Argument structure in second language acquisition

1991 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia White
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
First Language ◽  
Control Group ◽  
The Subject

AbstractThis paper investigates the effects of the first language (LI) on second language (L2) argument structure, in two situations: (i) LI sentences form a superset of those permitted in the L2; (ii) L2 sentences form a superset of those permitted in the LI. An experiment was conducted on 55 anglophone children learning French in Canada. Subject completed a perference task, comparing sentences which varied the types of arguments and adjuncts, and their ordering. Result indicate that the subject differed from a native speaker control group in various ways; English argument structure had effects but learners were also sensitve to properties of French which are distinct from English.

Child L2 English acquisition of subject properties in an immersion bilingual context

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabet Pladevall Ballester
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Age Of Onset ◽  
First Language ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Single Subject ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Old Spanish ◽  
Developmental Effects ◽  
The Subject

Although thoroughly analysed in adult second language acquisition (L2A), the acquisition of subject properties in child L2A has not received so much attention and the majority of studies deal with longitudinal data or only with a single subject property. This study contributes new cross-sectional data from 5-year-old Spanish children acquiring second language (L2) English in an immersion bilingual context with age of onset three and analyses the acquisition of all the subject properties traditionally associated as a cluster in comparison to a monolingual control group of the same age. The data were obtained by means of an orally elicited judgement/correction experimental task and enabled us to explore the children’s awareness of grammaticality contrasts in their L2, the influence of their L1 after two years of exposure and the extent to which the cluster of subject properties traditionally associated and studied together develop similarly in acquisitional terms. Results suggest that 5-year-old children show sensitivity to grammaticality contrasts in their L2 English and indicate that even after two years of exposure and although the age of onset of acquisition was only three, their L2 is influenced by their first language (L1) subject properties, although developmental effects also need to be taken into account when explaining the results.

Second language acquisition of pragmatic inferences: Evidence from the Frenchc'est-cleft

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 703-732 ◽  
Author(s):  
EMILIE DESTRUEL ◽  
BRYAN DONALDSON
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Empirical Adequacy ◽  
Control Group ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Forced Choice Task

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the extent to which second language (L2) speakers of French acquire the semantic and pragmatic (or interpretive) properties associated with thec'est-cleft, specifically the exhaustive inference. This phenomenon is relevant to theories of language acquisition because it is situated at the interface of syntax and pragmatics. The results from a forced-choice task challenge the empirical adequacy of the interface hypothesis (Sorace, 2011, 2012; Sorace & Filiaci, 2006), which claims that external interfaces between a linguistic module and a cognitive module remain problematic even at the highest levels of L2 acquisition. The results from 40 L2 learners at three proficiency levels reveal development from nontargetlike to nativelike behavior. In particular, the high-proficiency group interprets thec'est-cleft, as well as canonical subject–verb–object sentences and sentences with exclusives (i.e.,seul(ement)“only”), in a statistically identical way to the French native speaker control group.

Perceived foreign accent in first language attrition and second language acquisition: The impact of age of acquisition and bilingualism—ERRATUM

2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
HOLGER HOPP ◽  
MONIKA S. SCHMID
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Open Access ◽  
First Language ◽  
Age Of Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Accent ◽  
Language Attrition ◽  
First Language Attrition ◽  
The Impact

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Long-distance wh-movement and long-distance wh-movement avoidance in L2 English: Evidence from French and Bulgarian speakers

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolay Slavkov
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
First Language ◽  
Processing Load ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Canadian French ◽  
Equivalent Length ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
L1 Acquisition

This article investigates spoken productions of complex questions with long-distance wh-movement in the L2 English of speakers whose first language is (Canadian) French or Bulgarian. Long-distance wh-movement is of interest as it can be argued that it poses difficulty in acquisition due to its syntactic complexity and related high processing load. Adopting the derivational complexity hypothesis, which has so far been applied to long-distance (LD) wh-movement in L1 acquisition and child second language acquisition, I argue that adult L2 learners also show evidence that questions with LD wh-movement are often replaced by alternative utterances with lower derivational complexity. I propose that such utterances, which are sometimes of equivalent length and with similar meaning to the targeted LD wh-structures, are avoidance strategies used by the learners as an intermediate acquisition resource. That is, such strategies are used as an escape-hatch from the derivational complexity of LD wh-movement. Overall, the results of this research indicate that the link between the number and complexity of derivational steps in a given structure is a fruitful area with strong potential in the second language acquisition field.

Raadsels van tweedetaalverwerving

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 150-159
Author(s):  
Jan H. Hulstijn
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Scientific Inquiry ◽  
Multidisciplinary Approach ◽  
First Language ◽  
Fast Acquisition ◽  
Developmental Sequences

This paper predicts that the study of second language acquisition, as a young discipline of scientific inquiry in its own right, faces a bright future, but only if its scholarly community critically re-examines some notions and assumptions that have too long been taken for granted. First, it is time to reconsider familiar dichotomies, such as second versus foreign language and natural versus instructed language learning. Furthermore, it is worth checking whether and to what extent the puzzling phenomena to be explained by language acquisition theories do really exist (such as uniformity and success and fast acquisition rates in first language acquisition and universal developmental sequences in second language acquisition). The paper furthermore pleas for a multidisciplinary approach to the explanation of the fundamental puzzles of first and second language acquisition and bilingualism, including bridging the divide between psycholinguistic and socio-cultural theories.

