The acquisition of differential object marking in Spanish by Romanian speakers

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvina Montrul
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Language Transfer ◽  
Differential Object Marking ◽  
Written Production ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Object Marking ◽  
Advanced Proficiency ◽  
Ultimate Attainment ◽  
Acceptability Judgment

Abstract The obligatory use of the preposition ‘a’ with animate, specific direct objects in Spanish (Juan conoce a María “Juan knows Maria”) is a well-known instance of Differential Object Marking (dom). This study investigates the acquisition of dom by native speakers of Romanian learning Spanish. Spanish and Romanian have dom lexicalized in the prepositions ‘a’ (Spanish) and in ‘pe’ (Romanian). In the two languages dom is regulated by animacy and specificity. Thirty-two native speakers of Spanish and 36 Romanian-speaking learners of Spanish with advanced proficiency completed a written production, a written comprehension, and an acceptability judgment task. The results show that, in general, and unlike what has been found for English-speaking learners of Spanish, advanced Romanian learners of Spanish are successful at acquiring the feature specification and distribution of dom in Spanish. The findings are discussed with respect to the nature of ultimate attainment as a function of language transfer.

The processing of case in near-native Spanish

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill Jegerski
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
Differential Object Marking ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
Case Marker ◽  
Object Marking ◽  
Case Markers ◽  
Ditransitive Constructions

This article reports a study that sought to determine whether non-native sentence comprehension can show sensitivity to two different types of Spanish case marking. Sensitivity to case violations was generally more robust with indirect objects in ditransitive constructions than with differential object marking of animate direct objects, even among native speakers of Spanish, which probably reflects linguistic differences in the two types of case. In addition, the overall outcome of two experiments shows that second language (L2) processing can integrate case information, but that, unlike with native processing, attention to a case marker may depend on the presence of a preverbal clitic as an additional cue to the types of postverbal arguments that might occur in a stimulus. Specifically, L2 readers showed no sensitivity to differential object marking with a in the absence of clitics in the first experiment, with stimuli such as Verónica visita al/el presidente todos los meses ‘Veronica visits the[ACC/NOM]president every month’, but the L2 readers in the second experiment showed native-like sensitivity to the same marker when the object it marked was doubled by the clitic lo, as in Verónica lo visita al/el presidente todos los meses. With indirect objects, on the other hand, sensitivity to case markers was native-like in both experiments, although indirect objects were also always doubled by the preverbal clitic le. The apparent first language / second language contrast suggests differences in processing strategy, whereby non-native processing of morphosyntax may rely more on the predictability of forms than does native processing.

Examining the impact of task demands on morphological variability in native and non-native Spanish*

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 192-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz López Prego ◽  
Alison Gabriele
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Morphological Variability ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Number Agreement ◽  
Grammaticality Judgment ◽  
Perfect Performance ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
The Impact

The study tests representational and computational accounts of morphological variability in English-speaking learners of Spanish by examining performance on gender and number agreement under different task demands. Second language (L2) learners took either a Speeded grammaticality judgment task (GJT) or an Untimed GJT. The tasks targeted agreement violations of two types: errors in the use of ‘default’ morphology and errors involving ‘feature clashes’ (McCarthy, 2008). In addition, three groups of native speakers took the Speeded GJT at three different presentation rates to examine whether native speakers under a processing burden perform similarly to learners. Natives in the fastest speed performed better with feature clash errors for both gender and number. Learners showed the same pattern for number, but performed better with default errors in gender, suggesting different effects of processing demands for properties unique to the L2. On the Untimed GJT, a subset of advanced learners showed perfect performance with both gender and number.

