Tweede-Taalverwerving en Universele Grammatica

1988 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 31-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Jordens
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Logical Problem ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Rule System ◽  
Learning Principles

Among researchers in SLA there is currently a debate on wheter or not L2 learners may have access to Universal Grammar. Clahsen & Muysken (1986), for example, claim that this should not be the case. This is because the interlanguage system of L2 learners should contain rules which do not belong to "a possible rule system". Felix (1987), Flynn (1984, 1985) and White (1987), however, claim that the interlanguage system of L2 learners consists of "instantiations of possible rules". Furthermore, L2 learners should possess linguistic knowledge that cannot be related to general learning principles, nor to linguistic knowledge of L1. In the present article evidence from a study by White (1987) with respect to the so-called "logical problem of language acquisition" and from studies by Flynn (1984, 1985) regarding the so-called "logical problem of language development" is examined critically. With regard to the acquisition of the thai-trace effect in L2 English by native speakers of Dutch it can be shown that it is not necessary to assume that L2 learners should have access to Universal Grammar. Similarly, it can be shown that evidence that is interpreted in favour of the resetting of the head-parameters in the L2 English of native speakers of Japanese and Chinese can also be explained alternatively. Methodologically it appears to be problematical to find empirical evidence for the use of Universal Grammar by adult learners of a second language.

scholarly journals Different speakers, different grammars

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewa Dąbrowska
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Inflectional Morphology ◽  
Subordinate Clauses ◽  
General Rules ◽  
Widespread Belief ◽  
Ultimate Attainment

This article reviews several recent studies suggesting that — contrary to a widespread belief — adult monolingual native speakers of the same language do not share the same mental grammar. The studies examined various aspects of linguistic knowledge, including inflectional morphology, passives, quantifiers, and more complex constructions with subordinate clauses. The findings suggest that, in some cases, language learners attend to different cues in the input and end up with different grammars; in others, some speakers extract only fairly specific, ‘local’ generalizations which apply to particular subclasses of items while others acquire more abstract rules which apply ‘across the board’. At least some of these differences are education-related: more educated speakers appear to acquire more general rules, possibly as a result of more varied linguistic experience. These findings have interesting consequences for research on bilingualism, particularly for research on ultimate attainment in second language acquisition, as well as important methodological implications for all language sciences.

scholarly journals Subjacency Violations in Second Language Acquisition: Some Evidence from Chinese Mandarin Speakers of L2 English

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Xia Dai
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Chinese Speakers ◽  
Follow Up Study ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Mandarin Speakers

The literature review shows that many previous studies have used Subjacency to test the availability of UniversalGrammar (UG) in second language acquisition. Schachter (1989) claimed that L2 learners do not have access to UGprinciples, while Hawkins and Chan (1997) suggested that L2 learners had partial availability of UG, for they foundthere was a strong difference between the elementary L2 learners and the advanced L2 learners in judging theungrammaticality of Subjacency violations; that is, the elementary L2 learners owned the highest accuracy. Underthe hypothesis of partially availability of UG in second language acquisition, L2 learners are only able to acquire theproperties instantiated in their L1s. Although they may accept violations of universal constraints, it is only at facevalue; rather the L2 learners develop different syntactic representations from the native speakers. This study has beenundertaken as a follow-up study of Hawkins and Chan (1997), and tested on L1 Mandarin speakers of L2 English injudging the grammaticality of their Subjacency violations. The results of the Grammaticality Judgement Test showthat the accuracy of Chinese speakers in judgement increased with English proficiency and that they rejectedresumptives inside islands as a repair. Contrary to the previous findings, this study provides evidence that UG isavailable in adult second language acquisition.

scholarly journals Second Language Acquisition of the English Dative Alternation by Native Speakers of Arabic

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-88
Author(s):  
Anwar S. Aljadani
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Double Object ◽  
Dative Alternation ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Semantic Properties

Abstract This paper reports on an experimental study that investigates the influence of the disparity between English and Arabic on second language acquisition, namely the phenomenon of the acquisition of the English dative alternation by Arab learners. The disallowance of certain Arabic verbs to occur in the double object dative structure causes difficulty for Arab learners to acquire English as far as the acquisition of the dative alternation is concerned. The experiment is devised to examine whether Arab learners are sensitive to syntactic and semantic properties associated with the English dative alternation. The experiment involved picture tasks with two structures: the prepositional dative structure and the double object dative structure. Overall, the results of the experiment show that the L2 learners failed to acquire the double object dative structure which does not exist in their L1. Based on these results, it is argued that L1 has an important effect on the acquisition of L2.

