Academic Paper |
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| Title: | Optional elements and variant structures in the productions of <i>bei2</i> ‘to give’ dative constructions in Cantonese-speaking adults and three-year-old children |
| Author: | Anita M Wong |
| Institution: | University of Hong Kong |
| Author: | Dorcas C. Chow |
| Institution: | University of Hong Kong |
| Author: | Catherine Mcbride-Cheng |
| Institution: | Chinese University of Hong Kong |
| Author: | Stephanie F. Stokes |
| Institution: | University of Canterbury |
| Linguistic Field: | Language Acquisition; Syntax |
| Subject Language: |
Chinese, Yue
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| Abstract: | To express object transfer, Cantonese-speakers use a ‘ditransitive’ ([V–R–T] or [V–T–R] where V=Verb, T=Theme, R=Recipient), or a more complex prepositional/serial-verb (P/SV) construction. Clausal elements in Cantonese datives can be optional (resulting in ‘full’ versus ‘non-full’ forms) or appear in variant orders (full non-canonical and full canonical). We report on usage of dative constructions with the word bei2 ‘to give’ in 86 parents and 53 three-year-old children during conversations. The parents used more P/SV than ditransitive bei2-datives, and vice versa for the children. Both groups showed a similar usage pattern of optional elements and variant structures in their ditransitive and P/SV bei2-datives. The roles of multiple construction types, optional elements and variant structures in children's learning of bei2-dative constructions are described. |
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This article appears in Journal of Child Language Vol. 37, Issue 1, which you can read on Cambridge's site or on LINGUIST . |
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