The results of a number of studies on language acquisition have led to the conclusion that the amount of input constitutes a predictive factor for the rate and patterns of acquisition of various aspects of morphosyntax (Blom, 2010; Gathercole and Thomas, 2005; Unsworth et al., 2015). Other studies (Paradis and Genesee, 1996; Genesee and Nicoladis, 2007) have shown that, with regard to morphosyntactic development, simultaneous bilingual children, despite the fact that they often experience significantly less exposure, follow the same developmental patterns as monolingual children, and generally do so within the same timeframe.
In the present study, while the monolingual children have been exposed to Dutch from birth, the bilingual children have been exposed to that language only after 2;6 years of age. In order to account for this difference in exposure, the following comparisons were made.
Bilingual children aged 72-95 months (‘young bilinguals’ or Y-bilinguals) were compared to monolingual children aged 42- 67 months (‘very young monolinguals’ or VY-monolinguals). In this comparison LoE is maintained as a constant. This means that, if significant differences are found, these can be attributed to
bilingualism. When making such a comparison, there are confounding variables, which are not easy to control, such as ‘amount and quality of exposure’ and ‘mental age’. The bilingual group is older than the monolingual group, and therefore cognitively more mature. As Unsworth and Blom (2010) point out, children at different ages have different metalinguistic knowledge and test taking skills. The present study tries to account for the ‘cognitive maturity’ factor and test taking experience by comparing these two groups of children with a group of younger bilingual children aged 48 through 70 months (‘very young bilinguals’ or VY- bilinguals), and hence approximately the same age as the monolingual children. A comparison between the VY-bilinguals and the VY-monolinguals will help us explain the role of exposure to language, without the confounding variable ‘mental age’. In addition, a comparison of the two bilingual groups will give us a ‘window’ on the linguistic development of Dutch in bilingual children. The rationale behind these comparisons is the following: if the Y-bilinguals perform better than the VY- monolinguals, then cognitive maturity is plausibly responsible for this difference. If they perform equally well, it means that cognitive maturity does not play a significant role; if the VY-bilinguals perform worse than the other two groups, this suggests that exposure matters, and that comparisons based on age are not adequate to reach conclusions about bilingualism. If, on the other hand, the VY-bilinguals and the VY-monolinguals perform equally well, this may mean that, as regards that particular linguistic aspect, it takes the bilingual children between 1;6 to 3;3 years (i.e., the LoE to Dutch the VY-bilinguals have had) to reach the same stage of development as the monolingual children. This is schematically shown in Figure 4-1.
Table
language background (L1) and age groups.
Table
months range (min
Age range (months) Age mean (SD) Languages (N)
Total number
4.2.4.
distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an object in the sent
also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological Figure 4
Table
language background (L1) and age groups.
Table
months range (min
Age range (months) Age mean (SD) Languages (N)
Total number
4.2.4.
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an object in the sent
also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological Figure 4
Table 4-
language background (L1) and age groups.
Table 4
months range (min
Age range (months) Age mean (SD) Languages (N)
Total number
4.2.4.
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an object in the sent
also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological Figure 4
-3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into language background (L1) and age groups.
4-3. months range (min
Age range (months) Age mean (SD) Languages (N)
Total number
Materials
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an object in the sent
also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological Figure 4-1.
3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into language background (L1) and age groups.
Most relevant learner months range (min
Age range (months) Age mean (SD) Languages (N)
Total number
Materials
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an object in the sent
also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological . The comparisons made
3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into language background (L1) and age groups.
Most relevant learner months range (min
Age range (months)
Materials
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an object in the sentence signaling an endpoint to the action or state. These verbs were also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological
The comparisons made
3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into language background (L1) and age groups.
Most relevant learner
months range (min-max); Mean and SD (standard deviation)
Monolingual Very young 4 56.25 (6.99) Dutch (16) 16
Materials
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an ence signaling an endpoint to the action or state. These verbs were also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological
The comparisons made
3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into language background (L1) and age groups.
Most relevant learner
max); Mean and SD (standard deviation)
Monolingual Very young 42-67 56.25 (6.99) Dutch (16) 16
Materials
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an ence signaling an endpoint to the action or state. These verbs were also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological
The comparisons made
3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into language background (L1) and age groups.
Most relevant learner
max); Mean and SD (standard deviation)
Monolingual Very young
67 56.25 (6.99) Dutch (16)
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an ence signaling an endpoint to the action or state. These verbs were also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological
The comparisons made
3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into language background (L1) and age groups.
Most relevant learner
max); Mean and SD (standard deviation)
Monolingual Very young 56.25 (6.99) Dutch (16)
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an ence signaling an endpoint to the action or state. These verbs were also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological
The comparisons made
3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into language background (L1) and age groups.