Present/future tense variation in contemporary Italian

Revue Romane ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-40
Author(s):  
Mark R. Hoff
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Mixed Effects ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Forced Choice ◽  
Future Tense ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
The Future ◽  
Present Tense ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
Acceptability Judgment

Abstract According to normative descriptions of Italian future-framed adverbial clauses, the future tense is the only option (Quando verrai [F], ti presterò il libro ‘When you come, I’ll lend you the book’). However, the present tense may also be used (Quando vieni [P], ti presto il libro). I demonstrate that choice and acceptance of the present in future-framed adverbials are conditioned by the speaker’s presumption of settledness; that is, in every future world compatible with the speaker’s beliefs the eventuality necessarily occurs. The data come from an online questionnaire consisting of a forced-choice and an acceptability judgment task completed by 429 native speakers of Italian, and were analyzed using mixed-effects regression. Results show that the present is chosen most and rated highest when the future eventuality is presumed settled ([+certain, +immediate, +temporally specific]). These findings demonstrate that speakers use the present to express confidence in the realization of future eventualities.

Genericity in third language English: Acquisition pattern and transfer in ultimate attainment

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 266-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdelkader Hermas
Keyword(s):  
Noun Phrase ◽  
First Language ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
Third Language ◽  
Bare Plurals ◽  
Existential Interpretation ◽  
Sentence Level ◽  
Ultimate Attainment ◽  
Acceptability Judgment

This study investigates the acquisition of genericity in advanced third language (L3) English. The learners are first language (L1) Moroccan Arabic–second language (L2) French adults. They completed an acceptability judgment task testing the interpretation of five count nominal types in noun phrase (NP)-level and sentence-level genericity: definite, indefinite and bare singulars, definite and bare plurals. The study defines the generic or non-generic status of every NP form in the learners’ L3 interlanguage. The results show that the L3 learners are target-like on the generic interpretation of bare plurals, although these are strictly existential in their native language and illicit in L2 French. Definite and bare singulars do not pose any difficulty either. In contrast, non-facilitative L1 transfer induces the generic interpretation of definite plurals and restricts indefinite singulars to the existential interpretation. The results show that the L3 learners do not distinguish NP-level from sentence-level genericity, reflecting L1 Arabic grammar where the two merge. They use the same pattern of NP types for the two types. Thus, knowledge of genericity in L3 English is a patchwork of target-like and non-target-like exponents.

Delay in the acquisition of Differential Object Marking by Spanish monolingual and bilingual teenagers

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Guijarro-Fuentes ◽  
Acrisio Pires ◽  
Will Nediger
Keyword(s):  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Semantic Features ◽  
Differential Object Marking ◽  
Test Items ◽  
Feature Reassembly ◽  
Feature Based ◽  
Vulnerability Hypothesis ◽  
Object Marking

Aims and Objectives/Purpose/Research Questions: This study investigated the acquisition of Spanish Differential Object Marking (DOM) by bilingual and monolingual Spanish teenagers, evaluating to which extent their knowledge of DOM can be explained by different theories of acquisition. Design/Methodology/Approach: Two experiments with bilingual and monolingual Spanish teenagers (ages 10 to 15) were conducted. The experiments included an Elicited Production Completion Task, in which a space was to either be filled with an object marker or left blank, and a Context-Matching Acceptability Judgment Task. Data and Analysis: 54 subjects (44 bilinguals and 10 monolinguals) were tested. For both tasks, there were 6 conditions testing different syntactic–semantic features that trigger DOM (test items n = 42 in each task). The data were analysed with linear regressions and repeated measures analyses of variance. Findings/Conclusions: This study’s results show that bilingual teenagers do not demonstrate significant differences from age-matched monolinguals in their competence regarding the syntactic–semantic properties of DOM. Both groups are below ceiling in showing evidence of knowledge about all the syntactic–semantic features involved in DOM, indicating the possibility of a significant delay beyond childhood in their acquisition. Originality: There are few previous studies on the acquisition of DOM, and none which consider the full range of features and specific population considered here. Work by Montrul focuses on the animacy feature, while Guijarro-Fuentes considers the full range of features, but for adult L2 learners of Spanish. Significance/Implications: This study shows that the Interface Vulnerability Hypothesis, the Feature Reassembly Hypothesis, the Full Access/Full Transfer Hypothesis and the Interpretability Hypothesis have limitations in explaining its results. Instead, a feature-based approach is proposed in which the specification of features beyond animacy raises difficulties for the acquisition of DOM until late childhood.

