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This paper explores the acquisition of distributivity in Yudja (Tupi, Brazil) based on a study with children and adults. In this paper, we explore experimentally the hypothesis discussed in previous work (LIMA, 2008) that verbal reduplication is a pluractional marker (LASERSOHN, 2005) that also conveys distributivity. Two preference tasks were performed with 11 adults and 17 children. Adults’ results show that the interpretation of ambiguous sentences is affected by the form of the noun phrase (conjoined nouns, pluralized nouns or bare nouns). Children’s results suggest that they have an overall preference for a distributive interpretation of sentences regardless of the verb form and the NP type. Keywords: distributivity; Yudja; verbal reduplication; plural; bare nouns. Resumo: Este artigo explora a aquisicao da distributividade em Yudja (Tupi, Brasil) a partir de um estudo com criancas e adultos. Nesta pesquisa, exploramos experimentalmente a hipotese discutida em trabalhos anteriores (LIMA, 2007, 2008), segundo os quais reduplicacao verbal e um marcador pluracional (LASERSOHN, 1995) que tambem expressa distributividade. Duas tarefas de preferencialidade foram feitas com 11 adultos e 17 criancas. Os resultados dos adultos sugerem que a interpretacao de sentencas ambiguas e afetada pelo tipo de sintagma nominal. Os resultados das criancas sugerem uma preferencia por uma leitura distributiva independentemente das propriedades do verbo e do sintagma nominal. Palavras-chave: distributividade; Yudja; reduplicacao verbal; plural; nomes nus.

Based on a discussion of correlations between syntactic position, prosodic cues, aspect and generic vs. non-generic interpretations, this paper substantiates that Danish Bare Plural count nouns (BPs) have a wider distribution than Bare Singular count nouns (BSs). BPs, unlike BSs, can occur in subject position, function as both generic and existential arguments, and appear with all aspectual verb classes. However, BPs and BSs expressing a non-generic, modificational meaning concur in object position of activity verbs and stative verbs with a possession relation implicature. These V+BP and V+BS structures, it is suggested, form a progressive continuum of three different subtypes of pseudo-incorporation (PI), namely (i) PI of BPs (low integration as inspise æbler‘eat apples’), (ii) PI oftype 1BSs (medium integration as inmale hus‘paint house’), and (iii) PI oftype 2BSs (maximum integration as inspille violin‘play violin’).

«Los sustantivos escuetos o la expresión de la genericidad» contains observations on the expression of genericity in Dutch and in Spanish. The paper was written for translators from Dutch into Spanish, but linguists interested in facts about genericity and about bare nouns in Dutch and/or in Spanish might also find it useful.

In this article, we argue that a set of unexpected contrasts in the interpretation of clitic-left-dislocated indefinites in Greek and Italian derive from structural variation in the nominal syntax of the two languages. Greek resists nonreferential indefinites in clitic left-dislocation, resorting to the topicalization of an often bare noun for nonreferential topics. By contrast, clitic left-dislocation is employed in Italian for topics regardless of their definite/indefinite interpretation. We argue that this contrast is directly linked to the wide availability of bare nouns in Greek, which stems from a structural difference in the nominal syntax of the two languages. In particular, we hypothesize that Greek nominal arguments lack a D layer. Rather, they are Number Phrases. We situate this analysis in the context of Chierchia’s (1998) typology of nominals. We argue that, on a par with Italian nouns, Greek nouns are [−arg, +pred]. However, they do not employ a syntactic head (D) for type-shifting to e . Rather, they resort to covert type-shifting, a hypothesis that is necessary to account for the distribution and interpretations of bare nouns in Greek, vis-à-vis other [−arg, +pred] languages like Italian and French.

