Verb-pattern alternation: the interface of morphology, syntax, and semantics in Hebrew child language

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Abstract
Verb-pattern alternation in Hebrew is characterized in terms of consonantal roots associated with a fixed set of morphological patterns in the lexicalized expression of categories such as causative, reflexive, inchoative and passive. It is assumed that at first Hebrew-speaking children will use a verb-root in one invariant pattern, and hence may also neutralize required morpho-semantic distinctions. Observational and experimental data from children aged 2; 6 to 5; 6 reveal a development in linguistic control of the system from non-alternation to near-mastery, with the concepts of causativity and distinctions in transitivity being lexicalized earlier than others. These findings are discussed in terms of the interplay between linguistic and conceptual development, and the evidence from language acquisition for linguistic theory.