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Me or my: two different patterns of pronoun case errors

¹Arizona State University, Tempe 85287-0102, USA. rispoli@asu.edu

Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research : JSLHR

|May 7, 1998

Summary

Young children show distinct patterns in pronoun development, either replacing "I" with "me" or "my." This study reveals a correlation between correct "me" usage and "me" errors, highlighting individual differences in early language acquisition.

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Area of Science:

Child language acquisition
Developmental psycholinguistics
Linguistic development

Background:

Pronoun case errors are common in early child language.
Children exhibit individual variation in the types of pronoun errors they make.
Understanding these variations offers insights into grammatical development.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the reasons behind two distinct pronoun error patterns in young children: replacing "I" with "me" (me-children) versus "I" with "my" (my-children).
To identify factors that predict whether a child will predominantly exhibit the "me" error or the "my" error.

Main Methods:

Longitudinal observation of 12 children from 1 year to 3 years of age.
Monthly data collection on pronoun production and error patterns.
Correlation analysis between "me" error rates and correct objective pronoun ("me") production.

Main Results:

A positive correlation was found between the "me" error rate (replacing "I" with "me") and the total correct production of "me" as an objective pronoun.
The "me" for "I" errors and "my" for "I" errors were found to be antagonistic, with one pattern dominating in individual children.
Early "me" production levels during the emergence of "my" for "I" errors predicted a child's later classification as a "me-child" or "my-child".

Conclusions:

Individual differences in pronoun development are significant and predictable.
The development of objective pronoun "me" production plays a crucial role in determining the trajectory of subjective pronoun "I" replacement errors.
This study sheds light on the underlying mechanisms of grammatical development and individual variation in language acquisition.

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