Most relevant learner characteristics of the three age groups; Age in max); Mean and SD (standard deviation)
Monolingual Very young 56.25 (6.99)
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an ence signaling an endpoint to the action or state. These verbs were also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological
The comparisons made
3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into language background (L1) and age groups.
characteristics of the three age groups; Age in max); Mean and SD (standard deviation)
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an ence signaling an endpoint to the action or state. These verbs were also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological
The comparisons made between
3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into language background (L1) and age groups.
characteristics of the three age groups; Age in max); Mean and SD (standard deviation)
Very young 48 59.89 (7.20) Tarifiyt Arabic Turkish 19
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an ence signaling an endpoint to the action or state. These verbs were also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological
between
3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into language background (L1) and age groups.
characteristics of the three age groups; Age in max); Mean and SD (standard deviation)
Very young 48-70 59.89 (7.20) Tarifiyt Arabic Turkish 19
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an ence signaling an endpoint to the action or state. These verbs were also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological
between the three groups of learners
3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into
characteristics of the three age groups; Age in max); Mean and SD (standard deviation)
Very young 70 59.89 (7.20) Tarifiyt-Dutch (5) Arabic-Dutch (3) Turkish-Dutch (11)
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an ence signaling an endpoint to the action or state. These verbs were also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological
the three groups of learners
3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into
characteristics of the three age groups; Age in max); Mean and SD (standard deviation)
Very young 59.89 (7.20)
Dutch (5) Dutch (3)
Dutch (11)
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an ence signaling an endpoint to the action or state. These verbs were also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological
the three groups of learners
3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into
characteristics of the three age groups; Age in max); Mean and SD (standard deviation)
Dutch (5) Dutch (3)
Dutch (11)
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an ence signaling an endpoint to the action or state. These verbs were also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological
the three groups of learners
3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into
characteristics of the three age groups; Age in max); Mean and SD (standard deviation)
Bilingual
Dutch (5) Dutch (3)
Dutch (11)
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an ence signaling an endpoint to the action or state. These verbs were also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological
the three groups of learners
3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into
characteristics of the three age groups; Age in max); Mean and SD (standard deviation)
Bilingual
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an ence signaling an endpoint to the action or state. These verbs were also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological
the three groups of learners
3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into
characteristics of the three age groups; Age in
Bilingual Young 71- 82.69 (7.87) Tarifiyt Arabic Turkish 13
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an ence signaling an endpoint to the action or state. These verbs were also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological
the three groups of learners
3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into
characteristics of the three age groups; Age in
Bilingual Young -95 82.69 (7.87) Tarifiyt Arabic Turkish
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an ence signaling an endpoint to the action or state. These verbs were also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological
the three groups of learners
3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into
characteristics of the three age groups; Age in
Young 82.69 (7.87) Tarifiyt-Dutch (3) Arabic-Dutch (1) Turkish-Dutch (9)
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an ence signaling an endpoint to the action or state. These verbs were also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological
the three groups of learners
3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into
characteristics of the three age groups; Age in
82.69 (7.87) Dutch (3) Dutch (1)
Dutch (9)
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an ence signaling an endpoint to the action or state. These verbs were also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological
the three groups of learners
3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into
characteristics of the three age groups; Age in
Dutch (3) Dutch (1) Dutch (9)
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an ence signaling an endpoint to the action or state. These verbs were also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological 3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into
characteristics of the three age groups; Age in
Dutch (3) Dutch (9)
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an ence signaling an endpoint to the action or state. These verbs were also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological 3 gives an overview of characteristics of the 48 participants divided into
The verbs used in the experiments were divided into four classes, which are distinguished from one another on the basis of such semantic aspects as their durative nature, argument structure and the possible presence of an adverbial or an ence signaling an endpoint to the action or state. These verbs were also grouped into verb types according to the following morphological
characteristics: regularity and presence of a verbal particle. The verbs used can be found in Appendix 1.
Short clips and pictures taken from the television series Pingu were used. The programme DVDx 4.0 was used to extract and edit clips from the DVD Pingu voor altijd (Eng: Pingu Forever) (The Pygos Group and Hit Entertainment Limited, 2010). Afterwards, clips were made out of the converted DVD using the programme Virtual Dub 1.9.
The series of Pingu films was chosen due to its appeal to different age ranges. The films' simplicity and transparency ensured that the participants could easily understand them. Moreover, the fact that they lack any reference to a specific spoken language eliminated any bias towards one of the languages spoken by the participants.
4.2.5. Procedures
Children were tested individually. The tasks were presented to them on a laptop using the software programme E-prime 2.0 (Schneider, Eschman and Zuccolotto, 2001). Depending on the task, each participant was instructed to match a picture with a stimulus utterance, which they heard via the laptop’s loudspeaker, or to describe an event on a film clip and/or an action depicted in a picture, or a picture sequence, presented to them on the laptop. The E-prime programme enabled not only a randomisation of the test items in the experiments, but also the recording of the participant’s responses. In the language comprehension task the E-prime’s function to record accuracy of response was used.
All the utterances produced by the participants were orthographically transcribed. Transcription conventions used were taken from the transcription system of CHAT (Codes for the Human Analysis of Transcripts) (MacWhinney, 2000). A coding system consisting of ten categories was designed for all four experiments. Each category represented a certain type of construction and its variants. We analyzed the data using the software programmes Microsoft Excel 2007 and IBM SPSS 21.
4.3.
Results
In the following three subsections the results will be presented for each experiment in the following order: (i) target and most frequent non-target responses (see footnotes 40, 41, 43 and 44), (ii) occurrence of dummy auxiliaries, (iii) effects of
verb type and of (iv) verb class on accuracy and dummy auxiliary, and (v) individual patterns in the use of dummy auxiliaries.