The acquisition of nominal ellipsis by preschool children: an experiment on the role of syntactic merge

In this dissertation the data yielded by an experiment on noun-drop acquisition by children aged three-to-five is analysed. First, language as a communication system is introduced, then the focus passes onto syntax and the phenomenon of ellipsis. The field of language acquisition is also addressed along with Rizzi’s split CP theory. Rizzi's TopicP and FocusP layers are functional to understand the core of the experiment, since in the experiment, ellipsis in investigated in focal and topical site. The data was then analysed and the results compared to those of recent scientific field literature in a crosslinguistic approach. The analysis revealed that five-years-old children struggle to understand ellipsis in focal position, but have a better comprehension of focalised NPE. These results support those theories that propose contrast as licensing element for nominal ellipsis.