L2 Grammar and L2 Processing in the Acquisition of Spanish Prepositional Relative Clauses

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 577-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
SILVIA PERPIÑÁN
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Arabic Speakers ◽  
Grammaticality Judgment ◽  
The One

This paper investigates the acquisition of prepositional relative clauses in L2 Spanish by English and Arabic speakers to understand the role of previous linguistic knowledge and Universal Grammar on the one hand, and the relationship between grammatical knowledge and its use in real-time, on the other. An oral production task and an on-line self-paced grammaticality judgment task were analyzed. Results indicated that the acquisition of oblique relative clauses is a problematic area for L2 learners. Divergent results compared to native speakers in production and grammatical intuitions were found; however, L2 reading time data showed the same real-time effects that native speakers had, suggesting that the problems with this construction are not necessarily linked to processing deficits. These results are interpreted as evidence for the ability to apply universal processing principles in a second language, and the relative independence of the processing domain and the production system.

Universal Grammar in the classroom: the effects of formal instruction on second language acquisition

1991 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sascha W. Felix ◽  
Wilfried Weigl
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Second Language ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Learning Situation ◽  
School Students ◽  
Formal Instruction ◽  
L2 Learners

One of the dominating issues in recent second language acquisition research has been the question of whether or not L2 learners have access to principles of Universal Grammar. It seems that currently there is fairly strong evidence both for and against UG-access by L2 learners. Consequently, the question arises what kinds of factors may potentially further or block UG-access and whether such factors can be related to certain properties of the learning environment. In this paper we wish to approach this question by looking at a somewhat extreme learning situation, namely the acquisition (or maybe non-acquisition) of English as a second language by 77 German high school students who learned and were exposed to English exclusively during classroom hours. These students were tested for their ability to correctly judge grammaticality contrasts in English that are standardly attributed to UG principles. The results suggest that - even under a most liberal interpretation - these students did not show any evidence of having UG-access. Rather, they utilized a number of strategies that (a) tied them very tightly to properties of German and (b) prevented them from making any generalizations that went beyond what had been explicitly taught in the classroom.

The acquisition of word order in Dutch and German as L1 and L2

1988 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Jordens
Keyword(s):  
Simple Model ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
First Language ◽  
Linguistic Theory ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
German Word ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
L1 And L2

In a recent paper, Clahsen and Muysken (1986) argue that children acquiring German as their first language have access to the 'move alpha' matrix when constructing a grammar for German. This should explain why children have SOV base order and the rule of verb-fronting from the very beginning. In this paper, it is argued that children's OV utterances cannot be related trans formationally to VO utterances. Initially, children acquire OV and VO with different sets of verbs.Clahsen and Muysken (1986) also claim that interlanguage rules of adult L2 learners are not definable in linguistic theory. Du Plessis et al. (1987) reply to this in arguing that the interlanguage rules of adults acquiring L2 German word order fall within the range of systems permitted by the Headedness parameter, the Proper Government parameter, and the Adjunction parameter. Therefore, these adult learners should have access to Universal Grammar (UG). It is argued here that it is not necessary to make this assumption. The L2-acquisition data can be easily accounted for within a simple model of L1-structural transfer.

