Resumen de Usage-Based Theories and Construction of the Determiner-Noun Group Among French-Speaking Children
This chapter discusses Usage-Based Theories and their relation with construction grammar, in the specific framework of L1 acquisition. Language acquisition is explained by invoking the interaction of general learning mechanisms with particular features of the child's language environment. The chapter shows how some principles of usage-based theories combine with those of construction grammar to provide a robust framework to explain the acquisition of a typical French phenomenon, namely liaison between the determiner and noun. The development of liaison follows three stages, according to various types of data: cross-sectional data from 200 children in image-naming tasks, longitudinal data from 20 children, and analyses of natural speech situations. The emergence of stable (that is, pivot) forms in a pattern determines slots at a given location; this back-and-forth process should be taken into account in the study of speech stream segmentation strategies.
