Abstract
Negated sentences in Dutch child language are analyzed. It is argued that, rather than an innate UG structure, the child's acquisition procedure explains a temporary rise and fall of negative concord. It is further suggested that natural preferences of the acquisition procedure are a substantive source for grammatical universals. This evades the assumption that the evolution of the human brain as such has already produced an innate repertoire of grammatical universals.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Evolution of Language |
| Subtitle of host publication | Proceedings of the 8th International Conference (EVOLANG8), Utrecht, Netherlands, 14 – 17 April 2010 |
| Editors | Andrew D M Smith, Marieke Schouwstra, Bart de Boer , Kenny Smith |
| Place of Publication | Singapore/London/New Jersey |
| Publisher | World Scienctific |
| Pages | 321-328 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-981-4465-68-7 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-981-4295-21-5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2010 |