The Development of Base Syntax in Normal and Linguistically Deviant Children

Abstract

Language samples of 15 young normal children actively engaged in learning base syntax were compared with samples of 15 linguistically deviant children of a comparable linguistic level. Mean number of morphemes per utterance was used to determine linguistic level. The two groups were matched according to five linguistic levels previously established and grammars were written for the language sample of each child. Five aspects of syntactic development were chosen as the basis of comparison between the two groups: phrase structure rules, transformations, construction (or sentence) types, inflectional morphology, and minor lexical categories. While few significant differences were found for the more general aspects of syntax, such as phrase structure rules, frequently occurring transformations, inflectional morphology, and the development of minor lexical categories, significant differences were found for the less general aspects of syntax. For example, significant differences were found between the two groups for infrequently occurring transformations and the number of major syntactic categories per construction type. In addition, the deviant group also showed a marked delay in the onset and acquisition time for learning base syntax. These results are discussed according to transformational and cognitive developmental theory.