Priming a perspective in Spanish monolingual children: The use of syntactic alternatives

Abstract

ABSTRACTWe used a syntactic priming paradigm to show priming effects for active and passive forms in monolingual Spanish-speaking four- and five-year-olds. In a baseline experiment, we examined children's use of thefue-passive form and found it was virtually non-existent in their speech, although they produced important elements of the form. Children used a more frequent Spanish passive form, the subjectless/se-passive. In a priming experiment, we presented children with drawings described using either active orfue-passive sentences. Children then described novel drawings. Priming was induced for active and passive forms; however, children did not produce thefue-passive provided for them. Instead, children used the subjectless/se-passive and what we term the function-passive, which like thefue-passive, emphasize the patient of the action. We argue that children's use of different passive forms suggests they are sensitive to experimenter's input as it relates to scene interpretation and to syntax.