Abstract
ABSTRACTAttitudes towards imitation have been coloured by theoretical disputes about the nature of language. But even if language is rule-governed, children may be helped by imitation to discover the rules. This paper reviews evidence for and against imitation as a factor in the acquisition of syntax. The conclusion reached is that the effects of imitation on children's speech are too pervasive for the process to be dismissed as irrelevant. Many idiosyncratic features of children's speech seem to be traceable to imitation interacting with other simple mechanisms. For the author, the important question is no longer whether imitation can help children to acquire syntax, but precisely how a child gradually extracts grammatical information from the repertoire of imitated sequences at his disposal.
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Subject
General Psychology,Linguistics and Language,Developmental and Educational Psychology,Experimental and Cognitive Psychology,Language and Linguistics
Reference53 articles.
1. Control of grammar in imitation, comprehension, and production
2. The acquisition of noun and verb inflections;Cazden;ChDev,1968
Cited by
123 articles.
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