Form and function in the acquisition of Korean wh-questions

In this paper the order in which wh-questions are acquired in the production and comprehension of two Korean children, aged 1;8-2;8 and 1;10-2;10, is analysed and compared with the available cross-linguistic data. Consistencies in acquisition order are hypothesized to be based on universals of cognitive development, which constrain the comprehension and production of wh-forms and influence the order in which mothers introduce them, and on functionally based similarities in the input of form/function pairs across children and languages. Discrepancies in acquisition order are attributed to differences in interactive style across caregivers and children, leading to different input frequencies of particular forms and individual children's selection of different forms for use.

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