Recovery from first-language transfer: The second language acquisition of English double objects by Korean speakers

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eunjeong Oh
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
First Language ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Double Object ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
Korean Speakers ◽  
Semantic Properties

Previous studies on second language (L2) acquisition of English dative alternation by Korean speakers (Oh and Zubizarreta, 2003, 2006a, 2006b) have shown that the acquisition of English benefactive double object (DO) (e.g. John baked Mary a cake) lags behind that of its counterpart goal double object (e.g. John sent Mary the letter). This asymmetry was attributed to grammatical differences between English and Korean benefactive DOs; goal DOs in the two languages have similar grammatical properties. Given the negative first language (L1) influence attested in the acquisition of English DOs by Korean speakers, this article examines the recovery process from these negative effects of L1 transfer and the triggering factors in such a process by investigating L2 learners’ knowledge of semantic properties pertinent to English DOs, using an Acceptability Judgment task with contexts. The present study found that most advanced learners are indeed capable of acquiring semantic properties of both types of English DOs, restructuring their interlanguage grammar in such a way that both types of DOs denote prospective possession. This article suggests that acquisition of the semantics of goal DOs, possibly attributed to L1 transfer, bootstraps acquisition of the semantics of benefactive DOs, and that this generalization from goal DOs to benefactive DOs is made possible by the surface generalization hypothesis (Goldberg, 2002), which states that argument structure patterns sharing the surface forms should be analysed on their own as a class. Furthermore, this article argues that this recovery process can be interpreted as evidence of a tie between syntax and semantics: developing sensitivity to the semantics of English DOs is indispensable for acquiring the syntax of English DOs (compare Lardiere, 2000; Slabakova, 2006). On this view, learning a construction essentially means learning its associated semantics, and acquisition of the syntax of a construction is a consequence of acquisition of the semantics of the construction.

scholarly journals L2 acquisition of Spanish dative clitics by English and Dutch learners

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 517-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Ángeles Escobar-Álvarez
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
First Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Double Object ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
Syntactic Structures ◽  
New Findings

This article examines the second language acquisition (SLA) of Spanish dative clitics in clitic doubling (CLD) structures that are closely related to the double object construction (DOC) in English and Dutch. It also addresses the question of how adult English and Dutch speakers learning L2 Spanish in a formal setting develop knowledge and use of the animacy constraint in the target language, which is different from the first language (L1) counterparts. The role of transfer in acquiring new syntactic structures has been taken into account, where dative clitics appear and animate objects are marked by the dative preposition ‘to.’ New findings are obtained on CLD and the Spanish animacy constraint from a grammaticality judgement task (GJT), completed by English and Dutch learners at B1 and B2 CEFR levels. The difficulties learners experienced were not always due to negative L1 transfer, but also related to the complexity of the argument structure where the clitic is inserted. This has clear implications for the teaching of pronominal elements which are closely related to different syntactic configurations in Spanish.

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.

Input, triggering and poverty of the stimulus in the second language acquisition of Japanese passives

2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 419-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiro Hara
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
English Learners ◽  
First Language ◽  
Conceptual Representation ◽  
Learning Situation ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Semantic Properties

This article adopts an input perspective in examining a poverty-of-the stimulus (POS) learning situation in second language acquisition (SLA). Analysis of grammaticality judgement data from 81 English-speaking and 85 Chinese-speaking learners of Japanese isolates triggering input that informed English learners of subtle semantic properties of the ni direct passive underdetermined by second language (L2) input. The study shows a sufficient correlation in the case of English learners between acquisition of the ni direct passive's triggering properties (available through input) and acquisition of its POS properties (unavailable through input). Importantly, those properties are direct consequences of affectivity, an underlying semantic property of the ni direct passive. That correlation does not obtain in the case of Chinese learners due to a positive first language (L1) effect. Additional corroborating evidence comes from acquisition of another Japanese passive, the ni yotte, for which no correlation was found between its non-triggering and non-POS properties for either English or Chinese learners as those properties are available through input. The article proposes that English learners' computation of a target-like conceptual representation of the triggering input leads to the restructuring of their lexical—conceptual representation of the ni direct passive.

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.

scholarly journals Abstract Lexical Structure in Second Language Learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 223
Author(s):  
Longxing Wei
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Transfer ◽  
Lexical Structure ◽  
Predicate Argument Structure ◽  
Different Sources

<em>Different from most previous studies of language transfer phenomena in second language learning which remain at an observational and descriptive level, this study proposes that the major source of language transfer is the interference of first language abstract lexical structure. It assumes that any interlanguage system, like other linguistic systems, has an abstract lexical structure containing several discrete but interacting subsystems: lexical-conceptual structure, predicate-argument structure, and morphological realization patterns. Unlike abstract lexical structures in other linguistic systems, the abstract lexical structure in second language learning has different sources. This study claims that any abstract lexical structure in second language learning contains more abstract elements than surface configurations of language, that is, language-specific lemmas underlie lexical entries, and such language-specific lemmas are in contact in second language learning, which can be split and recombined in novel, yet constrained ways in constructing the developing interlanguage system. Some typical instances of language transfer indicate that parts of the abstract lexical structure from first language lexical entries may influence that of the incompletely acquired L2 lexical entries. Thus, successful second language acquisition is driven by the complete acquisition of the abstract lexical structure underlying second language lexical entries.</em>

scholarly journals A Bidirectional Study of the Earlier Acquisition of Dative Structures in English and Arabic

