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Subject, topic and Sesotho passive.

K Demuth1

  • 1Department of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912.

Journal of Child Language
|February 1, 1990
PubMed
Summary
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Children acquire passive voice constructions earlier in Sesotho than in Indo-European languages. This study links early passive acquisition in Sesotho to the discourse topic function of subjects, highlighting linguistic system interactions for a universal theory.

Area of Science:

  • Linguistics
  • Language Acquisition
  • Psycholinguistics

Background:

  • Passive voice acquisition varies across languages.
  • Recent studies show early passive acquisition in non-Indo-European languages, contrasting with English, German, and Hebrew findings.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explain the early acquisition of passive constructions in Sesotho, a Southern Bantu language.
  • To investigate typological factors influencing passive acquisition in Sesotho.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of the Sesotho passive construction's structure, syntax, and discourse functions.
  • Examination of spontaneous passive use by Sesotho-speaking children.

Main Results:

  • Sesotho passive acquisition is strongly correlated with the requirement for Sesotho subjects to function as discourse topics.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Linguistic and discourse factors significantly impact the developmental timeline of passive voice usage.

    • Conclusions:

    • The early acquisition of passives in Sesotho is influenced by its unique linguistic system, particularly subject-topic alignment.
    • Understanding language-specific interactions is crucial for developing a universal theory of passive acquisition.