Re: conjugation patterns in Spanish


On 2-Apr-2006, "John Atkinson" <johnacko@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote in message <lf2Yf.22740$dy4.20216@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:

Yes, and this objection is equally valid for native speakers of Spanish.
Spanish kids aren't born knowing Latin. But somehow they manage to learn
the four hundred or so verbs that have /ie/ or /ue/ when the root is
stressed and /e/ or /o/ when the ending is stressed. Or, if they
internalise this as a general rule, they have to learn the hundreds of
verbs
which are exceptions to the rule, the ones which don't diphthongise /e/ or
/o/ when the root is stressed.

This doesn't faze Spanish kids at all, but it does worry linguists who
study
language acquisition, who like to think that kids devise internal grammars
which consist mostly of rules, with a comparatively small number of
exceptions (irregularities) which mostly apply to the commonest words and
can be listed individually in the grammar. The idea of several hundred
irregular verbs in a language is not easy to fit into the way they
postulate children's internal grammar-forming devices should work.

Anyway, if the many experts who've agonised over this problem can't find a
way out, I don't like your chances. Sorry, you'll just have to learn
which group each verb belongs to, one at a time.

How many exceptions are there if one learns the rules the other way
'round, that is, treat the stem-stressed form as basic and apply
the rules that unstressed /i/ -> /e/, /ie/ -> /e/ and /ue/ -> /o/?

--
Jim Heckman
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: conjugation patterns in Spanish
    ... Spanish kids aren't born knowing Latin. ... internalise this as a general rule, they have to learn the hundreds of ... which are exceptions to the rule, the ones which don't diphthongise /e/ ... irregular verbs in a language is not easy to fit into the way they ...
    (sci.lang)
  • Re: conjugation patterns in Spanish
    ... Spanish kids aren't born knowing Latin. ... Or, if they internalise this as a general rule, they have ... grammars which consist mostly of rules, ... idea of several hundred irregular verbs in a language is not easy to ...
    (sci.lang)
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