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Lourdes de León
The verb is the primary component in the development of early Tzotzil syntax. Language-specific patterns and factors of input play a critical role in the development of the verb category in this Mayan language. Production data from two Tzotzil children show that transitivity distinctions are drawn very early. However, the children do not follow the same strategy. In one child the earliest marking of transitivity occurs with the use of imperative suffixes for different verb subclasses. In the other child, two strategies seem to operate: (i) the use of the "generic” or "light” verb k'an `want' plus lexical arguments, and (ii) the morphological strategy of imperative suffixation to distinguish verb subclasses. Given the early preference for the use of transitive verbs by both girls, there is little doubt that broad cognitive factors related to "manipulative activity scenes” serve as a ground to construct the Tzotzil verb at the early stages (MLU 1.5—2.0). However, finer cognitive factors (e.g., "generic” or "light” verbs) appear to be less important than such language specific features as morphological patterning, preferred argument structure, and, to some degree, semantic specificity to lead the child to develop the verb category further in this language.