This study is concerned with the semantics ofnouns as a distinct syntactic category and the marking of nominal number inTurkish. The question addressed is why Turkish nouns behave in a way that is significantlydifferent from their counterparts in languages like English and Chinese. Specifically,why are bare nouns allowed in Noun Phrases (NPs) where they are not specifiedfor number and why are they not pluralized when they co-occur with numerals? Inorder to address these issues, I propose a lexical semantic account, based onRijkhoff (2002ab, 2008), and argue that Turkish nouns belong to the nominalsubcategory of set nouns that havetheir unique lexical properties. The observed distinctions in their semanticsand grammatical marking stem from those characteristics. This analysis alsomakes it possible to account for verbal number discord and lack thereof in Turkishand in other languages., Buçalışma, Türkçede adların anlambilimi ve adsal sayı belirlenmesiniincelemektedir. Türkçede adlar İngilizce gibi dillerdeki muadillerinden önemliölçüde farklı davranmaktadırlar. Özellikle, çıplak olarak ve herhangi bir sayıbelirlemesi olmadan bulunabilirler ve sayı adları ve niceleyicileri ilebirlikte aynı ortalarda bulunduklarında çoğul eki almazlar. Burada sorulansorular, Türkçede adların neden bu şekilde davrandıkları ve gösterdikleriözelliklerin sistemli bir biçimde açıklanıp açıklanamayacağıdır. Öncekiçalışmalarda bu sorulara çok değinilmemiştir çünkü odak noktası genelde adlarlasıfatların benzerlik ve farklılıkları ile adların sözlüksel bir kategorioluşturup oluşturmadığıdır. Bu çalışmada, Türkçede adların yalnızca sözlükselbir kategori oluşturmakla kalmayıp, anlamsal ve morfolojik-sözdizimsel bakımdanda Rijkhoff'ta (2002ab, 2008) ortaya atılan ve adsal bir alt kategori olan küme adları özelliklerine sahipoldukları gösterilmektedir. Bu açıklama ayrıca Türkçede çoğul özne ve eylemarasında görünen sayı uyumu ve uyumsuzluğunu da izah etmektedir.

The purpose of this article is to substantiate the claim that the semantic feature of homogeneity manifests itself differently in different languages. By contrasting data from Spanish and Danish it is shown that homogeneity is lexically coded in Danish nouns, whereas Spanish nouns are lexically neutral to homogeneity. In Spanish the homogeneity interpretation of nouns is determined when they are inserted into a syntactic structure. The empirical relevance of this assumption is assessed by investigating syntactic and semantic aspects related to the occurrence of bare nominals in object position in the two languages under scrutiny. It is well-known that Spanish as a canonical pattern does not semantically license bare singular nouns with count interpretation (BNs) in object position, viz. #Juan repara coche [Juan repairs car], while in Danish the occurrence of BNs in object position is both possible and normal, viz. Ole maler hus [Ole paints house]. It is argued that this contrast is a predictable consequence of the premise that, in Spanish, transitive activity verbs impose a mass reading on any bare object noun whereas, in Danish, BNs maintain their lexically encoded denotation as inhomogeneous entities. However, contrasting with the leading pattern, the so-called HAVE-verbs (Borthen, 2003) actually license Spanish BNs in object position (cf., e.g., Espinal, 2010; Espinal & Mcnally, 2011), viz. Juan tiene perro [Juan has dog]. It is claimed that the occurrence of BNs in these cases is strongly related to the assumption that HAVE-verbs, contrary to activity verbs, are functionally non-eventive and, therefore, do not impose a specific homogeneity reading on the bare noun in object position.

Much literature has explored the interpretation of the bare singular (BS) in Brazilian Portuguese. Pires de Oliveira and Rothstein (2011) claim that BS nouns are mass because they denote kinds and argue that this explains why only the BS in Brazilian Portuguese can have a non-cardinal interpretation. In this paper, based on an experimental task with Brazilian Portuguese adult speakers, we explore one of their predictions, namely that the ‘volume interpretation’ of the BS cannot be explained as a case of Grinding. Our results show that Grinding and Volume readings of a BS noun are not equivalent (in favor of their hypothesis). We also show that a volume interpretation of a noun is never preferred when a cardinal interpretation is available, but that this can be explained by other lexical and pragmatic factors. We conclude by suggesting that Rothstein’s (in press) distinction between counting and measuring accounts for the fact that non-cardinal readings are not grinding.

Data from a wide range of languages appear to show that bare nouns take obligatory narrow scope. Research on bare nouns has therefore closely tied certain interpretative effects (low scope, number neutrality) to the special overt morphosyntax of bareness (Carlson 1977, inter alia). Thus there appears to be a tight connection between the syntax and the semantics of noun phrases. In this context, the goal of this article is two-fold. The first goal is to present data from Official Malagasy that call into question this correlation: bare nouns in the language can take variable scope. Thus the overt form of a nominal is not a reliable signal of its interpretation. Second, it is argued that bare nouns in Official Malagasy are in fact headed by a null determiner. Supporting data come from a related dialect, Antakarana, where bare nouns take obligatory narrow scope and there is no evidence for a null determiner.

