Connectivity Effects in Pseudoclefts in Child Language

Abstract

AbstractA prominent feature of specificational pseudoclefts is connectivity effects. Despite the absence of c‐command in the surface syntax, specificational pseudoclefts yield interpretations that are governed by c‐command in other constructions. The present study focused on two kinds of specificational pseudoclefts (SPCs). In one, a wh‐clause with a pronoun precedes the copula and then a phrase containing an R‐expression expression (e.g. What he said was the blue boy's wheelchair was the fastest). Principle C effects (noncoreference) are enforced despite the absence of surface c‐command. In the second type of SPC, a disjunctive phrase precedes the copula and a wh‐clause that contains a negative quantifier (e.g. A shell or a jewel is what nobody brought back). Here, despite lack of surface c‐command between negation and the disjunction, disjunction yields a conjunctive interpretation. Both kinds of SPCs pose a poverty‐of‐the‐stimulus problem; how do children come to assign adult‐like interpretations to SPCs, when the surface syntax does not provide relevant clues to semantic interpretation? A truth value judgment task revealed that 17 4–5 year‐old English‐speaking child participants (mean age 4;8) consistently interpreted both kinds of SPCs in the same way as adults, enforcing both Principle C and the conjunctive interpretation of disjunction.