Non-compositional forms and the continuity assumption

Abstract

It is argued that, though combinatoriality is the characteristic trait of human language, non-compositional forms also play an important role in adult grammars and that they plausibly play an important role in child language development, as well. Specific evidence for this position comes from the utility of assuming that “did” in uninverted child English questions such as “Where you did go?” is, in fact, a non-compositional form that must occur in a syntactic position below the subject because it lacks either tense or agreement. The advantage of such a formulation is that it accounts for the occurrence of both “Optional Infinitive” verbs and the “Optional Inversion” of auxiliary verbs in child English, as a function of one underlying factor: developing verb finiteness. This account hinges on the existence of non-compositional forms in child grammars. Such an account is consistent with the Continuity Hypothesis. In this case, assuming that non-compositional forms exist and play an important role in child language allows for a unified explanation of two otherwise unrelated forms.