The Acquisition of Verb-Echo Answers: Evidence from Child Japanese

The present study investigates Japanese-speaking children’s interpretation of verb-echo answers (VEAs) to yes/no questions. Previous syntactic research suggests that VEAs are derived via ellipsis, with Japanese VEAs specifically analyzed as being derived by TP ellipsis involving verb movement. This study assumes that parameter settings for pro-drop and verb movement are prerequisites, and that the knowledge of both the possibility of VEAs being answers to questions with existential indefinite subjects and the possibility of the adverb-inclusive interpretation are required for acquiring Japanese VEAs. We conducted a series of three experiments with 4- to 6-year-olds acquiring Japanese to test whether they have knowledge of these factors relevant to Japanese VEAs. The results of the experiments indicate that most children correctly assigned adult-like interpretations to VEAs for questions involving existential indefinite subjects and adverbs. These findings support the hypothesis that children’s VEAs in Japanese are derived through verb movement and TP ellipsis, and suggest that parameters for pro-drop and verb movement, together with evidence regarding the possibility of VEAs to questions with existential indefinite subjects and the possibility of the adverb-inclusive reading, may determine the adult-like interpretation of Japanese VEAs.