Spatial expressions in German ch ild language have been investigated in a number of studies (e.g.\, Harr 2012). However\, a less common lexicalization pattern for local/directio nal marking has not been topic to research in greater detail\, namely pl eonastic constructions (henceforth: PLEO). They can be defined as constr uctions with two semantically congruent adpositional slots with PATH/GRO UND information (underlined in the example)\, such as in: sie gehen i n das Haus rein. PLEO have been analyzed mainly regarding their argument structure (Olsen 1996) and almost exclusively in the context of non-nat ural data. This project aims at filling a gap by investigating 1) freque ncy and 2) function of PLEO in spontaneous speech from a usage-based pe rspective\, focusing on its role in children’s acquisition of spatial la nguage. The study connects to research suggesting PLEO as precursor stru ctures in children’s development of the conceptually and syntactically c hallenging German localization system (Bryant 2012). Preliminary results revealed an overall low usage frequency of PLEO in both\, children’s an d adults’ data. Furthermore\, indications for a supporting function were found on a semantic-conceptual\, but not on a syntactic level.
URL:https://talks.stuts.de/de/18staps/public/events/578 SUMMARY:Pleonastic constructions in child (directed) speech ORGANIZER:18staps LOCATION:18staps - Don Giovanni END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR