Acquisition of noun and verb derivation in Estonian
Reili Argus · Language acquisition & language disorders · 2021
Abstract The aim of the study is to describe the acquisition of derivation in Estonian. The analysis is based on recorded spontaneous speech of three Estonian children between the ages of 1;3 and 3;1. The role of productivity, transparency, semantics and frequency of suffixes and patterns, as well as the learning strategy (from simplex to complex), have been analysed. The Estonian children started to use the first derivatives at the same time as the first compounds emerged and noun inflection started to develop. The number of different suffixes used by the children was quite large, but not all suffixes were used productively. The role of productivity and frequency can be observed in the order of the acquisition of the suffixes.