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ABSTRACT:The possibility of a minimalist derivation being equated with on-line computation is caused into question. Formal solutions are explored, in the context of an Integrated Model of Linguistic Competence, for solving the problems that such an equation presents regarding the directionality of the derivation vis-à-vis incremental processing and costless movement operations. A mixed top-down/ bottom-up model is proposed, which relies on parallel derivational spaces. Sequential and simultaneous copies in the course of the derivation distinguish movement with and without computational cost.

This paper focuses on the role of agreement in the ascription of gender to animate nouns by children acquiring Portuguese. An elicited production task was used in which children were requested to refer to novel objects named by pseudo masculine/feminine nouns. It aimed at verifying the extent to which an agreeing element (the determiner), the noun-ending or a correlation between the gender of the determiner and the noun-ending would guide the ascription of a pseudo-noun to a masculine/feminine gender class. This study extends an earlier one, in which 2-4 year olds acquiring Brazilian Portuguese were shown to rely more on agreement than on correlational patterns, when ascribing gender to pseudo inanimate nouns . 80 2-4 year olds acquiring Brazilian and European Portuguese were tested. The results suggest that reliance on agreement prevails, though children are sensitive to correlational patterns and the production of feminine DPs (determiner phrases) is particularly hard. It is argued that children rely on an algorithmic procedure for gender identification and that gender markedness in nouns with an optional gender feature increases the demands of DP production.

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