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Anwar Saad Aljadani
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
English Learners ◽  
First Language ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Double Object ◽  
Grammaticality Judgment ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
L1 Influence ◽  
L1 And L2

This article conducts a bidirectional investigation of the earlier acquisition of dative structures in English and Arabic by Second Language (L2) learners. It reports on two dative structures: the Prepositional Dative (PD) structure and the Double Object Dative (DOD) structure, rating experiments (grammaticality judgment task) to test which dative structure is preferred earlier by L2 learners and whether L2 learners transfer their preferences relating to the two dative structures in the First Language (L1) to their L2. A total of 50 Arab learners of English and 40 English learners of Arabic were tested for the purpose of this study. It was observed that Arab learners of English preferred the PD structure over the DOD structure, whereas English learners of Arabic showed a slight preference for the use of the DOD structure; however, this observation is statistically insignificant. These findings indicate a lack of L1 influence, as all L2 learners preferred a dative structure that does not correspond to the preferred structure in their L1. Such findings could be consistent with the idea of the language acquisition process, as proposed by the Processability Theory, which implies that constructions that are easiest to process will be learned earlier than those that are harder to process despite the convergences between L1 and L2.

scholarly journals Directionality and complexity of L1 transfer in L2 acquisition: Evidence from L2 Chinese discourse

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 377-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boping Yuan ◽  
Yvonne Lin
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Double Object ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
Object Construction ◽  
L2 Chinese ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
University Of Hawai'i ◽  
Economical Consideration

Abstract First language (L1) transfer is a common phenomenon in second language (L2) acquisition. However, it will be argued in this article that although there are indeed pervasive influences of learners’ L1 in L2 acquisition, L1 transfer is not everywhere and it can be directional. We compare data from Chang’s (2001b. Discourse effects on the second language acquisition of English and Chinese dative structures. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i at Manoa PhD dissertation, 2004. Discourse effects on EFL learners’ production of dative constructions. Journal of Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences 33. 145–169.) studies of Chinese-speaking learners of English with data of our study of English-speaking learners of Chinese to examine whether their L2 English discourse and L2 Chinese discourse are equally influenced by their L1 discourse rules. We focus on learners’ answers to wh-questions with a double object construction or a prepositional object construction. The results demonstrate that L1 transfer takes place in Chinese-speaking learners’ L2 English discourse but not in English-speaking learners’ L2 Chinese discourse. This directionality of L1 transfer is accounted for on the basis of computational complexity of linguistic structures involved and on an economical consideration.

scholarly journals Longitudinal Developments in Bilingual Second Language Acquisition and First Language Attrition of Speech: The Case of Arnold Schwarzenegger

Languages ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Lisa Kornder ◽  
Ineke Mennen
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
First Language ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Speech Development ◽  
Dynamic Interactions ◽  
First Language Attrition ◽  
Second Formant ◽  
L1 And L2

The purpose of this investigation was to trace first (L1) and second language (L2) segmental speech development in the Austrian German–English late bilingual Arnold Schwarzenegger over a period of 40 years, which makes it the first study to examine a bilingual’s speech development over several decades in both their languages. To this end, acoustic measurements of voice onset time (VOT) durations of word-initial plosives (Study 1) and formant frequencies of the first and second formant of Austrian German and English monophthongs (Study 2) were conducted using speech samples collected from broadcast interviews. The results of Study 1 showed a merging of Schwarzenegger’s German and English voiceless plosives in his late productions as manifested in a significant lengthening of VOT duration in his German plosives, and a shortening of VOT duration in his English plosives, closer to L1 production norms. Similar findings were evidenced in Study 2, revealing that some of Schwarzenegger’s L1 and L2 vowel categories had moved closer together in the course of L2 immersion. These findings suggest that both a bilingual’s first and second language accent is likely to develop and reorganize over time due to dynamic interactions between the first and second language system.

Plural marking in the second language: Atomicity, definiteness, and transfer

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Sea Hee Choi ◽  
Tania Ionin
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
Mass Nouns ◽  
Count Nouns ◽  
Grammaticality Judgment ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Plural Marking

Abstract This paper examines whether second language (L2)-English learners whose native languages (L1; Korean and Mandarin) lack obligatory plural marking transfer the properties of plural marking from their L1s, and whether transfer is manifested both offline (in a grammaticality judgment task) and online (in a self-paced reading task). The online task tests the predictions of the morphological congruency hypothesis (Jiang 2007), according to which L2 learners have particular difficulty automatically activating the meaning of L2 morphemes that are incongruent with their L1. Experiment 1 tests L2 learners’ sensitivity to errors of –s oversuppliance with mass nouns, while Experiment 2 tests their sensitivity to errors of –s omission with count nouns. The findings show that (a) L2 learners detect errors with nonatomic mass nouns (sunlights) but not atomic ones (furnitures), both offline and online; and (b) L1-Korean L2-English learners are more successful than L1-Mandarin L2-English learners in detecting missing –s with definite plurals (these boat), while the two groups behave similarly with indefinite plurals (many boat). Given that definite plurals require plural marking in Korean but not in Mandarin, the second finding is consistent with L1-transfer. Overall, the findings show that learners are able to overcome morphological incongruency and acquire novel uses of L2 morphemes.

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