On the “wrong-headedness” of generative entrenchment

1998 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-35
Author(s):  
BONNIE D. SCHWARTZ

The main thesis Pienemann puts forward is that while L1 acquisition and L2 acquisition of a particular language (e.g. German) exhibit non-parallel paths of development, such a difference does not entail that the processing resources claimed to be responsible for transitioning from one stage to the next are any different in the two situations. The cause of the difference in routes, he suggests, is the difference in departure points. In the German case at hand, L1 acquirers begin with an SOV grammar, while L2 acquisition, according to Pienemann, starts off SVO (“canonical order”). “Generative entrenchment” of SVO is what makes the ensuing development distinct from that of L1 German: “once a decision has been made and a new structure has been added, it is very costly, if not impossible, for the developmental process to move to a different developmental path.” I think there's something very right about this general picture – but also that part of it is “wrong-headed.”

2008 ◽  
Vol 155 ◽  
pp. 23-52
Author(s):  
Elma Nap-Kolhoff ◽  
Peter Broeder

Abstract This study compares pronominal possessive constructions in Dutch first language (L1) acquisition, second language (L2) acquisition by young children, and untutored L2 acquisition by adults. The L2 learners all have Turkish as L1. In longitudinal spontaneous speech data for four L1 learners, seven child L2 learners, and two adult learners, remarkable differences and similarities between the three learner groups were found. In some respects, the child L2 learners develop in a way that is similar to child L1 learners, for instance in the kind of overgeneralisations that they make. However, the child L2 learners also behave like adult L2 learners; i.e., in the pace of the acquisition process, the frequency and persistence of non-target constructions, and the difficulty in acquiring reduced pronouns. The similarities between the child and adult L2 learners are remarkable, because the child L2 learners were only two years old when they started learning Dutch. L2 acquisition before the age of three is often considered to be similar to L1 acquisition. The findings might be attributable to the relatively small amount of Dutch language input the L2 children received.


Author(s):  
Kazuya Saito ◽  
Hui Sun ◽  
Magdalena Kachlicka ◽  
John Robert Carvajal Alayo ◽  
Tatsuya Nakata ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT In this study, we propose a hypothesis that domain-general auditory processing, a perceptual anchor of L1 acquisition, can serve as the foundation of successful post-pubertal L2 learning. This hypothesis was tested with 139 post-pubertal L2 immersion learners by linking individual differences in auditory discrimination across multiple acoustic dimensions to the segmental, prosodic, lexical, and morphosyntactic dimensions of L2 proficiency. Overall, auditory processing was a primary determinant of a range of participants’ proficiency scores, even after biographical factors (experience, age) were controlled for. The link between audition and proficiency was especially clear for L2 learners who had passed beyond the initial phase of immersion (length of residence > 1 year). The findings suggest that greater auditory processing skill benefits post-pubertal L2 learners immersed in naturalistic settings for a sufficient period of time by allowing them to better utilize received input, which results in greater language gains and leads to more advanced L2 proficiency in the long run (similar to L1 acquisition).


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1961 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-213
Author(s):  
Helen I. Glueck ◽  
James M. Sutherland

A case of factor-VII deficiency of a congenital nature in a Negro male child has been reported. As far as can be determined, this is the first case reported in this race. The defect was detected at 6 hours of age. Prothrombin, as contrasted to factor VII, after initially low levels normally found in infants, rose to adult levels. The patient's one-stage prothrombin time has ranged between 25 to 35 second (normal 11 to 12 seconds). In spite of this, he has never shown any manifestations of hemorrhage. The patient's family was studied and the findings indicate that the patient's defect represented a homozygous state and that both parents with a less severe deficiency were heterozygous for the trait. The defect is an autosomal disorder directly inherited. It is clinically apparent and easily detected only in the homozygous state. The heterozygous state is characterized by a very slight prolongation of the one-stage prothrombin time, the difference from the control value being so minimal as to be overlooked. In one subject studied, an aunt of the propositus, the quantitative defect (42% of normal) could not be regularly detected by the usual methods. Only by using the plasma of the propositus as the test plasma, was the defect in her plasma detected, thus explaining the transmission of the trait to her offspring. These findings explain the difficulties previously encountered in understanding the inheritance of the disorder.