The partial availability of Universal Grammar in second language acquisition: the ‘failed functional features hypothesis’

1997 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 187-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Hawkins ◽  
Cecilia Yuet-hung Chan
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Functional Features ◽  
Operator Movement

A number of studies in the research literature have proposed that Universal Grammar (UG) is partially available to adult second language learners. Attempts to provide a syntactic characterization of that partial availability have only recently begun to appear, however. In this article we will argue that speakers of Chinese (a language without wh-operator movement in overt syntax) learning second language English (a language with wh-operator movement in overt syntax) establish mental representations for English which involve pronominal binding rather than operator movement. It will be suggested that this divergence from native-speaker representations is an effect of the inaccessibility of features of functional categories in second language acquisition, what we will refer to as the ‘failed functional features hypothesis’. Implications are drawn from the findings for the syntactic characterization of accessibility to UG more generally in second language acquisition.

"Die wat Betekent Die?"

2001 ◽  
Vol 65 ◽  
pp. 123-135
Author(s):  
Jeanine Deen
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Nonnative Speakers ◽  
Relative Distribution ◽  
Interaction Data ◽  
Negotiation Of Meaning ◽  
Nonnative Speaker

In conversations between native and nonnative speakers, problems in understanding may occur quite frequently. If one of the speakers tries to repair the trouble, negotiation of meaning will take place. This article describes the roles native and nonnative speakers of Dutch play in negotiating meaning in informal and institutional conversations and the influence of language proficiency and setting on the role distribution. Interaction data were used from a large longitudinal adult second language acquisition project (Perdue, 1993a/b). The relative distribution of the three main negotiation moves (trouble indicators, trouble clarifications and confirmation checks) showed that asymmetry occurs in both types of conversation at all three moments of measurement indicating that language proficiency is indeed a factor causing asymmetry (c.f. Deen, 1997). The nonnative speaker and the native speaker held complementary roles, the former mainly indicating trouble and the latter clarifying and checking. The influence of setting on the asymmetry was less clear because there was little difference between the two settings. The semi-authenticity of the data may partly explain this outcome. Furthermore, it could be shown that the use of confirmation checks by the native speaker could be an indicator of dominance but only when there is competition between the two speakers.

Natural Phonology and Second Language Acquisition

1996 ◽  
Vol 55 ◽  
pp. 9-21
Author(s):  
Niclas Abrahamsson
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
First Language ◽  
First Language Acquisition ◽  
Original Theory ◽  
Preliminary Model ◽  
Language Research ◽  
Promising Application ◽  
Phonetic Value

This paper looks at whether Natural Phonology can be directly applied to second language acquisition. First, the original theory, as presented by Stampe and Donegan in the 1970s, is outlined. Secondly, its application to first language acquisition is presented, as this is highly crucial for the following discussion on the naturalness of second language phonology. Thirdly, an attempt is made to establish a preliminary model of the application to second language speech. Findings indicate that Natural Phonology is able to, if not resolve, then at least shed some light on a controversial issue in second language research, namely the distinction between interference and development. With the dichotomy of processes vs. rules offered by Natural Phonology, and hence the interpretation of deviations in second language research as the result of failure of suppression and limitation of processes (instead of as the result of interference from LI phonological rules), the interference/ development distinction collapses. In addition, a principle of closest phonetic value' is postulated in order to explain substitutional variation across learners with differing LI backgrounds. Although highly promising, application of Natural Phonology to second language issues also raises inherent problems in the original theory that need to be resolved. Instead of the notions of innateness and latency of processes proposed by Stampean Natural Phonology, in this paper, suggestions are made concerning the brain's early programming of processes in the form of a model which covers both first and second language acquisition.

scholarly journals Second Language Acquisition as a Discipline: A Historical Perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 55-64
Author(s):  
Nabaraj Neupane
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Developmental Phase ◽  
History Of ◽  
Diachronic Study ◽  
Background Phase ◽  
Separate Discipline

Second language acquisition (SLA) generates and tests the theories concerning the acquisition of languages other than first language (L1) in different contexts. Even if SLA is a nascent discipline, its history is remarkable and helpful to seek the answers to the questions that researchers are raising in the field of second language or foreign language. Based on this context, this article aims to recount the history of the burgeoning discipline that heavily draws from numerous disciplines like linguistics, psychology, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and so on. To achieve the objective, document analysis method has been used. The analysis and interpretation of the available documents exhibit that the traces of SLA were observed in the studies that address the issue of language transfer. Specifically, the diachronic study proves that the development of the discipline has undergone three evolving phases like background, formative, and developmental. The background phase caters for behaviourism, contrastive analysis hypothesis, and the attacks on the fundamental premises of behaviourism. The formative phase deals with Chomsky’s revolutionary steps, error analysis, interlanguane theory, morpheme order studies, and the Krashen’s monitor model that opened up the avenues for further studies of SLA. The developmental phase recounts various studies that have consolidated SLA as a separate discipline.

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