The syntax and interpretation of embedded null subjects in Chinese, and their acquisition by English-speaking learners

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 191-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy Xia Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Judgment Task ◽  
Minimalist Program ◽  
Null Subjects ◽  
Null Subject ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
The Government ◽  
Advanced Proficiency ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Matrix Subject

This article reports an investigation of embedded null subjects in both L1 and L2 Chinese. Chinese null embedded subjects can refer either to a matrix subject or to a discourse entity. In the Government-Binding (GB) framework, these two possibilities resulted from the null subject being either pro or a variable. Neither pro nor a variable is compatible with the assumptions of the more recent Minimalist Program, however. This article proposes an alternative account for null embedded subjects in Chinese that is consistent with the Minimalist Program: deletion of the anaphor ziji and deletion of a topic under identity with appropriate antecedents. It then reports a study of knowledge of such deletion in the Chinese of L2 speakers. Although the existing literature has found that embedded null subjects are allowed by L2 learners of Chinese at early stages of development, no research has investigated whether they are interpreted in a target-like way by L2 speakers. A picture judgment task and a written interpretation task showed that English-speaking learners of high-intermediate proficiency in Chinese allow an embedded null subject to refer to the matrix subject, but not to a discourse entity. It is only at advanced proficiency that L2 speakers allow co-reference with both a matrix subject and a discourse entity. The implications of these results are discussed.

The diffusion of impositional innovations in the Estonian object-marking system

Diachronica ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 324-344
Author(s):  
Martin Ehala
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovations ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
School Students ◽  
Causal Factors ◽  
Grammaticality Judgment ◽  
Object Marking ◽  
Weak Contact

This study aims to specify to what extent the variation introduced in the Estonian object-marking system by Russian-dominant Estonian L2 speakers is spreading to the native usage of Estonian. 669 secondary school students completed a written production task and a grammaticality judgment task on object marking. The results indicate that the object-marking variation is contact-induced and that the group of fluent bilinguals acts as a bridge for impositional innovations to enter and to be accepted by native speakers. The findings also suggest that multiple causal forces influence the diffusion of innovations. While any single causal factor may drive diffusion if it is strong enough, the process is greatly facilitated when different causal factors contribute to the same direction. In this case, fairly weak contact is sufficient to induce diffusion.

scholarly journals Frequency effects of L2 English on the processing of the passive in L1 Brazilian Portuguese / Efeitos de frequência da L2 inglês no processamento da passiva em L2 português brasileiro

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 215
Author(s):  
Mara Passos Guimarães
Keyword(s):  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Task Type ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Frequency Effects ◽  
Passive Construction ◽  
Oral Production ◽  
Written Production ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Acceptability Judgment

