Uso y función de las formas temporales en el habla infantil

Abstract

This paper is based on a study on the acquisition and use of temporal forms in the early language of a monolingual catalan child and two children from bilingual catalan-spanish fa- milies. The study is divided into three sections. First, the appearance of temporal forms in ca- talan and spanish are described. Secondly, their function is discussed and the primacy of aspect over tense is questioned, though maintaining the indexical character of aspect from the begin- ning of its use. Finally, a longitudinal case study was undertaken with the purpose of offering a relevant explanatory modeI of the introduction of temporal mar/es in child speech. We con- dude by discussing the results and underlining their relevance for the understanding of the lan- guage acquisition process.