---
_id: '53948'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: <jats:p> This study investigated whether we can find reliable comprehension-to-production
    syntactic priming effects in children aged 2;0 to 2;11 and how phonological working
    memory and sentence production skills relate to the syntactic priming process.
    A finding of reliable syntactic priming effects would provide strong evidence
    that children’s syntactic representations are abstracted over individual lexical
    items. To test children at this young age, they were primed with simple and early-acquired
    transitive (e.g., tickling (a) baby) and unergative intransitive (e.g., running)
    syntactic structures. Children aged 2;7 to 2;11, primed with alternating prime
    structures, revealed a reliable syntactic priming effect. In addition, phonological
    working memory (moderated by age) and sentence production skills positively affected
    transitive productions. Children aged 2;0 to 2;6, primed either with alternating
    or cumulative prime structures, showed no priming effect. Together, the data indicate
    that children have robust abstract syntactic representations for the tested structures
    before age three and that both phonological working memory and production skills
    relate to children’s syntactic priming behavior, albeit in different ways. </jats:p>
author:
- first_name: Anouschka
  full_name: Foltz, Anouschka
  last_name: Foltz
- first_name: Karolin
  full_name: Knopf, Karolin
  last_name: Knopf
- first_name: Kristina
  full_name: Jonas, Kristina
  id: '94540'
  last_name: Jonas
  orcid: 0000-0002-1067-9139
- first_name: Petra
  full_name: Jaecks, Petra
  last_name: Jaecks
- first_name: Prisca
  full_name: Stenneken, Prisca
  last_name: Stenneken
citation:
  ama: Foltz A, Knopf K, Jonas K, Jaecks P, Stenneken P. Evidence for robust abstract
    syntactic representations in production before age three. <i>First Language</i>.
    2020;41(1):3-20. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0142723720905919">10.1177/0142723720905919</a>
  apa: Foltz, A., Knopf, K., Jonas, K., Jaecks, P., &#38; Stenneken, P. (2020). Evidence
    for robust abstract syntactic representations in production before age three.
    <i>First Language</i>, <i>41</i>(1), 3–20. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0142723720905919">https://doi.org/10.1177/0142723720905919</a>
  bibtex: '@article{Foltz_Knopf_Jonas_Jaecks_Stenneken_2020, title={Evidence for robust
    abstract syntactic representations in production before age three}, volume={41},
    DOI={<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0142723720905919">10.1177/0142723720905919</a>},
    number={1}, journal={First Language}, publisher={SAGE Publications}, author={Foltz,
    Anouschka and Knopf, Karolin and Jonas, Kristina and Jaecks, Petra and Stenneken,
    Prisca}, year={2020}, pages={3–20} }'
  chicago: 'Foltz, Anouschka, Karolin Knopf, Kristina Jonas, Petra Jaecks, and Prisca
    Stenneken. “Evidence for Robust Abstract Syntactic Representations in Production
    before Age Three.” <i>First Language</i> 41, no. 1 (2020): 3–20. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0142723720905919">https://doi.org/10.1177/0142723720905919</a>.'
  ieee: 'A. Foltz, K. Knopf, K. Jonas, P. Jaecks, and P. Stenneken, “Evidence for
    robust abstract syntactic representations in production before age three,” <i>First
    Language</i>, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 3–20, 2020, doi: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0142723720905919">10.1177/0142723720905919</a>.'
  mla: Foltz, Anouschka, et al. “Evidence for Robust Abstract Syntactic Representations
    in Production before Age Three.” <i>First Language</i>, vol. 41, no. 1, SAGE Publications,
    2020, pp. 3–20, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0142723720905919">10.1177/0142723720905919</a>.
  short: A. Foltz, K. Knopf, K. Jonas, P. Jaecks, P. Stenneken, First Language 41
    (2020) 3–20.
date_created: 2024-05-06T11:31:43Z
date_updated: 2026-04-20T11:29:34Z
department:
- _id: '890'
doi: 10.1177/0142723720905919
extern: '1'
intvolume: '        41'
issue: '1'
language:
- iso: eng
page: 3-20
publication: First Language
publication_identifier:
  issn:
  - 0142-7237
  - 1740-2344
publication_status: published
publisher: SAGE Publications
status: public
title: Evidence for robust abstract syntactic representations in production before
  age three
type: journal_article
user_id: '61071'
volume: 41
year: '2020'
...