Diese Dissertation untersucht das variable Verhalten von sogenannten „bare nouns“ (Nominale ohne Artikel) im Persischen. Dieses Verhalten kann jedoch nicht verstanden werden ohne eine Reihe von entscheidenden Eigenschaften der persischen Satzstruktur zu betrachten. Dazu gehören Informationsstruktur, Prosodie und Wortstellung, sowie die semantischen und syntaktischen Funktionen verschiedener morphologischer Markierungen im Persischen. Die vorliegende Dissertation kann daher zum besseren Verständnis von satzinterner Syntax, Semantik und Prosodie des Persischen beitragen. Ich beginne meine Untersuchung mit dem Vergleich der BNs in verschiedenen Positionen mit Nominalen, die mit verschiedenen Morphemen gekennzeichnet sind. Die quasi-inkorporierten Nominale im Persischen scheinen zur Klasse der diskursintransparenten inkorporierenden Sprachen zu gehören. Doch dies scheint nicht immer zu stimmen, unter bestimmten Umständen zeigen persische BNs Diskurstransparenz. In Kapitel 3 untersuche ich daher, unter welchen Umständen BNs Diskurstransparenz zeigen und warum. In Kapitel 3 präsentiere ich einen Alternativvorschlag zu Farkas & de Swart, in dem ich darlege, dass ein BN tatsächlich einen neuen Diskursreferenten einführt. Aber der Numerus von BNs ist neutral (numerusneutralen Diskursreferenten).In der zweiten Hälfte der Dissertation wird die Interpretation von BNs in verschiedenen Positionen und mit unterschiedlichen grammatischen Funktionen diskutiert. Kapitel 4 konzentriert sich auf BNs in Objektposition. Wir stellen einen direkten Vergleich an zwischen BNs als tatsächliche BNs, d.h. Nominale, die nicht mit einem Morphem markiert sind, und Kontexten, in denen sie mit dem Morphem -ra auftreten. Ich werde argumentieren, dass -ra lediglich markiert, dass ein BN oder auch ein anderes Nominal nicht in seiner VP-internen Position interpretiert, sondern in eine VP-externe Domäne bewegt wird. Das bedeutet, das Morphem -ra ist ein syntaktisches Morphem auf Phrasenebene. This thesis explores the variable behavior of bare nouns in Persian. Bare singular nouns realize different grammatical functions, including subject, object and indirect object. They receive different interpretations, including generic, definite and existential readings. However, the task of understanding the reasons for, and limits on, this variation cannot be achieved without understanding a number of pivotal features of Persian sentential architecture, including Information Structure, prosody, word order, and the functions of various morphological markers in Persian. With respect to the discourse transparency of Incorporated Nominals, under certain circumstances, Persian bare nouns show discourse transparency. These circumstances are examined in chapter 3, and it is proposed that bare nouns do introduce a number neutral discourse referent. This proposal is phrased within Discourse Representation Theory. In the second half of the dissertation, the interpretation of bare nouns in different positions and with different grammatical functions are discussed. Under the independently supported hypothesis of position>interpretation mapping developed by Diesing (1992), we will see the role of the suffix -ra in indicating that an object has been moved out of VP. For subjects, there is no morphological marking corresponding to –ra on objects, and we have to rely on prosody and word order to determine how a VP is interpreted using theories of the interaction of accent and syntactic structure. It is proposed that both subject and object originate within the VP, and can move out to the VP-external domain. The motivation for these movements are informational-structural in nature, relating in particular to the distinctions between given and new information, and default and non-default information structure.

