WH-TOPICALIZATION AT THE SYNTAX-DISCOURSE INTERFACE IN ENGLISH SPEAKERS’ L2 CHINESE GRAMMARS

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 533-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boping Yuan ◽  
Esuna Dugarova
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Noun Phrases ◽  
Background Information ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
L2 Chinese ◽  
Discourse Interface ◽  
Syntactic Derivation ◽  
Acceptability Judgment

Although wh-words generally stay in situ in Chinese wh-questions, they can be topicalized. However, the wh-topicalization is determined at the syntax-discourse interface and has to be governed by discourse conditions; only discourse-linked (D-linked) wh-words can be topicalized, but non-D-linked ones cannot. This article reports on an empirical study that investigated English speakers’ second language (L2) acquisition of Chinese wh-topicalization. The results of an acceptability judgment test indicate that advanced English speakers are sensitive to the discourse condition that governs the syntactic derivation of wh-topicalization in Chinese, as they were found to be able to make the distinction in their L2 Chinese by allowing D-linked, but not non-D-linked, wh-elements to topicalize. However, these results also indicate that wh-determiner phrases (DPs) and wh-noun phrases (NPs) differ in their sensitivity to presupposition background information in L2 Chinese wh-topicalization, and it is argued that the availability of the deictic feature in the wh-element involved is a variable affecting the D-linking properties of wh-elements in the development of L2 Chinese wh-topicalization, and this seems more likely to be a representational deficit than a processing problem.

Japanese speakers' second language Chinese wh-questions: a lexical morphological feature deficit account

2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boping Yuan
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Morphological Feature ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Japanese Speakers ◽  
L2 Chinese ◽  
Wh Questions

In this article, an empirical study of how Chinese wh-questions are mentally represented in Japanese speakers' grammars of Chinese as a second language (L2) is reported. Both Chinese and Japanese are generally considered wh-in-situ languages in which a wh-word is allowed to remain in its base-generated position, and both languages use question particles to mark questions. It is assumed that C0 in wh-questions is essentially ambiguous and unvalued and that unvalued C0 must be valued. In Chinese, the wh-particle ne values C0 with [+Q, +wh] features, which licenses the wh-word in situ. As a result, no wh-movement is necessary and Subjacency becomes irrelevant. Japanese also employs question particles, such as ka or no. However, they are `defective' in the sense that they can only value the ambiguous C0 as [+Q] and they are unable to specify the question as to whether it is [+yes/no] or [+wh]. To value C0 as a head with [+wh], a wh-operator in a wh -word inside the sentence has to raise overtly to C0. The results of an acceptability judgement task show that although the Japanese speakers respond in a broadly target-like way, the lexical morphological feature [+wh] of the particle ne in their L2 Chinese lexicons is permanently deficient, which leads to variability in their intuitions about Chinese wh-questions. A lexical morphological feature deficit account for the results is proposed, and it is suggested that the lexical morphology—syntax interface can be a source of variability in L2 acquisition.

The computation and suspension of presuppositions by L1-Mandarin Chinese L2-English speakers

2021 ◽  
pp. 026765832199387
Author(s):  
Shuo Feng
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
First Language ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Similar Response ◽  
Response Patterns ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Precise Understanding ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
External Interface ◽  
Discourse Interface

The Interface Hypothesis proposes that second language (L2) learners, even at highly proficient levels, often fail to integrate information at the external interfaces where grammar interacts with other cognitive systems. While much early L2 work has focused on the syntax–discourse interface or scalar implicatures at the semantics–pragmatics interface, the present article adds to this line of research by exploring another understudied phenomenon at the semantics–pragmatics interface, namely, presuppositions. Furthermore, this study explores both inference computation and suspension via a covered-box picture-selection task. Specifically, this study investigates the interpretation of a presupposition trigger stop and stop under negation. The results from 38 native English speakers and 41 first language (L1) Mandarin Chinese learners of English indicated similar response patterns between native and L2 groups in computing presuppositions but not in suspending presuppositions. That is, L2 learners were less likely to suspend presuppositions than native speakers. This study contributes to a more precise understanding of L2 acquisition at the external interface level, as well as computation and suspension of pragmatic inferences.

scholarly journals ‘Wh-on-earth’ in Chinese speakers’ L2 English: Evidence of dormant features

2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 515-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boping Yuan
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Semantic Features ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Chinese Speakers ◽  
Completion Task ◽  
Acceptability Judgment ◽  
Made In

