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Exploring the Turkish Linguistic Landscape: Essays in honor of Eser Erguvanlı-Taylan
Edited by Mine Güven, Didar Akar, Balkız Öztürk and Meltem Kelepir
[Studies in Language Companion Series 175] 2016
► pp. 183–200

Different paces (but not different paths) in language acquisition

ORCID logo | Istanbul Bilgi University

This study examines the acquisition of irregular morpho-phonological alternations (word final k-Ø, p-b, t-d, and ç-c alternations) by two different populations of Turkish speaking children, twins vs. singletons around age 3;0. The results, based on an elicited production test, suggest that relatively more regular and more frequent alternations (k-Ø alternation) are acquired earlier and children, like adults, are sensitive to word length in their alternations. Twins follow the same pattern but with a slower pace. Twins’ delay is attributed to their exposure to each other’s erroraneous speech, which is not a regular experience that one can observe in a singleton home.

Keywords: irregular alternation, language acquisition, twins vs. singletons
Published online: 14 June 2016
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.175.11ket
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