Acquisition of time and locative phrases in Mandarin Chinese

2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Hongyi Jia ◽  
Feng-hsi Liu
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Structural Complexity ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Complex Time ◽  
Form Function ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Type Frequency ◽  
Beginning Learners ◽  
L1 English

In this study we explore the role played by input saliency in L2 acquisition of the time phrase and the locative phrase in Mandarin Chinese. In Chinese the time phrase that indicates when an event takes place and the locative phrase that indicates where an event takes place are similar in that neither can occur after the verb. L1 English L2 learners of Chinese have to learn to place both phrases pre-verbally. Our goal is to find out whether learners acquire the placement of the two types of phrases equally well. On the basis of input saliency measured in terms of form-function mapping and type frequency, we predicted that the time phrase will be easier to acquire than the locative phrase. We then conducted an experiment and put the hypothesis to test on learners at an early stage. The findings largely support our hypothesis: Simple time phrases are easier to acquire than simple locative phrases for beginning learners. In addition, the same group of learners had difficulty with both complex time phrases and complex locative phrases, suggesting that structural complexity also plays a role.

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.

L2 acquisition of the bei passive in Mandarin Chinese: A constructionist approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-198
Author(s):  
Chen Chen ◽  
Feng-hsi Liu
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Passive Construction ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Constructionist Approach ◽  
High Level ◽  
And Function

Abstract A major claim in the constructionist approach to language acquisition is that grammar is learned by pairings of form and function. In this study we test this claim by examining how L2 learners of Mandarin Chinese acquire the bei passive construction, a construction that is associated with the meaning of adversity. Our goal is to find out whether L2 learners make the association between the passive and adversity. Participants performed a sentence choice task under four conditions: an adversative context with an adversative verb, an adversative context with a neutral verb, a neutral context with a neutral verb and a positive context with a neutral verb. In each context participants were asked to select either the bei passive construction or its active counterpart. We found that high-level learners consistently chose the bei passive significantly more in adversative contexts than in non-adversative contexts regardless of the connotations of the verbs, while low-level learners made the distinction half of the time. In addition, while low-level learners did not yet associate adversity with the form of the construction, high-level learners did. We conclude that L2 learners do learn the bei passive construction as a form-meaning pair. The constructionist approach is supported.

scholarly journals A Longitudinal Study in the L2 Acquisition of the French TAM System

Languages ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
Dalila Ayoun
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Repeated Exposure ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Main Research ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Interface Hypothesis ◽  
L1 English

Empirical studies investigating the second language (L2) acquisition of tense, aspect, mood/modality (TAM) systems offer an enlightening window into L2 learners’ linguistic competence because they involve all areas of a language, making them ideal testing grounds for the Interface hypothesis and ultimately whether adult learners may achieve a native-like TAM system. This longitudinal study used a pre-test, repeated exposure, delayed post-test design guided by a main research question—does the L2 learners’ interlanguage display contrasts and systematicity? Sixteen L2 French learners—L1 English (n = 9), HL French (n = 4), and HL Spanish (n = 3) speakers enrolled in a fourth-year college Film and Fiction class read five novels that were extensively discussed in class and used as essay topics, thus providing controlled, repeated exposure to oral and written input over a semester. Qualitative and quantitative findings reveal a highly accurate production of several forms, but with an over-reliance on the indicative present. The learners’ TAM system appears to be contrasted and varied, but unbalanced. Findings regarding the Interface hypothesis are mixed.

scholarly journals Japanese Pronoun Acquisition by L1 English Adults: Further Evidence from a Coreference Judgment Task

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 603
Author(s):  
Carlos L. Pimentel
Keyword(s):  
Early Stage ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Advanced Level ◽  
Overt Pronoun ◽  
Language Study ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Overt Pronoun Constraint ◽  
L1 English

This paper presents the results of a study investigating L2 learners’ interpretations of Japanese overt and empty pronouns in a coreference judgment task. The results show counterevidence to Kanno’s (1997, 1998) claim that learners at an early stage of language study obey the Overt Pronoun Constraint (Montalbetti, 1984), Furthermore, it supports evidence by Masumoto (2008), Pimentel and Nakayama (2012a) showing that learners at the early levels of Japanese learning do not show a knowledge of the constraint, but that this knowledge is acquired by the time they reach an advanced level of study.

Triple operations of rendaku processing: Native Chinese and Korean speakers learning Japanese

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katsuo Tamaoka ◽  
Kyoko Hayakawa ◽  
Timothy J. Vance
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Mental Lexicon ◽  
Active Principle ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Grammatical Knowledge ◽  
Rule Based ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Lexical Learning ◽  
Korean Speakers

