Triggering V2: The Amount of Input Needed for Parameter Setting in a Split-CP Model of Word Order

In this paper I argue that children generally need relatively little input evidence to set word order parameters. Within a type of Split-CP model of clause structure, I suggest that children make no global search of the primary linguistic data, but scan the input for designated word order cues, focusing exclusively on the relevant clause type. I investigate child data from a dialect of Norwegian (Tromso), where there is verb movement and verb second (V2) word order in some clause types, but not in others. The findings show that parameters are set early and that there seems to be no overgeneralization of word order from one construction to another. This is argued to be due to different clause types having different heads in the CP domain.

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