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The Acquisition of Directionals in Two Mayan Languages.

Clifton Pye1, Barbara Pfeiler2

  • 1Department of Linguistics, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States.

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Summary

Children acquiring K'iche' and Mam languages learn directional clitics by understanding historical language evolution. This comparative method reveals how language history shapes children's grammatical development.

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K’iche’Mamcomparative methoddirectional cliticslanguage acquisitionprosody

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Area of Science:

  • Linguistics
  • Language Acquisition
  • Historical Linguistics

Background:

  • Language acquisition research often examines how children learn grammatical features.
  • The comparative method in historical linguistics reconstructs language evolution and features.
  • Understanding language history is crucial for explaining current linguistic structures and acquisition.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate children's expression of directional clitics in K'iche' and Mam using the comparative method.
  • To explore the relationship between historical linguistic features and language acquisition processes.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing the comparative method, a technique from historical linguistics.
  • Analyzing the acquisition of directional clitics in two Eastern Mayan languages: K'iche' and Mam.
  • Examining how phonological and morphological features interact during language evolution and acquisition.

Main Results:

  • Children's acquisition of directional clitics is influenced by the historical development of these features.
  • The study highlights the interplay between inherited linguistic traits and their evolving uses.
  • Language history imposes constraints that children must learn during acquisition.

Conclusions:

  • The comparative method provides valuable insights into language acquisition by considering historical linguistic factors.
  • Children's grammatical development, specifically in directional clitics, is shaped by the arbitrary constraints of language history.
  • This research underscores the importance of historical linguistics in understanding modern language acquisition.