Die vorliegende Dissertation ist dreiteilig: i) deskriptiv, ii) komparatistisch, und iii) theoretisch. Nach einer allgemeinen Diskussion über die Geschichte und Grammatik des Guinea-Bissau Kreol (GBK) und einer Übersicht über die Herangehensweisen an artikellose Nominalphrasen (Bare Noun Phrases; BNPs), bietet die vorliegende Arbeit eine ausführliche Beschreibung der Distribution und Interpretation von BNPs in GBK. Sie können als Argumente und nicht-Argumente erscheinen. Bei Subjekten, indirekten Objekten, bei Topikalisierung, “dislocation” und “clefting” ergeben sie definite Interpretationen. Artikellose direkte Objekte können alle möglichen Interpretationen haben, ausgenommen eine pluralisch-spezifische Lesart. Die Interpretation von BNPs wird von kontextuellen Zusammenhängen als auch von Aspekt und Prädikattyp bestimmt. Perfektive und kontinuativ-imperfektive Kontexte lösen definit-spezifische Lesarten für artikellose Objekte aus. Artikellose Objekte in habituell-imperfektiven Kontexten ergeben eine indefinite, nicht-spezifische Lesart. Artikellose Subjekte von “stage level”-Prädikaten ergeben eine existentiale Interpretation, indeterminierte Subjekte von “individual level”-Prädikaten dagegen leiten definit-generische Lesarten ab. Die vorliegende Arbeit beinhaltet auch einen interlingualen Vergleich zwischen Kreol- und Nicht-Kreolsprachen: i) Cape Verdean Creole, Santome, Papiamentu und Brazilianisches Portugiesisch; und ii) Mandarin Chinesisch, Vietnamesisch und Gbe Sprachen. Die Distribution und Interpretation von BNPs ist sehr homogen. Alle erlauben sowohl singularische als auch pluralische Lesarten für BNPs: BNPs sind bezüglich Numerus unspezifiziert. Das führt uns zur theoretischen Diskussion über Numerus: ausgehend von Depréz’s (2007) Plural Parameter und seinen grundlegenden Annahmen (BNPs sind unspezifiziert für Numerus, und die grundlegende Denotation von Nomen ist Art vom Typ e), wird ein neues Modell sowie eine konsequente Sprachtypologie entwickelt. The nature of the present dissertation is threefold: i) descriptive, ii) comparative, and iii) theoretical. After a brief general discussion on the history and grammar of Guinea-Bissau Creole, and after an extensive review of various approaches on BNPs, both from the semantic and syntactic perspective, the present work will offer an exhaustive description of the distribution and interpretation of Bare Noun Phrases in GBC. They may be found in both argument and nonargument positions. The general tendency for BNPs in GBC is to yield a definite reading (subjects, recipient objects, in topicalizion, dislocation and clefting). One difference is that bare patient objects may yield any possible interpretation, except from the specific plural. BNPs interpretation is driven by contextual factors as well as by aspect and predicate type. Perfective and continuous imperfective contexts trigger definite specific readings for bare objects. One difference is that bare objects in habitual imperfective contexts yield indefinite nonspecific interpretations. As for predicate types, bare subjects of stage-level predicates yield existential readings, whereas bare subjects of individual-level predicates derive definite generic readings. The present work also undertakes a crosslinguistic comparison between creoles and noncreoles: i) Cape Verdean Creole, Santome, Papiamentu and Brazilian Portuguese; and ii) Mandarin Chinese, Vietnamese and Gbe languages. It turns out that BNPs distribution and interpretation are quite homogeneous. Importantly, BNPs in any of these languages may yield both singular and plural readings: BNPs are thus unspecified as for Number. This leads us to our theoretical discussion on Number: starting from Depréz’s (2007) Plural Parameter and its basic assumptions (e.g. BNPs are unspecified as for Number, and the basic denotation of nouns is kind of type e), a new model, and the consequent linguistic typology, is developed.

The unification of traditionally distinct and apparently unrelated objects of inquiry under common more abstract principles is one of the most welcome results of empirical science. This article proposes to draw together some insights of Longobardi (1994, 1996, 2001) into a unified theory of object- and kind-reference viewed as a single grammatical phenomenon, though crosslinguistically parametrized. The present account aims to improve both in accuracy and explanatory force over those outlined in the articles just cited. To do so, the combined leading intuitions of such works are first spelt out, in section 6, into a deeper generalization about the form/meaning relation in nominals and later deduced from a more principled mapping theory, proposing that a syntactically specified position, traditionally labeled D, is responsible in many languages for one of human fundamental linguistic abilities, reference to individuals (Topological Mapping Theory). After the unification of the syntactic mechanisms available for reference to individuals, virtually all other distinctions simply follow precisely from that between the two varieties of such entities (kinds and objects) previewed in Carlson’s (1977a) ontology, indirectly confirming its continuing heuristic power, and from widely accepted economy conditions of recent syntactic theory.

