On the Distribution and Acquisition of the West Germanic 'Need'-Verbs German between Dutch and English

Open Access
Authors
Publication date 12-2016
Journal Journal of Germanic Linguistics
Volume | Issue number 28 | 4
Pages (from-to) 349-369
Organisations
  • Faculty of Humanities (FGw) - Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research (AIHR) - Amsterdam Center for Language and Communication (ACLC)
Abstract
This paper investigates three verbs expressing necessity in the three West Germanic languages: Dutch hoeven, English need, and German brauchen. These three verbs are all categorized as negative polarity items (npis). However, there are differences in their distribution as NPIs, which posit German brauchen between English need and Dutch hoeven. By analyzing two factors that may influence acquisition, namely, opacity and input frequency, this paper moreover presents a similar pattern for the acquisition of these NPIs: The Dutch NPI hoeven emerges earlier in child language than its German counterpart, which in turn arises earlier than the English NPI need.
Document type Article
Note In special issue: New Directions in Comparative Germanic Linguistics).
Language English
Published at https://doi.org/10.1017/S1470542716000179
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