and Language Disorders, 51] 2009. xx, 458 pp.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Table of Contents
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Preface | pp. i–xx
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Introduction | pp. 1–14
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Part I. The verbal domain
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Chapter 1. The verbal domain: Syntactic assumptions | pp. 17–26
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Chapter 2. The verbal domain in child L1 French | pp. 27–54
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Chapter 3. The verbal domain in French bilingual acquisition and in children with SLI learning French | pp. 55–76
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Chapter 4. The verbal domain in French L2 acquisition | pp. 77–112
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Part II. Subject and object pronouns
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Chapter 5. Subject and object pronouns: Morphosyntactic background | pp. 115–130
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Chapter 6. Subject and object pronouns in child L1 French | pp. 131–178
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Chapter 7. Subject and object pronouns in French bilingual acquisition and in children with SLI learning French | pp. 179–202
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Chapter 8. Subject and object pronouns in L2 French acquisition | pp. 203–232
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Part III. Determiner phrases
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Chapter 9. Determiner phrases: Morphosyntactic assumptions | pp. 235–250
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Chapter 10. Determiner phrases in child L1 French | pp. 251–266
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Chapter 11. The development of DPs in French bilingual acquisition and in children with SLI learning French | pp. 267–288
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Chapter 12. Determiner phrases in L2 French acquisition | pp. 289–320
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Part IV. Questions and embedded clauses
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Chapter 13. Questions and embedded clauses in French: Facts and analyses | pp. 323–344
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Chapter 14. Questions and embedded clauses in child L1 French | pp. 345–372
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Chapter 15. The development of questions and embedded clauses in French bilingual acquisition and in children with SLI learning French | pp. 373–388
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Chapter 16. Questions and embedded clauses in L2 French acquisition | pp. 389–412
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Conclusion | pp. 413–424
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Author index | pp. 449–452
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Subject index | pp. 453–458
“An excellent introduction to anyone who is interested in the acquisition of French, this volume provides an overview of and begins to bridge the gap between various learning situations. [...] With the ambitious goal of providing a description of the acquisition of French in different learning situations, Prévost must be commended for his efforts in providing a critical discussion of the different learning situations that deal with the acquisition of French. [...] this volume is recommended for anyone who is interested in discovering what has been said about the acquisition of French in various learning situations. Moreover, Prévost offers many research ideas throughout the book, thus fulfilling his third objective. Covering such a breadth of information, this volume should soon become a reference for those studying the acquisition of French.”
Claire Renaud, Arizona State University, in Studies in Second Language Acquisition 33(3): 464-466.
“With this comprehensive and extremely well-written monograph on the acquisition of French in several contexts, Philippe Prévost has accomplished a scholarly tour de force sure to please a wide audience. The book will certainly interest applied French linguists, especially those focusing on acquisition. Given its meticulous attention to the acquisition of morphosyntactic phenomena in both L1 (first language) and L2 (second language) contexts - including bilingual child language acquisition and acquisition by French L1 children with specific linguistic impairments (SLI) - the book will also merit a large readership among all acquisition researchers. In addition, Prévost brings a wealth of acquisition data to bear on important theoretical questions in the Universal Grammar (UG)/Minimalist Program and highlights the contributions that French acquisition research has made to the development of both syntactic and acquisition theory.”
Mary Ellen Scullen, University of Maryland, College Point, in French Review 84(6): 1349-1350
“With this comprehesive and extremely well-written monograph in the acquisition of French in several contexts, Phillipe Prévost has accomplished a scholarly 'tour de force' sure to please a wide audience. The book will certainly interest applied French linguists, especially those focusing on acquisition. Givens its meticulous attention to the acquisition of morphosyntactic phonomena in both L1 (first language) and L2 (second language) contexts - including bilingual child language acquisition and acquisition by French L1 children with specific linguistic impairments (SLI) - the book will also merit a large readership among all acquisition researchers. In addition, Prévost brings a wealth of acquisition data to bear on important theoretical questions in the Universal Grammar (UG)/Minimalist Program and highlights the contributions that French acquisition research has made to the development of both syntactic and acquisition theory.”
Mary Ellen Scullen, University of Maryland, College Point, in French Review *4(6): 1349-50
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Subjects & Metadata
BIC Subject: CFK – Grammar, syntax
BISAC Subject: LAN009000 – LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General