Abstract: This study investigated the influence of experience with L2 English in the processing of passives in L1 Brazilian Portuguese (BP) by high-proficiency bilinguals and BP monolinguals. Based on the premise that high L2 proficiency is indicative of widespread representational sharing (BERNOLET; HARTSUIKER; PICKERING, 2013) and on the observation that the passive is significantly more productive in English than in BP (GUIMARÃES; SOUZA, 2016), bilinguals’ processing of the construction is expected to be facilitated by L2 exposure. Subjects performed an acceptability judgment task and two sentence elicitation tasks. Both groups considered the passive as acceptable as the active, with no significant differences between the two groups’ judgments of the passive. Differences were found in the oral production of passives between bilinguals and monolinguals, but not in written production: task type influenced the production of monolinguals in that passive productivity fell significantly from the written to the oral task. The difference in productivity levels of the passive between bilinguals and monolinguals is attributed to bilinguals’ exposure to the construction’s distributional properties in the L2, supporting models of bilingual shared representations (HARTSUIKER; PICKERING; VELTKAMP, 2004).Keywords: bilingualism; frequency effects; L2 proficiency; passive construction; acceptability judgment; written production; oral production.Resumo: Este estudo investigou a influência da experiência com L2 inglês no processamento de passivas em L1 português brasileiro (PB) por bilíngues de alta proficiência e monolíngues do PB. Baseando-se na premissa de que alta proficiência em L2 é indicativa de compartilhamento generalizado de representações (BERNOLET; HARTSUIKER; PICKERING, 2013) e na observação de que a passiva é significativamente mais produtiva em inglês do que no PB (GUIMARÃES; SOUZA, 2016)propomos uma visão construcional da construção, na qual ela é tomada como entidade teórica independente. Apesar de sintaticamente congruente no português brasileiro (PB, espera-se que o processamento da construção por bilíngues seja facilitado pela exposição à L2.  A compreensão da construção foi observada através de uma tarefa de julgamento de aceitabilidade de sentenças, enquanto a produção foi observada a partir de duas tarefas de descrição de imagens (uma escrita e outra oral). Tanto bilíngues quando monolíngues julgaram a passiva tão aceitável quanto a ativa, sem diferença significativa nos julgamentos entre os dois perfis linguísticos. Apesar de as passivas terem sido menos frequentes do que as ativas nas tarefas de produção, o tipo de tarefa influenciou o número de ocorrências de passivas dentre os monolíngues: sua produção foi similar à dos bilíngues na tarefa escrita, mas significativamente menor na tarefa oral. A diferença nos níveis de produtividade de passivas entre bilíngues e monolíngues é atribuída à exposição dos bilíngues às propriedades distribucionais da construção na L2, corroborando modelos de compartilhamento representacional bilíngue (HARTSUIKER; PICKERING; VELTKAMP, 2004).Palavras-chave: bilinguismo; efeitos de frequência; proficiência em L2; construção passiva; julgamento de aceitabilidade; produção escrita; produção oral.

Utilizing electropalatography to train palatalized versus unpalatalized consonant productions by native speakers of American English learning Russian

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane F. Hacking ◽  
Bruce L. Smith ◽  
Eric M. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
American English ◽  
Identification Accuracy ◽  
Central Feature ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Russian Speakers ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Second Formant ◽  
Advanced Proficiency

Previous research has shown that English-speaking learners of Russian, even those with advanced proficiency, often have not acquired the contrast between palatalized and unpalatalized consonants, which is a central feature of the Russian consonant system. The present study examined whether training utilizing electropalatography (EPG) could help a group of Russian learners achieve more native-like productions of this contrast. Although not all subjects showed significant improvements, on average, the Russian learners showed an increase from pre- to post-training in the second formant frequency of vowels preceding palatalized consonants, thus enhancing their contrast between palatalized and unpalatalized consonants. To determine whether these acoustic differences were associated with increased identification accuracy, three native Russian speakers listened to all pre- and post-training productions. A modest increase in identification accuracy was observed. These results suggest that even short-term EPG training can be an effective intervention with adult L2 learners.

scholarly journals English Resumptive Pronouns are More Common where Gaps are Less Acceptable

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Morgan ◽  
Matthew Wagers
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Resumptive Pronouns ◽  
Written Production ◽  
Production Processes ◽  
Production Study ◽  
Judgment Study ◽  
Syntactic Dependency ◽  
Acceptability Judgment

English resumptive pronouns, as in "...the flowers that I don't know where IT came from," are enigmatic in that they are judged to be unacceptable, which would indicate that they are ungrammatical, but are regularly produced by native speakers, which is typically taken to indicate grammaticality. We report results from two studies: an acceptability judgment study on sentences with resumptive pronouns or gaps ("...the flowers that I don't know where _came from"), and a written production study which elicited sentences that required participants to produce either a gap or a resumptive pronoun in various island and non-island domains. We find that, in a given structure, resumptive pronouns are produced at a rate that negatively correlates with the acceptability of the corresponding structure with a gap in it. That is, where gaps are less acceptable, resumptive pronouns are more common. To account for these data, we offer a model of English production processes as sensitive to the acceptability of a planned utterance. When the system detects impending unacceptability, it may give up on the global plan to form a syntactic dependency. When this happens, a gap is no longer licensed and a pronoun is used to satisfy local subcategorization constraints.

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