wh-acquisition: a cross-linguistic comparison of persian and english

This research aimed to provide insights into l1 acquisition with respect to the formation of wh-questions by a persian and an english child. similarities and differences concerning the variety of patterns produced (both adult-like and non-adult-like) and the frequency and emergence order of each pattern/ wh-word were taken into consideration. for this purpose, data from an english and a persian child were analyzed. based on the findings, it is argued that the persian grammar licenses a wider range of wh-questions patterns. besides, unlike the prevalent in-situ state of the wh-structure in persian, the present study indicated it to be mostly wh-fronted in the data production of the child at the specified developmental stages. moreover, the english child exhibited more instances of non-adult production which can be justified by the higher complexity of the structure in english, as it demands both dislocation of the wh-word and inversion. implications of the study are discussed.