Non-Verbal Predicate Negation in Child Emirati Arabic
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| Title: | Non-Verbal Predicate Negation in Child Emirati Arabic |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Dimitrios Ntelitheos (ORCID |
| Source: | Language Acquisition: A Journal of Developmental Linguistics. 2024 31(1):37-56. |
| Availability: | Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 20 |
| Publication Date: | 2024 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Information Analyses |
| Descriptors: | Arabic, Language Variation, Foreign Countries, Morphemes, Child Language, Language Acquisition, Grammar, Form Classes (Languages), Linguistic Input, Word Frequency, Preschool Children, Computational Linguistics, Longitudinal Studies |
| Geographic Terms: | United Arab Emirates |
| DOI: | 10.1080/10489223.2023.2169830 |
| ISSN: | 1048-9223 1532-7817 |
| Abstract: | We provide an account of the developmental trajectory of Emirati Arabic negation particles. We treat the non-verbal predicate negator (NVPN) "mub" as a negative copula, in contrast to the verbal predicate negator (VPN) "maa," which encodes sentential negation in verbal and existential contexts. The analysis is supported by evidence from a longitudinal corpus of six Emirati children. Given the high frequency of occurrence of "maa" in the ambient language, we show that an input-frequency account predicts "maa-mub" substitutions in early stages of acquisition. However, confirming previous findings by Becker we show that when "mub" emerges in later stages, its distribution exhibits an asymmetry: "mub" is used frequently with individual-level nominal/adjectival predicates but it almost never appears with stage level adjectival/prepositional/ adverbial predicates, mirroring the distribution of copular elements in child English (and other languages). |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2024 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1406099 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | We provide an account of the developmental trajectory of Emirati Arabic negation particles. We treat the non-verbal predicate negator (NVPN) "mub" as a negative copula, in contrast to the verbal predicate negator (VPN) "maa," which encodes sentential negation in verbal and existential contexts. The analysis is supported by evidence from a longitudinal corpus of six Emirati children. Given the high frequency of occurrence of "maa" in the ambient language, we show that an input-frequency account predicts "maa-mub" substitutions in early stages of acquisition. However, confirming previous findings by Becker we show that when "mub" emerges in later stages, its distribution exhibits an asymmetry: "mub" is used frequently with individual-level nominal/adjectival predicates but it almost never appears with stage level adjectival/prepositional/ adverbial predicates, mirroring the distribution of copular elements in child English (and other languages). |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1048-9223 1532-7817 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/10489223.2023.2169830 |
