Ukrainian single-word use: a case study

Abstract

This study documents first steps of one child's acquisition of Ukrainian as a first language. It is intended as a response to appeals for research of languages not yet investigated (Slama- Cazacu 1972, Slobin 1985). It includes an historical review of Ukrainian child language research, a brief outline of Ukrainian grammatical structure, a characterization of single-word speech, a description of three separate kinds of single-word activities, single-word verbal humour and a description of morphological behaviour. The study presents single-word behaviour as an important time in the acquisition of first language. Special focus is on early morphological activity or first steps in the mastery of the Ukrainian morphological system.