Learning Indigenous Languages: Child Language Acquisition in Mesoamerica (SOLA 33) (Studies on Language Acquisition [Sola])

This book includes six studies on the acquisition of single Mesoamerican indigenous languages, (Huichol, Zapotec, and the Mayan languages Ch'ol, Tzeltal, K'iche', and Yukatek); and a crosslinguistic study of five Mayan languages (K'anjob'al, K'iche', Tzeltal, Tzotzil, and Yukatek). Three topics are theoretically and methodologically discussed and empirically demonstrated: with respect to ergativity, the ergative-absolutive cross-referencing pattern on the morphological level, noun-verb distinction and the acquisition of body-part locatives in the early lexicon, and the role of semantic properties and cultural context in language acquisition and socialization. This book makes important claims regarding the methodology of cross-linguistic studies as well as the results of these studies and the comparative method used in the book (structural and discursive factors in language acquisition, cross-linguistic relationships and variation). Acknowledgements Introduction: The view from Mesoamerica Crosslinguistic study. Roots or Edges? Explaining variation in children’s early verb forms across five Mayan languages Acquisition of ergative Mayan languages. Explaining Ergativity Early acquisition of the Split Intransitive System in Yukatek Acquisition of the early lexicon. A preliminary view at Ch’ol (Mayan) early lexicon: The role of language and cultural context Acquisition of referential and relational words in Huichol: from 16 to 24 months of age Semantic development. Culture-specific influences on semantic development: Learning the Tzeltal 'benefactive' construction Bcuaa quiang – I stepped HEAD it! The acquisition of Zapotec bodypart locatives Language Socialization. „Lo oye, lo repite y lo piensa.“ The contribution of prompting to the socialization and language acquisition in Yukatek Maya toddlers List of contributors Index "This collection emerges from a dynamic and growing network of child language researchers working on the indigenous languages of Mesoamerica. Individually, the papers present innovations in topic, method, and theory. By drawing on extensive field research in a variety of languages, the authors explore such topics as verb learning, case marking, relational markers, and socialization routines. Collectively, these papers challenge many claims about acquisition that have been based mostly on more familiar European languages. They also provide an intellectual contribution to contemporary efforts to understand and support continued acquisition of endangered indigenous languages. In short, this work represents a comparative study of language acquisition."--Jacket. Language acquisition is a human endeavor par excellence. As children, all human beings learn to understand and speak at least one language: their mother tongue. It is a process that seems to take place without any obvious effort. Second language learning, particularly among adults, causes more difficulty. The purpose of this series is to compile a collection of high-quality monographs on language acquisition. The series serves the needs of everyone who wants to know more about the problem of language acquisition in general and/or about language acquisition in specific contexts. Biographical note: Barbara Pfeiler, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mexico