Doctoral Dissertation Research: Language-Specific Constraints on Scope Interpretation in First Language Acquisition

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A central problem for a theory of language acquisition is to determine how children learn both what is possible and what is not possible. This problem is especially acute for phenomena residing at the boundary between syntax and semantics, where (a) the mapping from surface form to meaning is often complex and (b) languages vary in how form and meaning align. This project aims to use the acquisition of language-specific constraints on scope interpretation as a probe into the character of the syntax-semantics mapping and the learning of this mapping. Several constructions in Japanese do not show scope ambiguities that the corresponding English sentences exhibit. Under the direction of Dr. Colin Phillips and Dr. Jeffrey Lidz, Mr. Takuya Goro will investigate Japanese preschool children's interpretations of those constructions, using the Truth Value Judgment Task. The results from the project will expand the empirical coverage of studies on the acquisition of scope. Much previous research in this domain has investigated the pragmatic and processing constraints that might underlie children's bias for surface scope interpretations of scopally ambiguous sentences. In contrast, this project focuses on children's mastery of constraints that exclude certain scope interpretations. The project will also contribute to an improved understanding of the mechanism that is involved in the acquisition of language-specific constraints on scope interpretations Furthermore, the project will determine whether children have initial biases towards particular kinds of interpretations, and will therefore contribute to an understanding of the initial state of language learning. One broader impact of the study is that the research project will help to establish new partnerships for language acquisition research on Japanese, based on developing institutional connections with preschools, and training Japanese researchers in state-of-the-art research methods in the study of language development. Partnerships with preschools are common in the US, but relatively rare in Japan. The new relationships developed in this way will benefit not only this research project, but also future international collaborations on comparative language acquisition studies on Japanese and English.