The Acquisition of English Derivational Suffixes: A Pilot Study

[摘要] Children, ages six through twelve, were tested to determine when they acquired certain derivational suffixes as rule governed elements of their grammars. The suffixes tested were -y and -able. "Rule governed" was defined as the ability to manipulate these suffixes on nonsense syllables. This ability appeared as late as eleven years old with -able.

[关键词] Language acquisition;English language-- Suffixes and prefixes