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Affix processing strategies and linguistic systems*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2008

Richard M. Weist  and
Emilia Konieczna
Richard M. Weist
Affiliation:
State University of New York College at Fredonia
Emilia Konieczna
Affiliation:
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań
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Abstract

The relationship between affix processing and linguistic systems was evaluated through an analysis of prefixation and suffixation in the tense-aspect and locative systems of child Polish. For six children ranging in age from 1; 7 to 2; 6, the distinction between imperfective and perfective aspect was made more frequently by prefixation than by suffixation. Prefixation was found to be just as productive in the specification of locative distinctions as aspectual distinctions. We found no bias in affix processing which might have favoured suffixation, and no interaction of linguistic systems with affix processing. Furthermore, an inter-language comparison confirmed these intralanguage findings. Finally, we argued that affix processing involves a parallel analysis of patterns of stored information providing the motivation for selective attention.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , February 1985 , pp. 27 - 35
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

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References

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