Functional Categories in Language Acquisition: Self-Organization of a Dynamical System

Description

This study investigates the acquisition of Functional Categories from the perspective of self-organization. Syntax emerges through a major bifurcation of the dynamical language system. Dynamical notions such as precursor, oscillation, symmetry-breaking, and trigger are explanatory tools for the dynamics of early child language as evidenced in the acquisition of compounding, case-marking, finiteness, V2, wh-questions, etc. The book addresses researchers from various theoretical camps: generative, functional, connectionist, by giving new answers to old questions in the light of a novel challenging theory: self-organization. Part A: Self-Organization and Language Acquisition 1 Introduction 1.1 Definitions of Self-Organization 1.2 Self-Organization of Language 1.3 Methodology and Method 1.4 A Theory of the Data 2 Language Acquisition Research in Generative Grammar: The Classical Models 2.1 The Instantaneous Model of Language Acquisition 2.2 The Continuity Hypothesis 2.3 Maturation 3 Language Acquisition Research in Generative Grammar: New Models 3.1 Lexical vs. Functional Categories: The Structure-Building Hypothesis 3.2 The Building-Block Model 4 Liminalia 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Time in Language Acquisition 4.3 Three Factors of Language Acquisition 4.4 Variations 4.5 Continuity vs. Discontinuity 4.6 Adult-centered vs. Child-centered Perspective 4.7 Hysteresis 4.8 Liminal Conclusions Part B: Theme and Variation Self-Organization in Language Acquisition: Models, Data and Analyses 5 Models of Layers and Levels of Syntactic Structures 5.1 Lebeaux’ Model of Levels of Representation: Language Acquisition and the Form of the Grammar 5.2 Grimshaw’s Extended Projection 5.3 Outlook: Variation and Selection Revisited 6 Case Morphology 6.1 Systemic Variation in the Acquisition of German Genitive Morphology 7 Finiteness, Non-Finiteness, Verb Placement, and Negation 7.1 Variation in the I-System 8 The Acquisition of German Wh-Questions: Aspects of Variation in the C-System 8.1 Valle 8.2 Tilman 9 The Position of Adjuncts 10 Syntactic Surface Blends 11 Functional Neologisms, Proto-Functional Categories, or, Living Dinosaurs 12 Precursors: Composition 12.1 Precursors 12.2 Compounding Part C: Dynamical Principles and Notions in Language Acquisition 13 Oscillations 14 Bootstrapping 15 Symmetry-Breakers and Predators vs. Matter and Prey: The Relation between Functional and Lexical Categories 16 The Trigger 16.1 Introduction 16.2 The Trigger in Generative Models of Language Acquisition 16.3 A Dynamical Trigger Conception 16.4 After Triggering 16.5 Summary: A Redefinition of the Trigger Part D: Outlook 17 Beyond Economy: Ecology Abbreviations Bibliography