2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvina Montrul ◽  
Silvia Perpiñán

The acquisition of the aspectual difference between the preterit and imperfect in the past tense and the acquisition of the contrast between subjunctive and indicative mood are classic problem areas in second language (L2) acquisition of Spanish by English-speaking learners (Collentine, 1995, 1998, 2003; Salaberry, 1999; Slabakova & Montrul, 2002; Terrell, Baycroft & Perrone, 1987). Similarly, Spanish heritage speakers in the U.S exhibit simplification of the preterit/imperfect contrast and incomplete acquisition/attrition of subjunctive morphology (Merino, 1983; Montrul, 2002, 2007; Potowski, Jegerski & Morgan-Short, 2009; Silva-Corvalán, 1994). This raises the question of whether the linguistic knowledge of a developing L2 learner is similar to incomplete L1 acquisition in heritage language (HL) learners. Because heritage speakers are exposed to the heritage language from infancy whereas L2 learners begin exposure much later, Au et al. (2002, 2008) have claimed that heritage speakers are linguistically superior to L2 learners only in phonology but not in morphosyntax. The present study reexamines this claim by focusing on the interpretation of tense, aspect and mood (TAM) morphology in 60 instructed HL learners and 60 L2 learners ranging from low to advanced proficiency in Spanish. Results of four written tasks showed differences between the groups both in tense and aspect and in mood morphology, depending on proficiency levels. Implications of these findings for heritage language instruction are discussed.


Author(s):  
A. V. Syrkina ◽  
I. E. Pashkova ◽  
A. R. Monakhov ◽  
O. V. Silina ◽  
E. V. Chekletsova ◽  
...  

Background. In young children, the most common liver disease leading to transplantation is biliary atresia. Liver transplantation has fundamentally improved the survival rate of children with biliary atresia. Studies on developmental outcomes in children are mostly limited to small samples; there are no such studies in the Russian Federation.Objective: to determine the cognitive outcomes in children undergoing one-stage or two-stage surgical treatment of biliary atresia.Materials and Methods. 83 children were divided into groups: 36 children underwent transplantation without previous surgical interventions (group 1), 47 children underwent the Kasai palliative portoenterostomy (group 2). Inclusion criteria: 24 months of age or younger at the moment of transplantation, no medical history of neurological pathology. All children were examined before transplantation and at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after liver transplantation. Psychomotor development was assessed using the Griffiths Psychomotor Development Scale for children under 24 months (translated by E.S. Keshishian), the Griffiths Intellectual Development Scale for children aged 2 to 8 years, and the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised, for children 16-30 months old.Results. All children had developmental delays at the time of transplantation. Up to 50% of the children had signs of cachexia, with a shoulder circumference of less than 3 percentile. Only two children showed obvious hepatic encephalopathy in the form of depressed consciousness. After liver transplantation, 94% of group 1 children recovered their preoperative psychomotor development levels, and only 68% in group 2 made these gains. At 3 and 6 months after transplantation, about 80% of group 1 children showed normal psychomotor development, whereas in group 2, only 61% did. By 12 months after liver transplantation, the difference between the groups was more evident: 83.3% of group 1 children and only 53.2% of group 2 children were developing according to age. The difference between the groups was statistically significant (p < 0.05).Conclusion. Children who received one-stage treatment of biliary atresia and underwent liver transplantation have better neuropsychological development within a year after surgery than children with two-stage surgical treatment.


1997 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-33
Author(s):  
Malcolm A. Finney

This article appraises the effects of gap position and discourse information in the acquisition of purpose clause constructions (PCs) by adult Francophones learning English as L2. L1 acquisition studies reveal children having little difficulty interpreting a PC with a subject gap only (SPC) while a PC with an object gap (OPC) has been problematic to interpret. This may be the result of the number of syntactic operations–including operator movement–involved in its derivation plus lexically specified restrictions on the matrix verb. There are grounds for hypothesizing a late emergence of OPCs in English for French speakers. They are not allowed in French and, in addition to lexical restrictions associated with the choice of matrix verb, are marked semantically and typologically; an OPC with a prepositional object gap is additionally syntactically marked. This may thus result in the late acquisition of OPCs relative to SPCs. An additional hypothesis addresses whether L2 learners are adept at using discourse clues to interpret syntactic structure. Results indicate initial difficulty interpreting only PCs with prepositional object gaps, providing support for the hypothesis that syntactically (structurally) marked constructions may create initial learning difficulty in L2 acquisition.


Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Barbara Aniela Bonar

In this paper, I explain the problem of the dreamer in the Zhuangzi. I aim to show that no difference exists between dreaming states and waking states because we have a fluctual relationship with these two stages. In both, “we are dreaming.” Put another way, from a psychoanalytical point of view, one stage penetrates the other and vice versa. The difference between dreaming and non-dreaming disappears because dreaming is a structural process. Also, from a psychoanalytical perspective, all confirmations and negations about dreams and non-dreams leads to one point: the being, or rather the becoming, of the subject. How does this solve the problem of the True Person/True Human Being (zhenren真人)? Does such a person have dreams or not? Does the True Person sleep without dreams, as we find in the Zhuangzi? From a psychoanalytic perspective, this is not possible. To prove this, I will present few passages from the Zhuangzi and offer a psychoanalytic explanation of them based on Jacques Lacan’s theory of the fantasy and desire.


1975 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. M. Bas ◽  
A. D. Muller ◽  
H. G. Hemker

Five different ways of estimating prothrombin are applied to the plasma of persons receiving vitamin K antagonists, to know: the one-stage assay, the two-stage assay, the Echis Carinatus Venom assay, the coagulase-reacting factor assay and the immunological assay. The Protein Induced by Vitamin K Absence analogous to prothrombin (PIVKA-II) can be shown to be co-estimated in all but the one-stage assay. There are minor differences, however, between the other four tests. The most practical way to assess both prothrombin and PIVKA-II seems to be the coagulase-reacting factor assay. The difference between the one-stage assay and the others can be explained on basis of the new data on the role of vitamin K in prothrombin biosynthesis. The differences between the other tests are smaller and remain to be explained.


2009 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 648-653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Fudalej ◽  
Maria Hortis-Dzierzbicka ◽  
Zofia Dudkiewicz ◽  
Gunvor Semb

Objective: To compare the dental arch relationship following one-stage repair of unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) in Warsaw with a matched sample of patients treated by the Oslo Cleft Team. Material: Study models of 61 children (mean age, 11.2; SD, 1.7) with a nonsyndromic complete UCLP consecutively treated with one-stage closure of the cleft at 9.2 months (range, 6.0 to 15.8 months; SD, 2.0) by the Warsaw Cleft Team at the Institute of Mother and Child, Poland, were compared with a sample drawn from a consecutive series of patients with UCLP treated by the Oslo Cleft Team and matched for age, gender, and soft tissue band. Methods: The study models were given random numbers to blind their origin. Four examiners rated the dental arch relationship using the GOSLON Yardstick. The strength of agreement of rating was assessed with weighted Kappa statistics. An independent t-test was carried out to compare the GOSLON scores between Warsaw and Oslo samples, and Fisher's exact tests were performed to evaluate the difference of distribution of the GOSLON scores. Results: The intrarater and interrater agreements were high (K ≥ .800). No difference in dental arch relationship between Warsaw and Oslo groups was found (mean GOSLON score  =  2.68 and 2.65 for Warsaw and Oslo samples, respectively). The distribution of the GOSLON grades was similar in both groups. Conclusions: The dental arch relationship following one-stage repair (Warsaw protocol) was comparable with the outcome of the Oslo Cleft Team's protocol.


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 930-931 ◽  
Author(s):  
REBECCA REH ◽  
MARIA ARREDONDO ◽  
JANET F. WERKER

Mayberry and Kluender (2017) present an important and compelling argument that in order to understand critical periods (CPs) in language acquisition, it is essential to disentangle studies of late first language (L1) acquisition from those of second language (L2) acquisition. Their primary thesis is that timely exposure to an L1 is crucial for establishing language circuitry, thus providing a foundation on which an L2 can build. They note that while there is considerable evidence of interference from the L1 on acquisition of the L2 – especially in late L2 learners (as in our work on cascading influences on phonetic category learning and visual language discrimination, e.g., Werker & Hensch, 2015 and Weikum, Vouloumanos, Navarra, Soto-Faraco, Sebastián-Gallés & Werker, 2013, respectively) – there are other examples of ways in which the L1 can scaffold L2 acquisition. Mayberry and Kluender take this evidence of L1 scaffolding L2 as undermining the value of considering CPs as useful in understanding L2 acquisition.


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