Adopting a decompositional approach to items in the lexicon, this article reports on an empirical study investigating Chinese speakers’ second language (L2) acquisition of English wh-on-earth questions (i.e. questions with phrases like what on earth or who on earth). An acceptability judgment task, a discourse-completion task and an interpretation task were used in the study, and the results indicate that in Chinese speakers’ L2 English, the form of wh-on-earth can be learned and stored in a native-like manner, but without being endowed with fully elaborated features. A distinction between active features and dormant features in L2 lexicon is made in the analysis, and it is argued that features transferred from learners’ L1 to their L2 are likely to lose their vigour and vitality in their L2 lexicon and become dormant if there is no evidence in the target language input to confirm or disconfirm them. A typical consequence of a dormant feature is random behaviours of a related structure in L2 learners’ production and interpretation. The results of the study show that semantic features, discourse features as well as morphosyntactic features can become dormant in L2 lexicon.

Russian speakers’ L2 Chinese acquisition of wh-topicalization at the syntax–discourse interface

2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 411-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esuna Dugarova
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Internal Structure ◽  
Russian Speakers ◽  
L2 Chinese ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Current Article ◽  
Linguistic Behaviour ◽  
External Interface ◽  
Discourse Interface

In recent second language (L2) research it has been proposed that unlike linguistic phenomena pertaining to internal interfaces, those at external interfaces pose greater difficulty to adult L2 learners and may not be fully acquired. It has further been pointed out that such problematic acquisition at the interface level should not be attributed to the entire interface and requires a more nuanced examination, and this is what the current article aims to provide. An empirical study reported here investigates whether Russian-speaking learners are able to acquire Chinese wh-topicalization that lies at the syntax–discourse interface, an instance of the external interface. The results indicate that although very advanced Russian speakers can acquire wh-topicalization in their L2 Chinese, the ability of wh-elements to topicalize in Russian–Chinese interlanguage grammars seems to be determined by an internal structure underlying Chinese wh-elements, and this is likely to be a variable that affects the linguistic behaviour at the interface level in the L2.

The syntax–discourse interface in near-native L2 acquisition: Off-line and on-line performance

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 463-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
HOLGER HOPP
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Reading Task ◽  
On Line ◽  
Discourse Interface ◽  
Ultimate Attainment ◽  
L1 English

This study investigates ultimate attainment at the syntax–discourse interface in adult second-language (L2) acquisition. In total, 91 L1 (first-language) English, L1 Dutch and L1 Russian advanced-to-near-native speakers of German and 63 native controls are tested on an acceptability judgement task and an on-line self-paced reading task. These centre on discourse-related word order optionality in German. Results indicate that convergence at the syntax–discourse interface is in principle possible in adult L2 acquisition, both in off-line knowledge and on-line processing, even for L1 English speakers, whose L1 does not correspond to L2 German in discourse-to-syntax mappings. At the same time, non-convergence of the L1 Dutch groups and differences in the L2 groups' performance between tasks suggest that asymmetries in L1–L2 discourse configurations and computational difficulties in mapping discourse onto syntax constrain L2 performance.

Interpretation of Chinese overt and null embedded arguments by English-speaking learners

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy Xia Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Judgment Task ◽  
Syntactic Category ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Argument Position ◽  
Positive Evidence ◽  
L2 Chinese ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Discourse Interface

It has been proposed that external interfaces are vulnerable to residue optionality, whereas pure syntax and internal interfaces are acquirable in second language (L2) acquisition (Sorace, 2005, 2011; Sorace and Filiaci, 2006). The proposal was tested in this article through the interpretation of overt and null embedded arguments in L2 Chinese grammars. The article identifies two types of null elements in Chinese: Øziji and Øtopic. Øziji is a purely syntactic category, whereas Øtopic is a syntax–discourse interface category. Being a D-pronoun, ta ‘he/him’ can refer to either the matrix subject or a discourse entity in the embedded argument position. Its interpretation involves lexicon–syntax and syntax–semantics internal interfaces. Results from a picture judgment task showed that external interfaces were acquired as well as pure syntax and internal interfaces, which supports the claims of Ivanov, 2009; Iverson et al., 2008; Kraš, 2008; Rothman, 2007, 2009; Slabakova and Ivanov, 2011. In addition, Øtopic was acquired at different states in different sentence positions. This supports the claim that interface categories should not be considered holistically (Yuan, 2010). The article further speculates that cross-linguistic influence and the nature of the possible positive evidence may have contributed to the difference here in terms of representation and/or processing.