The first aim of this paper is to make a thorough description of the use of nominals as well as of the use of the definite determiner in both Souletin (the most eastern dialect of Basque) and Standard Basque (plus the rest of Basque dialects). Then, assuming that Souletin is a previous stage compared to Standard Basque (cf. Michelena 1964, Camino to appear; cf. also Manterola 2012), the main aim of this paper is to explain how Basque historically moves from a situation where bare nouns (BNs) are allowed (in some restricted argument position and only in Souletin) to a situation where BNs are not allowed in argument position (Standard Basque). This paper argues that the reason we move from system A to system B is basically due to a semantic weakening and loss of the Souletin null D: (i) in Souletin BNs are full DPs with an empty head occupied by a phonetically null D--with indefinite reference and unspecified for number--, partly in line with Longobardi (1994, 2001); (ii) this null D loses its semantic features and since it is null it cannot be reanalyzed and gets lost; (iii) in Standard Basque, since null D is no longer available, the definite article [-a]--which will be argued to be a semantically flexible element--takes its place, as is phonologically a weak element, i.e. a suffix, and so the closest phonological alternative to the null D.

In the present paper, I consider first the behaviour of singular count nouns, showing that, in the limited set of contexts in which they are found, a specific kind of modification is in many cases necessary. The modification is represented by a variant of a kind defining relative clause. I briefly outline the main syntactic and semantic characteristics of kinddefining relatives; I then consider bare plural count nouns and singular mass nouns; I use the Left Dislocation construction as a test that permits us to explore the composition of the DP, and to localise the position of a silent operator. I show that, in this context too, the modifiers that permit the determiner to be omitted can be semantically interpreted as corresponding to a kind-defining relative. Finally, I examine the so-called partitive DPs introduced by di+article, which are often considered in the literature to be semantically equivalent to bare nouns, and I show that they are instead different, both semantically and syntactically; incidentally, this permits us to point out a minimal difference between French and Italian. En el presente artículo se trata primero el comportamiento de sustantivos singulares contables y se muestra que en el conjunto limitado de contextos en que estos aparecen, una clase de modificación específica es necesaria en muchos casos. Esta modificación se representa mediante una variante de cláusula relativa definidora. Tras brevemente perfilarse las principales características sintácticas y semánticas de las relativas definidoras, se abordan los sustantivos plurales contables escuetos y los sustantivos no contables singulares. La construcción de dislocación a la izquierda se utiliza como diagnóstico para la exploración de la composición del SD, así como para la localización de la posición del operador nulo. Se muestra que, también en este contexto, los modificadores que permiten la omisión del determinante pueden recibir la interpretación semántica de una relativa restrictiva. Finalmente se examinan las estructuras conocidas como SDs partitivos introducidos por di+artículo, que han sido frecuentemente consideradas en la bibliografía como semánticamente equivalentes a sustantivos desnudos, y se muestra que en realidad son diferentes, tanto en el plano semántico como en el sintáctico. Además, esto nos permite señalar una mínima diferencia entre el francés y el italiano. No presente artigo, considero primeiro o comportamento de nomes contáveis singulares, demonstrando que, no número limitado de contextos em que surgem, um tipo específico de modificação é, em muitos casos, necessário. A modificação é representada por uma variante de uma oração relativa de tipo restritivo. Apresento brevemente as principais caraterísticas sintáticas e semânticas das relativas de tipo restritivo; considero, em seguida, nomes simples contáveis plurais e nomes massivos singulares; uso a construção da deslocação à esquerda como um teste que nos permite explorar a composição do DP e localizar a posição de um operador silencioso. Demonstro que, também neste contexto, os modificadores que permitem que o determinante seja omitido podem ser semanticamente interpretados como correspondendo a uma relativa de tipo restritivo. Finalmente, examino os chamados DPs partitivos introduzidos por di+artigo, que são frequentemente considerados na literatura como sendo semanticamente equivalentes aos nomes simples, e demonstro que, pelo contrário, eles são diferentes, quer semântica quer sintaticamente; incidentalmente, tal permite-nos destacar a diferença mínima entre o francês e o italiano.

International audience

The central observation in this paper is that bare nouns display an ambiguous interpretation only under coordination (genericity excluded). Adopting a strict syntax-semantic mapping, this paper focuses on this property and argues that the ambiguity follows from the level of complexity of the left periphery: plural and mass bare nouns have different readings according to whether their edge is low (i.e., PropP) or high (i.e., QP).

This paper examines apparent noun incorporation in Malagasy that is the result of external possession (possessor raising). It is shown that such incorporation is not derived via head movement or via compounding. Instead, it is argued that this is an instance of pseudo noun incorporation (Massam, 2001): the possessum is merged as an NP sister to the predicate. As for the structure of external possession, a non-movement analysis is proposed: the apparent possessor is generated as the specifier of a null possessive head and binds an empty argument position within the possessum. The resulting structure and meaning are shown to be parallel to experiencer ‘have’ constructions in English.