Sonority and markedness among onset clusters in the interlanguage of ESL learners

1993 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 234-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred R. Eckman ◽  
Gregory K. Iverson
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Consonant Clusters ◽  
Comprehensive Investigation ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
Second Language Acquisition Theory

This paper is intended as a contribution to an evergrowing body of literature on the role played by principles and parameters of Universal Grammar in second-language acquisition theory. A recent paper by Broselow and Finer (1991) proposes that markedness as defined in terms of the multivalued Minimal Sonority Distance (MSD) parameter is definitive in their subjects' knowledge of certain consonant clusters in syllable onsets. This parameter provides for the characterization of the various types of consonant clusters allowed in the onsets of syllables in different languages. The object of Broselow and Finer's study was to determine whether L2 learners find clusters which are relatively more marked according to the MSD parameter to be more difficult to learn than cluster types which are relatively less marked. The present paper, however, argues that it is typological markedness (Hawkins, 1987) rather than sonority distance per se which better explains L2 learners' knowledge of English clusters in syllable onsets. In line with Clements' (1990) comprehensive investigation of sonority relations within the syllable, this paper argues that markedness alone suffices to account for the observed interlanguage patterns. Using Clements' principles, which themselves actually follow from the overall theory of markedness, the interlanguage obstruent results reported by Broselow and Finer fall out automatically.

A formal model of learning L2 prosodic phonology

1994 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Archibald
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Formal Model ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Negative Evidence ◽  
Metrical Structure ◽  
Group Data ◽  
Prosodic Phonology ◽  
Learning Principles

In this article I discuss the various components necessary for a formal model of the acquisition of the prosodic phonology of a second language. I outline a model that includes an explicit theory of the representation of metrical knowledge (Dresher and Kaye, 1990; Idsardi, 1992) and the necessary learn ing theory to account for how those representations can be acquired. The learning theory which mediates the interaction between Universal Grammar (UG) and the linguistic environment is composed of such elements as appro priate cues, indirect negative evidence and a principle of lexical dependency. Empirical investigations of the acquisition of English metrical parameters by native speakers of Polish, Hungarian and Spanish are reported. Group data as well as case studies are presented. The data suggest that, in the domain of prosodic phonology, both the representations (metrical structure) and processes (learning principles) evidenced in second language learners are the same as those proposed for native speakers. Interlanguage grammars can be seen as a combination of UG principles, correct L2 parameter set tings (from resetting) and incorrect L1 parameter settings (from L1 trans fer).

scholarly journals Is There a "Logical Problem" of Second Language Acquisition?

1985 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia White
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Input Data ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Logical Problem ◽  
Acquisition Process ◽  
Generative Theory ◽  
Complex Knowledge

Arguments for universal grammar (DO) in generative theory are based on the so called "logical problem of language acquisition." The nature of the problem becomes apparent when we consider the end product of the acquisition process and compare this to the input data, which do not seem sufficiently rich or precise to allow the learner to work out all the complexities of the adult grammar, unless one assumes the availability of certain innate principles (DO). In this paper, I will suggest that this orientation is also useful when one comes to consider second language acquisition. If we focus on the successful second language (L2) learner, it would appear that he or she will also achieve complex knowledge of the L2 which goes well beyond the input. This suggests that DO might have a role to play in L2 acquisition as well, and raises the question of whether the way that DO has operated in the Ll has any effects in L2 acquisition. I will briefly look at current L2 research that presupposes a DO framework, as well as suggesting some directions for further research.

scholarly journals Second Language Acquisition and the Mastery of Discourse Connectives: Assessing the Factors That Hinder L2-Learners from Mastering French Connectives

Languages ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathis Wetzel ◽  
Sandrine Zufferey ◽  
Pascal Gygax
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Cognitive Complexity ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Discourse Connectives

Even though the mastery of discourse connectives represents an important step toward reaching high language proficiency, it remains highly difficult for L2-learners to master them. We conducted an experiment in which we tested the mastery of 12 monofunctional French connectives conveying six different coherence relations by 151 German-speaking learners of French, as well as a control group of 63 native French speakers. Our results show that the cognitive complexity of the coherence relation and connectives’ frequency, both found to be important factors for native speakers’ connective mastery, play a minor role for the mastery by non-native speakers. Instead, we argue that two specific factors, namely the connectives’ register and meaning transparency, seem to be more predictive variables. In addition, we found that a higher exposure to print in L1, correlates with a better mastery of the connectives in L2. We discuss the implications of our findings in the context of second language acquisition.

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