Pivot grammar

As pivot grammar ( English pivot , pivot point, fixed point ' ) represents the theoretical grammar described by US linguists Martin Braine which two-word phrases from a pivot and a further open word forms. In 1963 Martine Braine formulated the language acquisition theory that toddlers in their two- word phase form two-word combinations according to fixed rules (starting between the ages of 1 and 2).

definition

Pivot grammar consists of just two word classes: a pivot ( P ) and another open term ( O ). The pivot is the pivotal point and is always in the same place (at the beginning P ₁ or at the end P ₂ ). For example, the pivot “closed” is usually always in second place: “door closed”, “car closed”, etc. The number of pivots a child possesses at this stage is small. According to Braine, the functional words (prepositions, pronouns, etc.) develop from the pivots, while content-related terms emerge from the other words, such as B. Nouns or adjectives, although a pivot can also belong to this group of words.

There are three possible two-word combinations (P = pivot; O = open word):

${\displaystyle P}$₁ ${\displaystyle +O}$

${\displaystyle O+P}$₂

${\displaystyle O+O}$

The combination P + P, however, is not possible. Change combinations (P ₂  + O; O + P ₁ ) are also impossible.

today

The pivot grammar theory was first criticized in the early 1970s by child language researchers Lois Bloom and Roger Brown from Harvard University . They pointed out that this grammar does not take into account the meaning of a word's content. A child's same two-word sentence can mean different things. The phrase "Papa Ball" can e.g. B. mean that dad's ball is there, or that dad should get the ball. Later research showed that most two-word combinations are not built according to pivot grammar. According to Brown, children in this phase have a telegraphic language .

literature

• Dieter E. Zimmer: This is how people are discussed. Munich 2008, pp. 44–47.

Web links

Wiktionary: Pivot grammar  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Martin Braine, 69, Cognitive Psychologist (obituary) ( English ) The New York Times . April 15, 1996. Archived from the original on February 6, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
2. ↑ Time: This is how man comes to be spoken
3. ^ Richard Nordquist : telegraphic speech ( English ) about.com . Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2015.