Condition C in adult and child Thai
Thai is often identified as a language that violates condition C of the binding theory, a grammatical constraint that has been claimed to be innate (Crain 1991). We present the first-ever experimental investigation of condition C in adult and child Thai. We show that (as per previous claims) Thai ad...
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Veröffentlicht in: | Language (Baltimore) 2018-03, Vol.94 (1), p.157-190 |
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Hauptverfasser: | , |
Format: | Artikel |
Sprache: | eng |
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Zusammenfassung: | Thai is often identified as a language that violates condition C of the binding theory, a grammatical constraint that has been claimed to be innate (Crain 1991). We present the first-ever experimental investigation of condition C in adult and child Thai. We show that (as per previous claims) Thai adults ‘violate’ condition C when the bound nominal is bare. When modified by a classifier, however, Thai referential expressions must obey condition C, thus showing that Thai does indeed adhere to condition C. We then show that Thai children (aged four to six years) apply condition C to all nominals, irrespective of whether they include classifiers. This ubiquitous adherence to condition C suggests that Thai children initially assume that condition C applies to all referential expressions. The implications for the universality and innateness of condition C are discussed. |
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ISSN: | 0097-8507 1535-0665 1535-0665 |
DOI: | 10.1353/lan.2018.0004 |