Spanish-speaking children do not always overuse estar

Current research has shown that young Spanish-speaking children distinguish between ser and estar but fail to provide clear answers to questions such as which copula is easier/first to acquire. Some studies show that children perform worse with estar while others show that ser is mastered with more...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revista signos 2012-03, Vol.45 (78), p.3
Main Author: Holtheuer, Carolina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Child development
Children
Comprehension
Copulas
Grammar
Language acquisition
Linguistics
Spanish language
Syntax
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Summary:Current research has shown that young Spanish-speaking children distinguish between ser and estar but fail to provide clear answers to questions such as which copula is easier/first to acquire. Some studies show that children perform worse with estar while others show that ser is mastered with more difficulty than estar. The current study presents the results of two experiments that tested children's comprehension of ser and estar.The results indicate that i) children compute the inferences associated with estar when natural contextual information is provided, ii) children's copular distinction is supported by syntactic factors, iii) children perform poorly when copula choice depends on contextual factors alone, and most importantly, iv) children do not assign estar interpretations to ser compatible environments. It is concluded that Spanish-speaking children do not always overuse estar as opposed to ser.
ISSN:0035-0451
0718-0934
DOI:10.4067/S0718-09342012000100001