The emergence of syntactic complexity. The first language acquisition of cleft sentences as a window onto the syntax – prosody – information structure interface. KU Leuven
This project will investigate how complex language is acquired. We will focus on how children, in their first language acquisition, produce and understand meaning making use of complex form (syntax), pronunciation (prosody) and discourse context. To this extent, we will analyze the emergence and development of two types of “cleft sentences” (1-2) in French, with children between ages 2 and 8. (1) Child (age 2;9): C'est toi qui m(e) fait les ...