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Title: | Modelling optional infinitive phenomena: A computational account of tense optionality in children’s speech |
Authors: | Croker, S Pine, J M Gobet, F |
Keywords: | Optional Infinitive;Wexler;children’s early multi-word speech;MOSAIC;distributional analyser;universal grammar;learning;chunking |
Issue Date: | 2000 |
Publisher: | Universal Press |
Citation: | Croker, S., Pine, J., & Gobet, F. (2000). Modelling optional infinitive phenomena: A computational account of tense optionality in children’s speech. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Cognitive Modelling, pp. 78-85. Veenendaal, The Netherlands: Universal Press. |
Abstract: | The Optional Infinitive hypothesis proposed by Wexler (1994) is a theory of children’s early grammatical development that can be used to explain a variety of phenomena in children’s early multi-word speech. However, Wexler’s theory attributes a great deal of abstract knowledge to the child on the basis of rather weak empirical evidence. In this paper we present a computational model of early grammatical development which simulates Optional Infinitive phenomena as a function of the interaction between a performance-limited distributional analyser and the statistical properties of the input. Our findings undermine the claim that Optional Infinitive phenomena require an abstract grammatical analysis. |
URI: | http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/2126 |
Appears in Collections: | Psychology Dept of Life Sciences Research Papers |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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CrokerICCM2000.pdf | 80.82 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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