International audience; Basque weak quantifiers optionally agree with the inflected verb in number. This papers' main aim is to study the dialectal variation shown by this phenomenon. The study will show that it is necessary to differentiate at least three systems : the western-central system, the transition system, and the oriental system. The differences are twofold : (i) some concern the syntactic contexts in which the optional agreement is allowed. The western-central system allows it with every argument position ; the transition system does not allow it with ergative case arguments, and the oriental system allows it only with absolutive case arguments ; (ii) the rest concern the set of quantifiers that permit optional agreement : in the oriental system, weak cardinal quantifiers need not agree with the inflected verb ; in the rest of the systems, agreement is obligatory in these cases. This difference appears to be related to the ability to use bare nouns within the oriental system : bare nouns show the same syntactic distribution as non-agreeing weak cardinal quantifiers.; Euskarazko zenbatzaile ahulek pluraleko komunztadurarik gabe agertzeko aukera dute. Artikulu honek fenomeno horren baitan gertatzen den bariazio dialektala aztertu nahi du. Azterketa honek gutxienez hiru sistema bereizi behar ditugula erakusten du : mendebalde-erdialdekoa deituko duguna, trantsiziokoa (Lapurdiko hiztun zenbaitetan aurkitu duguna) eta ekialdekoa deitu duguna, Coyos-en (1999) Arbailetako (Zuberoa) hizkeraren azterketan oinarritua. Diferentziak bi mailatakoak direla erakutsiko dugu : (i) komunztadura eza zein kontestu sintaktikotan gertatzen den. Erdialdeko-mendebaldeko hizkerek argumentu guzietan agertzen dute ; trantsiziokoak ez du ergatiboarekin agertzen, eta ekialdeko hizkerek absolutiboekin bakarrik onartzen du ; (ii) fenomenoa erakusten duten zenbatzaileen multzoa bera : zubereraz, zenbatzaile kardinalek ez dute zertan pluraleko komunztadura egin ; beste sistemetan komunztadura ezinbestekoa da. Diferentzia hau iduriz ekialdeko hizkerek (gainontzeko hizkerek ez bezala) izen biluziak erabiltzeko duten gaitasunarekin lotzen da : izen biluziek zenbatzaile kardinal komunztaduragabeen distribuzio ia berdina erakusten dute.

Plusieurs études ont montré que l’omission de l’article défini dans le langage enfantin varie selon les langues. En d’autres termes, il semblerait que les enfants acquerrant une langue romane se conforment plus rapidement au système adulte que les enfants acquerrant une langue germanique (Chierchia et al., 2001 ; Lléo & Demuth, 1999). Les résultats de deux expériences de production induite présentés dans cet article confirment cette observation : les enfants néerlandais omettent l’article défini davantage et pour une plus longue période que les enfants français. Nous expliquons cette différence par le fait que le néerlandais offre davantage de possibilités d’avoir des noms nus que le français (Longobardi, 2001). Notre étude révèle une autre différence intéressante : les enfants néerlandais utilisent fréquemment l’article défini non-neutre de à la place de l’article défini neutre het, alors que les enfants acquerrant le français ne commettent pas d’erreurs de ce genre. La spécification lexicale de chacun de ces articles définis nous conduit à proposer que l’article défini non-neutre de est la forme que les enfants utilisent par défaut au début de l’acquisition (Halle & Marantz, 1993, 1994 ; Ferdinand, 1996). Several studies have shown that determiner omission in early child language varies across languages, i.e. children acquiring a Romance language converge earlier to the adult system than children acquiring a Germanic language (Chierchia et al., 2001; Lléo & Demuth, 1999). We show that this observation is confirmed by the resultts of two elicited production tasks which were equally conducted in Dutch and French with 3, 4 and 6 years old children. We argue that the delay of determiner acquisition is due to the degree to which determiners are obligatory in a language (Longobardi, 2001).The results of our production tasks revealed another striking difference between Dutch and French. Dutch-speaking children use frequently the non-neuter definite article de instead of the neuter definite article het, whereas gender errors are totally absent in French. We argue that the definite article non-neuter de, due to its lexical specification, is taken as a default form in early child Dutch (Halle & Marantz 1993, 1994; Ferdinand, 1996).