Complex syntax emerges in the oral language of typically developing children between the ages of two and three (for review, see Diessel, 2004). All three types of complement clauses involve complement take verbs in the main clause (eg remember, guess, know). Development of complement clauses involves both semantic and syntactic learning, since the dependent clause is an argument of the complement takes verb in the main clause.
In the present study, we were interested in the complement-taking verbs produced in infinitive complement clauses, complete propositional complement clauses and WH complement clauses. Beyond emergence, researchers have investigated the roles of argument structure and finiteness in the development of complement clauses. An elicited task that requires both the verb and the complement clause to be produced, as in the present study, probably provides a more stringent test of a child's ability to produce complement clauses.
For example, in the Infinitival Complement clause task, the target structure included the subject, the target verb, the obligatory that, and the complement verb that takes (code 1a in Table 6 ; see Table 6 for coding). To investigate the developmental progression of complement clause production (research questions 1a and 1b), analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the means between groups for (a) the proportion of target responses in the Infinitival Complement clause task and the Sentential Complement clause task and (b) the proportion of complex answers in the Indefinite Complement task and the Sentence Complement task. To examine target verb productivity in the Infinitival Complement clause task versus target verb productivity in the Sentential Complement clause task (Research Question 2), group differences were explored using a 3 (Group) x 2 (Elicited Task) repeated measures ANOVA (RMANOVA). ).
Pairwise comparisons using a Bonferroni correction (0.05/3) indicated a group difference between two-year-olds and four-year-olds for productivity with target verbs in the Infinitive Complement Clause task (Two-year-olds and four-year-olds, p = .01, partial Ƞ2 = .76). In the infinitive clause task, children are more productive with mental state verbs, compared to communication verbs. Among the two-year-olds, only one child was productive with one category—mental state verbs in the Infinitive Complement task.
Related to how specific verbs interact with different complement clause structures, children in the current study were more productive with low-frequency verbs in infinitive complement clauses, although productivity with low-frequency verbs and high-frequency verbs was similar on the Sentential Complement Clause task. . In the Infinitival Complement clause task, three- and four-year-olds produced infinitives with, for example: No child in all three groups was productive with this verb. Although like was produced by one child in the two-year-olds and one child in the four-year-olds with full propositional complement clauses, neither child was productive with the verb as in the Sentential Complement clause task.
This indicates that the children in the current study are still developing the theory of mind necessary to productively use mental state verbs with sentence complement clauses. In the Sentential Complement clause task, the items in which ten percent or fewer of the children responded with a target response included Items and 17. Further analysis of the verbs used in the current study as well as research in extension to the use of other potential mental state verbs is justified.
On the Infinitival Complement Clause task, the window is narrower than on the Sentential Complement Clause task, with a significant difference between the two- and three-year-olds in productivity (and no difference between the three- and four-year-olds);.
CLASSROOM
- Target: Mickey asks (Goofy) to stand up
- Target: Mickey forgot to put the note (in his backpack)
- Target: Goofy tells Mickey to take the note (in his backpack)
- Target: Mickey remembers to take his backpack
MICKEY ASKS ~ with the aim of having the child produce the subject and main verb.
PLAYGROUND
Target: Mickey likes to swing
Target: Goofy tells Mickey to pump his legs
Target: Goofy says to swing high(er)
Target: Mickey remembers to pump his legs
PLAYGROUND TO NURSE’S OFFICE
- Target: Mickey likes Goofy to throw the ball
- Target: Minnie says to put ice on Mickey’s hand
- Target: Mickey forgot to take the ice
- Target: Mickey remembers to ice his hand
Usually the items will be presented in the order on the response form, but the order of the scenes can be changed, if necessary, to maintain the child's interest (eg, you should let the child choose the order for compliance). For each task item, the story presented by the examiner is in capital letters, with italics indicating the characters' speech. If the child changes the verb to another complementary verb, accept the given answer.
If the child changes the verb to a non-complement verb, the examiner can repeat the prompt to draw the child's attention to the target verb. The placement of objects in a story, the use of varied intonation, and the movement of characters and props can be very important to a child's ability to complete a task. Take enough time to present the stories in a way that children can understand.
FOR EACH POINT: The examiner presents a scenario, STORY IN CAPITAL LETTERS, and acts out the story. After reading the story script, the examiner first presents the prompt as indicated. To make the child likely to produce an embedded clause, the examiner will provide a matrix clause for each target (eg, Elmo knows ~) and ask the child to start with that matrix clause: ELMO KNOWS ~ and then continue with NOW YOU FINISH THE STORY.
To get the complete sentence, including the noun and verb for the matrix clause, invite the child to start his answer with a subject, for example START YOUR STORY WITH ELMO or START YOUR STORY WITH ELMO KNOWS, if necessary. START WITH ELMA VE ~ with the goal of having the child create a subject and main/matrix verb. In rare cases, you may interrupt the task because the child simply cannot complete the task.
COMPLETE PROPOSAL CLAUSE AND WHERE CLAUSE TASK SCRIPTS Within each of these story sequences, note that the inclusion or introduction of props is important for the story to make sense to the child. Use interjections as appropriate to keep the child's attention on what you are presenting (eg, oh, wow, look). Also, add stress to the verb receiving the complement to help the child focus on that verb.
Candy
The goal is to extract the entire complex sentence, not just a sentence conclusion (ie, not just the embedded clause). However, if a child consistently begins with the verb, rather than the subject and verb of the matrix clause, this is acceptable. Unlike relative clause tasks where we elicit a series of utterances of the same form, each target response in this task is quite different (eg, different verbs, different types of complement clauses).
Examiner: [to child] [CHILD'S NAME], WHEN ELMO CAME INTO THE ROOM, WHAT DID HE DO.
Baseball
If the child wants to take out the glove, take it out and put it on CL's hand.
Birthday Party
Mothers' use of cognitive state verbs in reading picture books and developing children's understanding of mind: A. Production of infinitive object complements in the conversational speech of 5-year-old children with language impairment. Production of finite and non-finite complement clauses by children with specific language impairment and their typically developing peers.
Cognitive state verbs and complement clauses in children with SLI and their typically developing peers. How language relates (and doesn't) to theory of mind: A longitudinal study of syntax, semantics, working memory, and false beliefs.
