Early Finiteness in Inuktitut: The Role of Language Structure and Input

Abstract

A stage of optional infinitive (OI) production has been identified in typically developing (TD) children learning languages that do not permit null subjects (Wexler (1994; 1998; 1999)), and this stage has been shown to be extended in at least English- and German-speaking children with specific language impairment (SLI; Rice, Noll, and Grimm (1997), Rice, Wexler, and Cleave (1995)). Although TD children learning null subject languages do not go through an OI stage (Bar-Shalom and Snyder (1997), Guasti (1993)), reports differ concerning whether children with SLI learning these languages go through this stage (Bortolini, Caselli, and Leonard (1997), Bottari, Cipriani, and Chilosi (1996)). In this article, we present evidence from Inuktitut, a null subject language not yet investigated with respect to OIs. We show that although TD children learning Inuktitut do not go through an OI stage, one child with SLI does go through an OI stage. In addition, the percentage of finite verb forms marked with an overt verbal inflection in Inuktitut child-directed speech (CDS) is strikingly high compared with that in English CDS. We discuss the implications of these results for theories of continuity, the initial stage of child grammar, and the effect of language structure and input on language acquisition.