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Degrees of Rootedness in Acquisition of Language: a Look at Universal Grammar in Homesigners and Late Learners of Libras Sandra K

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Degrees of Rootedness in Acquisition of Language: a Look at Universal Grammar in Homesigners and Late Learners of Libras Sandra K University of Connecticut OpenCommons@UConn Doctoral Dissertations University of Connecticut Graduate School 5-11-2013 Degrees of Rootedness in Acquisition of Language: A Look at Universal Grammar in Homesigners and Late Learners of Libras Sandra K. Wood University of Connecticut, Storrs, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations Recommended Citation Wood, Sandra K., "Degrees of Rootedness in Acquisition of Language: A Look at Universal Grammar in Homesigners and Late Learners of Libras" (2013). Doctoral Dissertations. 99. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/99 Degrees of Rootedness in Acquisition of Language: A Look at Universal Grammar in Homesigners and Late Learners of Libras Sandra K. Wood, Ph.D. University of Connecticut, 2013 The primary goal of this dissertation is to investigate the relationship between Universal Grammar and the properties that Universal Grammar constrains, by investigating how language is created/acquired. We examine the strength of ‘rootedness’ with respect to universal properties and parameters, i.e. the relationship between the degrees of external input provided to the child and the degrees of guidance provided to the child innately through UG. The framework proposed in this dissertation provides us with tools for predicting what will and will not appear in linguistic systems of homesigners, late learners of a first language, and native signers/speakers of a given language. New data presented from the spontaneous production and experimental studies of Brazilian homesigners, late learners and native signers of Libras (Brazilian signed language) supports the proposal with regards to the strength of rootedness of recursion, merge, hierarchical structural dependency, word order, and topic. If a particular property of language is ‘strongly rooted’, this indicates a high degree of innately specified guidance specifically for language development. Also, there are some properties that are constrained by UG, but with possible options, which are considered ‘somewhat rooted’ in my framework. These are expected to evince variability in their acquisition with input from a mature, established language or in their creation with self- Sandra K. Wood – University of Connecticut, 2013 generated input. In this dissertation, there are three experimental studies, plus an in-depth analysis of each homesigner’s spontaneous production to test the hypotheses described above. The studies described in this thesis test these hypotheses using elicited production, spontaneous production, and comprehension involving aspects of language, which fall into the categories of ‘strongly rooted’ and ‘somewhat rooted’ properties. The findings provide support for merge, recursion, and hierarchical structural dependency as ‘strongly rooted’ properties since all of the homesigners, late learners and native signers of Libras were able to present evidence of these in their linguistic systems. ‘Somewhat rooted’ properties, in the form of word order and topic, were also supported by the findings from the experiments with the participants. The proposed framework in this thesis sets the stage for future hypothesis-driven research on language development and language creation. Degrees of Rootedness in Acquisition of Language: A Look at Universal Grammar in Homesigners and Late Learners of Libras Sandra K. Wood B.A., Purdue University, 1997 M.A., Purdue University, 2000 M.A., University of Connecticut, 2009 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut 2013 Copyright by Sandra K. Wood 2013 APPROVAL PAGE Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Degrees of Rootedness in Acquisition of Language: A Look at Universal Grammar in Homesigners and Late Learners of Libras Presented by Sandra K. Wood, B.A., M.A., M.A. Major Advisor___________________________________________________________ Diane Lillo-Martin Associate Advisor________________________________________________________ William Snyder Associate Advisor________________________________________________________ Marie Coppola Associate Advisor________________________________________________________ Ronice Müller de Quadros University of Connecticut 2013 ii Acknowledgements This dissertation was a long time in the making and it would not have been completed, if not for all the support, encouragement, and assistance from my professors, fellow students, friends, and family. All of my professors at University of Connecticut were there to teach us the solid basics of theory and scientific inquiry, how to grow as a linguist, and as a person. I am grateful to Howard Lasnik and Željko Bošković for the incredible job they did in teaching syntactic theory the first year and nurturing that spark thereafter. Andreas Calabrese, Jonathan Bobaljik, and Susanne Wurbrand were also instrumental in my growth as a linguistics student. William Snyder