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In:L1 Acquisition and L2 Learning: The view from Romance
Edited by Larisa Avram, Anca Sevcenco and Veronica Tomescu
[Language Acquisition and Language Disorders 65] 2021
► pp. 109–132

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Chapter 5
The production of variable number agreement in Brazilian Portuguese

A procedural and developmental account

 | Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
 | Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Published online: 17 November 2021
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https://doi.org/10.1075/lald.65.05jak
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the production of variable number agreement by Brazilian Portuguese (BP) speaking children/adolescents. Number agreement in BP can be redundant, with obligatory morphological plural marking in all the agreeing elements (standard variety), or non-redundant, with obligatory morphological plural marking on the determiner and optional plural marking on the noun and on post-nominal agreeing elements (non-standard variety). The results of an elicited production task are recapped here. A production model of number agreement on the DP is provided. It is argued that an underspecified morphophonological feature [±redundant] in the morphological component of the lexicon is required to account for optionality in number marking and for developmental changes regarding the expression of number agreement in speech.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Variation of number agreement in BP
  • 3.Variation in the generative framework
  • 4.Variation in language acquisition
    • 4.1Developmental changes in the production of variable number agreement in BP
    • 4.2Discussion
  • 5.The production of variable number agreement in BP
  • 6.Final remarks
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
References (45)
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