Pre-emption of L1 properties in the L2 acquisition of English wh-interrogatives: Effects of L2 proficiency and age of onset

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 443-473
Author(s):  
Kholoud A. Al-Thubaiti
Keyword(s):  
Critical Period ◽  
Age Of Onset ◽  
First Language ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Saudi Arabic ◽  
Acceptability Judgment

AbstractThis study investigates whether second language (L2) speakers can pre-empt a first language (L1) property which involves uninterpretable features, such as resumption. The Interpretability Hypothesis predicts persistent L1 effects in L2 grammars because uninterpretable features resist resetting beyond some critical period (Tsimpli and Dimitrakopoulou 2007). Unlike English, Saudi Arabic allows grammatical resumption in complex wh-interrogatives, which is highly preferred with (D)iscourse-linked wh-forms (e. g. ʔayy-NP ‘which-NP’) but disallowed with non-D-linked ones (e. g. ʔeeʃ ‘what’). The study was conducted with fifteen native English speakers and 34 (very)-advanced Saudi Arabic L2 speakers of English with age of onset (AO 1–13 years). In a bimodal, timed acceptability judgment task, their accuracy judgments of 32 (un)grammatical wh-interrogatives were tested. As predicted, results show that L2 speakers of very advanced levels inaccurately accepted resumption especially with D-linked wh-interrogatives. The results also show non-significant differences between AO 1–6 and 7–13 years in their rejection accuracy of resumption.

Uneven reassembly of tense, telicity and discourse features in L2 acquisition of the Chinese shì … de cleft construction by adult English speakers

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziyin Mai ◽  
Boping Yuan
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Sentence Completion ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Cross Domain ◽  
Completion Task ◽  
Feature Reassembly ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Ranking Task

This article reports an empirical study investigating L2 acquisition of the Mandarin Chinese shì … de cleft construction by adult English-speaking learners within the framework of the Feature Reassembly Hypothesis (Lardiere, 2009). A Sentence Completion task, an interpretation task, two Acceptability Judgement tasks, and a felicity ranking task were administered to learners with intermediate and advanced Chinese proficiency ( n = 76). The results reveal an initial mapping between the target Chinese structure and the English it-cleft construction. The relevant tense, telicity and discourse features are added in an uneven feature-by-feature manner in the subsequent feature reassembly. It is proposed that feature reassembly tasks involving cross-domain operations (e.g. from prosody to syntax) are more complicated and more difficult to accomplish than those taking place within the same linguistic domain.

Behaviours of wh-words in English speakers' L2 Chinese wh-questions: Evidence of no variability, temporary variability and persistent variability in L2 grammars

2007 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
BOPING YUAN
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
L2 Chinese ◽  
Wh Questions

This paper presents an empirical study of how different wh -words behave in English speakers' L2 Chinese wh-questions. Our results indicate that L2 Chinese wh-questions are specified by the Chinese wh -particle ne and that there is neither variability nor L1 transfer in this aspect of L2 grammars as no wh -movement is found in English speakers' L2 Chinese. However, wh -words do not develop in a uniform fashion and different wh -words behave differently both synchronically and developmentally in English speakers' L2 Chinese. There is evidence for both temporary variability and persistent variability in some aspects of English speakers' L2 Chinese wh-questions. This is believed to result from breakdowns at the lexical morphology–syntax interface and morphosyntax–semantics interface levels in L2 Chinese grammars. We will provide an account for the no variability, temporary variability as well as persistent variability in English speakers' L2 Chinese wh-questions.

'What is happened' in L2 English does not happen in L2 Chinese

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 164-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuan-Kuo Shan ◽  
Boping Yuan
Keyword(s):  
English Speakers ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
World War ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
Change Of State ◽  
L2 Chinese ◽  
Unaccusative Verbs ◽  
The World ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
World War Iii

In the literature, L2 learners of English are reported to have problems accepting grammatical unaccusative sentences like the cup broke yesterday although they accept the passivized form like the cup was broken yesterday (e.g. Yip 1995; Ju 2000). They also produce ungrammatical sentences like “If the World War III is happened, . . .”. It has been suggested that these phenomena are universal in the development of L2 English because they occur in the English of L2 learners with different L1s (cf. Ju 2000). In this paper, we present an empirical study investigating whether these non-target phenomena also occur in L2 Chinese. It is found that English speakers of Chinese at different proficiency levels fully accept the NP-V unaccusative construction. Optionality is observed in English speakers’ non-target passivized unaccusative verbs of change of state, which are argued to be due to L1 transfer when English speakers incorrectly treat Chinese change-of-state verbs as causative. Overall, our results suggest that the overpassivization phenomenon should not be considered universal in the L2 acquisition of unaccusativity despite their prevalence in L2 English.

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