Acquiring the unaccusative/unergative distinction: evidence for
syntax-driven approaches to lexicon-syntax interface
We investigate the acquisition of the unaccusative/unergative distinction by
a 3L1 child (S) with English, Italian and Scottish Gaelic. The literature claims that
there are differences in the acquisition of unaccusativity cross-linguistically (e.g.
Babyonyshev et al 2001, vs Snyder, Hyams and Chrisma (1995). No previous
study has tried to see whether the acquisition of the distinction in a speaker of
English and Italian shows evidence of cross-linguistic influence. Additionally the
unaccusative/unergative distinction poses an interesting puzzle: if
unaccusativity is semantically determined, unaccusatives are expected to be both
stable and consistent across languages and within a language. This hypothesis is
ideally tested in multilingual acquisition.
The current study reports on three grammaticality judgment tasks. In
English we tested perfect participles and resultatives, (1) and (2). In Italian
auxiliary selection, (3). The results are in the table 1-3.
The findings reveal that S has acquired the unergative/unaccusative distinction
in both languages (with English results nearly at ceiling, while Italian results are
not as robust). Interestingly, there is considerable overlap between the lexical
verbs that S miscategorises in the two languages. The verbs fall into several
semantic classes making a lexical semantic-driven analysis of error difficult to
sustain. In contrast a Syntactic Bootstrapping approach (according to which a
protracted period of overgeneralisation is to be expected, see Sorace 2004 and
Borer 2004) can explain our data. The child has syntactic frames and inserts
verbs into them giving rise to alternations which are ruled out in the adult
language. What about the overlap? One of the crucial aspects of syntax-driven
approaches to alternations is that meaning alone cannot drive computation and
that meaning is a by-product of syntax. There is nothing intrinsic about the
meaning of sleep that explains why it shouldn't be possible to use it in a causative
frame. The fact that S makes mistakes with the same verbs in both English and
Italian can then be viewed as confirmation of the fact that syntax is so prominent
in the derivation of structure in one language to take over the way verbs are used
in the other.
1.
To get to granny’s cottage, red riding hood had to cross… the frozen
lake.
2.
*Dora screamed happy.
3.
a. Biancaneve ha dormito tanto!
Biancaneve is slept lots
Table 1 English Results
English Perfect
Participle GJT
English
Resultatives GJT
b. *Biancaneve é dormito tanto!
Biancaneve has slept lots!
Verb class
Example
Correct
Judgment %
Incorrect
judgement %
Unaccusative
*Unergative
The frozen lake
*The shouted postman
75%
81%
25%
11%
Fillers
Unaccusative
The storm appeared
The glass smashed into
pieces
*Woody sang tired
John drank his tea
100%
81%
0%
11%
91%
100%
9%
0%
*Unergative
Fillers
Overa
ll
correc
t%
82%
89%
86%
Across tasks
Table 2 Italian Results
Italian Auxiliary
Selection
Verb class
Example
Unaccusative
il vaso è rotto – the
vase broke
Il bambino ha riso
– the baby laughed
Unergative
Alternating
verbs
Correct
judgement %
58%
Incorrect
judgement %
42%
75%
25%
75%
25%
Overall
correct %
66.5%
75%
Table 3 Wrongly Judged Verbs in English and Italian
Language
Mistakes
Verb type
Status
English only
Cook
Change of state
Unaccusative
Dance
Controlled motional unaffecting
process
Change of state
Unergative
Unergative
Fall / Cadere
Controlled
non-motional
unaffecting process
Controlled
non-motional
unaffecting process
Change of Location
Appear / Apparire
Change of State
Unaccusative
Freeze / Congelare
Change of State
Unaccusative
Jump / Saltare
Sorridere (Smile)
Controlled motional process
Controlled
non-motional
unaffecting process
Controlled
non-motional
unaffecting process
Change of Location verb
Unergative (alternating)
Unergative
Slam
Scream
English
Italian
Italian only
and
Sleep / Dormire
Cantare
(Sing)
Arrivare (Arrive)
Unaccusative
Unergative
Unaccusative
Unergative
Unaccusative