AbstractThe present study investigated a hypothesis proposing the involvement of three operations in processing Japanese sequential voicing (rendaku): a lexical-specific operation, an etymology-specific operation, and a rule-based operation. Second language (L2) learners of Japanese are in the process of constructing an L2 mental lexicon of Japanese, and this lexicon is assumed to display a clear contrast between rule-based and etymology-specific occurrences of rendaku in early-stage learning and lexical-specific rendaku at later stages as a result of memory-based lexical learning. Native Chinese (N=32) and Korean (N=32) speakers learning Japanese, matched for their lexical and grammatical knowledge, avoided applying rendaku in compounds with a medial voiced obstruent in the second element, indicating that Lyman’s Law is an active principle even in L2 acquisition. Both L2 learner groups also showed sensitivity to lexical strata by distinguishing Japanese-origin words (wago) from Sino-Japanese words (kango) and alphabetic loanwords (gairaigo). Thus, as factors of rendaku processing, Lyman’s Law is considered rule-based while lexical stratum is considered etymology-specific. In contrast, both L2 learner groups showed a low occurrence of rendaku both for Lyman’s Law exceptions (i.e., X+basigo) and for infrequent or rare words (i.e., X+zyootyuu). These instances can be considered memory-based, lexical-specific rendaku, which L2 learners must acquire as individual lexical items. This study indicated that all three described operations were used by L2 Japanese speakers to process rendaku.

Acquiring topic structures in Mandarin Chinese

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng-hsi Liu
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Advanced Stage ◽  
Structure Building ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
L2 Chinese ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Grammatical Judgment ◽  
L1 English

AbstractPrevious studies suggest that Chinese topic structures, especially base-generated structures, are difficult for L1 English L2 Chinese learners, and only at the very advanced stage do learners perform at the target-like level. Yuan (1995) hypothesizes that non-advanced L2 learners may have difficulty adding a topic node to the subject-predicate structure and that they tend to interpret the topic as the subject. The present study tests this hypothesis and seeks to find out if structure building is accessible to L2 learners before they reach an advanced stage. A grammatical judgment experiment was conducted on several types of topic structures. Results show that lower-level subjects behaved on a par with native speakers on certain types of topic structures. This result suggests that L2 learners are able to build new structures at an early stage.

L2 acquisition of the progressive marker zai in Mandarin Chinese

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng-hsi Liu,
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Acquisition Process ◽  
Aspect Hypothesis ◽  
Lexical Aspect ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
L1 Influence

AbstractTwo studies on L2 acquisition of the progressive marker zai in Mandarin Chinese by native English speakers were conducted to investigate the interaction between L1 influence and the congruence of lexical aspect and tense-aspect morphology, as formulated in the aspect hypothesis. The two factors make opposite predictions with respect to the early stage and the acquisition process. The findings from a judgment task and a production task show that the observed pattern is neither predicted by the aspect hypothesis alone nor entirely conditioned by L1 influence. Rather, it is the result of both forces at work. At the early stage zai is associated with activities and accomplishments involving goal or distance. In the acquisition process, both widening and narrowing of predicate types are observed. The findings also show that the L1 effect does not disappear at the same time, but proceeds in stages. In the case of zai marking, the L1 effect weakening process is governed by the strength of event ending that is part of the meaning of the predicates.

scholarly journals ADVANCED SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS’ PERCEPTION OF LEXICAL TONE CONTRASTS

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Pelzl ◽  
Ellen F. Lau ◽  
Taomei Guo ◽  
Robert DeKeyser
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Lexical Tone ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Disyllabic Words ◽  
Beginning Learners ◽  
Mandarin Tones

AbstractIt is commonly believed that second language (L2) acquisition of lexical tones presents a major challenge for learners from nontonal language backgrounds. This belief is somewhat at odds with research that consistently shows beginning learners making quick gains through focused tone training, as well as research showing advanced learners achieving near-native performance in tone identification tasks. However, other long-term difficulties related to L2 tone perception may persist, given the additional demands of word recognition and the effects of context. In the current study, we used behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) experiments to test whether perception of Mandarin tones is difficult for advanced L2 learners in isolated syllables, disyllabic words in isolation, and disyllabic words in sentences. Stimuli were more naturalistic and challenging than in previous research. While L2 learners excelled at tone identification in isolated syllables, they performed with very low accuracy in rejecting disyllabic tonal nonwords in isolation and in sentences. We also report ERP data from critical mismatching words in sentences; while L2 listeners showed no significant differences in responses in any condition, trends were not inconsistent with the overall pattern in behavioral results of less sensitivity to tone mismatches than to semantic or segmental mismatches. We interpret these results as evidence that Mandarin tones are in fact difficult for advanced L2 learners. However, the difficulty is not due primarily to an inability to perceive tones phonetically, but instead is driven by the need to process tones lexically, especially in multisyllable words.

‘I me Mine’ The Acquisition of Dutch Pronominal Possessives by L1 Children, L2 Children and L2 Adults

2008 ◽  
Vol 155 ◽  
pp. 23-52
Author(s):  
Elma Nap-Kolhoff ◽  
Peter Broeder
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
Young Children ◽  
First Language ◽  
Spontaneous Speech ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Possessive Constructions ◽  
Speech Data ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Dutch Language ◽  
L1 Acquisition

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.

Audiovisual perception of expressions of Mandarin Chinese social affects by French L2 learners

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Lu ◽  
Véronique Aubergé ◽  
Nicolas Audibert ◽  
Albert Rilliard
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Audiovisual Perception
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