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The comparative method of language acquisition research: a Mayan case study.

Clifton Pye¹, Barbara Pfeiler²

¹Department of Linguistics, The University of Kansas.

Journal of Child Language

|March 27, 2013

Summary

This study shows how the Comparative Method aids cross-linguistic language acquisition research. Young children acquiring K'iche' and Yucatec Maya accurately use verb status suffixes, highlighting language-specific acquisition patterns.

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Area of Science:

Linguistics
Developmental Psychology
Cognitive Science

Background:

Cross-linguistic research in language acquisition requires systematic methods to compare diverse linguistic structures.
Mayan languages, specifically K'iche' and Yucatec, possess complex verb morphology, including status suffixes that encode grammatical information.
Understanding early acquisition of such complex features is crucial for theories of language development.

Purpose of the Study:

To demonstrate the utility of the Comparative Method in analyzing cross-linguistic language acquisition data.
To investigate the acquisition of Mayan status suffixes by young children in K'iche' and Yucatec Maya.
To identify factors influencing the production of cognate status suffixes in different Mayan languages.

Main Methods:

Application of the Comparative Method to structure and interpret acquisition data from K'iche' and Yucatec Maya.
Analysis of verb suffix production in two-year-old children acquiring these Mayan languages.
Examination of the contexts of use for status suffixes to understand their acquisition patterns.

Main Results:

Children acquiring K'iche' and Yucatec Maya accurately produce status suffixes on verbs.
This production contrasts with their acquisition of verbal prefixes for aspect and agreement.
Evidence suggests that specific contexts of use differentially influence the production of cognate status suffixes.

Conclusions:

The Comparative Method is effective for systematic cross-linguistic acquisition research.
Early acquisition of Mayan status suffixes is robust, despite their complexity.
Contextual factors play a significant role in promoting the production of specific grammatical morphemes in language acquisition.