There-insertion

How Internal Merge guides the acquisition path

Tom Roeper | University of Massachusetts

Merge Theory divides into Internal Merge (IM) (move) and External Merge (select). What does this imply for the acquisition path? Spontaneous early acquisition evidence supports Chomsky’s (2012) claim that Internal Merge (move) is conceptually simpler than External Merge and therefore should occur first, as in (adam10 dere [: there’s] a bag car), contrary to the general view that Move is more complex. Anaphoric-there, which involves binding, is delayed. Unlike Nishigauchi and Roeper (1987) and Sigusdottir (2011) who have sought to explain acquisition in terms of reference or “3rd factors”, this modernized view of parameters supports Hyams (1986) on the role of there-insertion and Holmberg (2010) on parametric clusters. We also illustrate how both anaphoric and expletive work in the complex pragmatic environment that a child experiences. Keywords: Internal Merge; multiple grammars; Null Pronouns; there-insertion; Move-over-Merge; Null Subject Parameter

Published online: 18 April 2013
https://doi.org/10.1075/lald.54.10roe

Cited by

Cited by other publications

Chomsky, Noam

2014. In Recursion: Complexity in Cognition [Studies in Theoretical Psycholinguistics, 43], ► pp. 1 ff.

Roeper, Tom

2018. Grammar acquisition and grammar choice in the variationist model. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism 8:6 ► pp. 758 ff.

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