汉语普通话儿童DeP递归获得研究

On Mandarin⁃Speaking Children’s Acquisition of DeP Recursion

虽然学界日益重视儿童怎样获得递归语言能力,但对递归能力发展路径意见不一,体现在是否分阶段发展以及怎样分阶段。论文在最简方案生物语言学范式下参考制图理论重新分析DeP结构,并通过“指向任务”考察了84名3—6岁汉语普通话儿童理解2至4级DeP递归结构的表现,以回应先前争议与阐明递归机制发展的特点。结果显示,汉语普通话儿童递归语言能力的确分阶段发展:4岁成功生成2、3级DeP递归结构,5岁完全掌握4级DeP递归结构。而且,这一发展路径在跨语言环境中具有普遍性,分级发展可归因于递归运算机制的生物性成熟和语言机制的高效运算等方面。

While researchers emphatically concentrate on how children’s acquisition of recursive language competence is realized,there are different opinions on the developmental path of the acquisition,primarily reflected in whether and how it grows up in stages.Based on the reanalysis of DeP with reference to the cartographic approach in the Minimalist Program,this study examines the comprehension performance of 84 Mandarin⁃speaking children aged 3⁃6 years on DeP recursion of 2⁃4 levels through a pointing task,responding to the previous controversies and elucidating the characteristics of how linguistic mechanism of recursion grows up.The results show that there is an exactly step⁃by⁃step development in the children’s acquisition of recursion:4⁃year⁃old children successfully generate DeP recursion of 2 and 3 levels,and 5⁃year⁃old children fully master DeP recursion of level 4.Further analysis indicates that the developmental path of recursion may be universal,and the formation of the steps is attributed to the biological maturation of the recursive mechanism and the computational efficiency of the linguistic mechanism.