was amazing in his patience and steady encouragement, sharing generously his knowledge of theory and research in acquisition of language. As a colleague and one of my committee professors, Marie Coppola provided so much encouragement and support and shared her knowledge of homesign research while I was writing my dissertation. Also, I must thank Ronice Müller de Quadros from the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina for being on my committee and helping me with my data collection in Brazil while I met with homesigners, late learners and native signers of Libras. She was always very encouraging and always had good points for me to consider in my dissertation. Most of all, I must express my most profound appreciation for the fantastic teaching, mentorship, and guidance that Diane Lillo-Martin provided for me as my advisor and mentor. She was amazing in her ability to explain and discuss syntax, language acquisition, and ASL linguistics. I was so fortunate to have an advisor with whom I could communicate fluently in ASL and who was very sensitive to the issues of a Deaf graduate student in a top-notch graduate program. She constantly encouraged and pushed me to do my best and was always willing to iii answer my questions and discuss different ideas. Any student who has her for an advisor is very lucky. Thank you, Diane, for believing in me and helping me arrive at this level. Along with the professors at University of Connecticut, I also received a lot of support and friendship from my fellow students: Simona Herdan, Serkan Şener, and Duk-Ho An. We were a small class but we stuck it out and made it! I must also express appreciation for the help and encouragement from some of the other students: Debbie Chen-Pichler (You were the first to welcome me to UConn. Remember all the talks we had- wonderful support and encourage- ment!), Luisa Martí Martínez (I would not have made it through semantics without your help!), Jeff Bernath (Thank you for all the ‘tech’ help with the Mac!), Klaus Abels, Tsuyoshi Sawada, Bosook Kang, Sarah Felber, Jean Crawford, Inkie Chung, Miguel Rodríguez-Mondoñedo, Ana Bastos Gee, Cynthia Zocca DeRoma, Nilufer Gultekin Şener, and Elena Koulidobrova. The journey for my Ph.D. all started in 1994 when I met Ronnie Wilbur and became her undergraduate/graduate student and was provided with a strong foundation in American Sign Language linguistics at Purdue University. Ronnie nurtured and supported my aspirations to complete my doctorate. My gratitude goes out to her for seeing something in me worth nurturing and helping me start out my life in linguistics. I also had the good fortune to have Diane Brentari and Elena Benedicto as my professors at Purdue University. Both Ronnie and Elena were very patient and supportive while waiting for me to realize that I really did like syntax after all! I could not have done this without the generous support and encouragement from my own Deaf community. Two people who always knew exactly what I was going through and always rallied my spirits when I needed it with a good dose of food, humor, and ASL: Gaurav Mathur and Doreen Simons. Thank you so much for being there! You guys rock! These two weren’t the only ones who supported me: Christian Rathmann, Rivka Hozinsky, Laura Smith, iv Karen Millsap, Frank Bechter, Rocco DeVito, Susi Wilbur, Christopher Krentz, Laurie Shaffer, Sherry Powell, Kimberly Hale, and many others. So many Deaf people came up to me telling me I had to finish the dissertation because it wasn’t just “my dissertation” but theirs too. I am so humbled and glad they believed in me that much and showed it in so many different ways. I am also profoundly grateful to all of the homesigners, late learners of Libras, and native signers of Libras, i.e. the participants in my study, who patiently allowed me to test ideas and look for syntactic structure in their grammar for my dissertation, because they knew this was “important for other people to recognize and learn about”. One special person who helped me with guiding me through the maze of the favelas in Florianapolis, a very long bus drive to Rio de Janieros, and acting as a Deaf interpreter for Libras/ASL back and forth so I could find people to participate in my studies is Ana-Regina Campellos. I could not have done this without you at all- Many thanks to you! Finally, I would like to say thank you to my family, especially my mother- Carol Wood. She nurtured my love of language and desire to understand “how language works” from an early age with constant support and enthusiasm. I seriously doubt I would be here if it were not for her love and patience all those years. She’s been my biggest fan and cheerleader ever since I started graduate school. My husband, John Kang, and my two children, Nick and Joni Hall were very patient (most of the time!) and they know how much work, blood, sweat, and tears went into this dissertation. Thank you for your love and encouragement! Also, I must thank the Divine Light within all of us for teaching me that it’s not just about the destination, but the journey, shaping me, as a person and scholar, from all the teachers and people I have met along the way.
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