Reflexivization and Logophoricity: Evidence From the Acquisition of Icelandic

Abstract

In this article, we report the results of an experimental study on the interpretation of the local anaphor sjdlfan sig, the so-called long-distance anaphor sig, and pronouns by Icelandic-speaking children. We tested 55 Icelandic children between the ages of 3;3 and 6;0, and 10 adult controls on 72 sentences in the indicative, subjunctive, and infinitive moods, using both an act-out task and a modified judgment task (see Crain and McKee (1985)). We also looked at the lexical effects of two different verb classes, the raka 'shave' class of verbs, which allows sig to take either a local or a long-distance antecedent, and the gefa 'give' class of verbs, which strongly biases toward the long-distance antecedent. The results of out study support the hypothesis that children have early knowledge of Principles A and B of the Binding Theory but have difficulty with the pragmatic rule governing coreference (Avrutin and Wexler (this issue), Chien and Wexler (I988; 1990), Grodzinsky and Reinhart (1993), Montalbetti and Wexler (1985), Wexler and Chien (1985)). Moreover, various aspects of the development of Icelandic anaphors and pronouns lend support to the recent Binding Theory proposed in Reinhart and Reuland (1989; 1991; in press). In particular, our results show: first, that the long-distance anaphor sig patterns like the pronouns with respect to Principle B of the Binding Theory; second, that the developmental patterns associated with the long-distance use of sig out of subjunctives and infinitives are different, supporting the proposal that long-distance use of sig out of subjunctives is logophoric, whereas long-distance binding out of infinitives is governed by structural principles; and third, that Icelandic children are attuned to the lexical differences between the raka 'shave' and gefa 'give' class of verbs at an early age. All of these results are explainable within the Reinhart and Reuland framework and illustrate the strongly modular character of...

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