Examines whether certain reconstruction effects are present in child language. Points out an unexpected restriction on forward anaphora that is argued to be a case in which Principle C of the Binding Theory (Chomsky, 1981; 1986) operates at the reconstructed level. Results suggest that the ability to judge instances of forward anaphora and of…

This investigation examined the possibility that features necessary for morphology, such as person and number, are absent from the underlying grammars of specifically language-impaired children. (46 references) (JL)

Argues that root infinitives produced by Italian toddlers learning a second language are truncated structures, arising from the option of "stripping off" external clausal layers. The basic properties of the construction are shown to be amenable to the Truncation Hypothesis, in that root infinitives are incompatible with /wh/ elements,…

Examines the production of schwa-like elements, monosyllabic place holders (MPHs), before lexical items in early utterances of Italian children. The results of a longitudinal study of normal language acquisition in six Italian preschool children show that MPHs do not stem from imitation but actually retain important grammatical properties of…

Presents data that challenge the view that the omission of functional categories by children with specific language impairment is a manifestation of the same immaturity characterizing the grammar of young children without impairment. Data include atypically high omissions or even almost total absence of determiners in the speech productions of a…