A eficácia interna da forma fazer + V na aquisição dos causativos lexicalizados

Abstract

In this paper, I shall present longitudinal data on the development of the lexical expression of CAUSE by one child learning Portuguese as her first language. I observed that non-causatives are used for causatives, and causatives are used for non-causatives. I arque that both types of deviation provide evidence for analysis, according to which the child in the beginning takes into account the syntactic structure where causative verbs occur, neglecting other expressive resources, such as lexical resources. I also observed that the construction with fazer which appears later has a double role in the grammatical system which is being constructed: it has external and internal efficiency. This internal efficiency makes the analysis of lexicalized causatives possible to the extent it permits the discorvery of the relationship between derrubar and fazer cair, matar and fazer morrer, tirar and fazer sair.