scholarly journals Reference tracking in early stages of different modality L2 acquisition: Limited over-explicitness in novice ASL signers’ referring expressions

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Therese Frederiksen ◽  
Rachel I. Mayberry
Keyword(s):  
Control Group ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Limited Evidence ◽  
Reference Tracking ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Zero Anaphora ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Transfer Strategies ◽  
Native Signers

Previous research on reference tracking has revealed a tendency towards over-explicitness in second language (L2) learners. Only limited evidence exists that this trend extends to situations where the learner’s first and second languages do not share a sensory-motor modality. Using a story-telling paradigm, this study examined how hearing novice L2 learners accomplish reference tracking in American Sign Language (ASL), and whether they transfer strategies from gesture. Our results revealed limited evidence of over-explicitness. Instead there was an overall similarity in the L2 learners’ reference tracking to that of a native signer control group, even in the use of lexical nominals, pronouns and zero anaphora – areas where research on spoken L2 reference tracking predicts differences. Our data also revealed, however, that L2 learners have problems with the referential value of ASL classifiers, and with target-like use of zero anaphora from different verb types, as well as spatial modification. This suggests that over-explicitness occurs in the early stages of different modality L2 acquisition to a limited extent. We found no evidence of gestural transfer. Finally, we found that L2 learners reintroduce more than native signers, which could indicate that they, unlike native signers are not yet capable of utilizing the affordances of the visual modality to reference multiple entities simultaneously

Integrating Linguistic Theory and Experimentation in L2 Acquisition: Learning of Spanish Differential Object Marking by Portuguese and English speakers

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Will Nediger ◽  
Acrisio Pires ◽  
Pedro Guijarro-Fuentes
Keyword(s):  
Linguistic Theory ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Control Group ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Differential Object Marking ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Syntactic Theory ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Group A ◽  
Object Marking

AbstractThis paper focuses on consequences for linguistic theory of a set of experiments on the L2 acquisition of Spanish Differential Object Marking (DOM), with three experimental groups: a native control group, a group of L2 learners whose L1 is English, and a group of L2 learners whose L1 is Brazilian Portuguese (BP). The results of the experiments shed light on two questions of theoretical import: (a) how best to characterize the syntax of Spanish DOM, and (b) whether BP should be classified as a DOM language. We argue that our results support López’s (2012, Indefinite objects: Scrambling, choice functions, and differential marking. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press) syntactic theory account of DOM over that of Torrego (1998, The dependencies of objects. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press), in particular due to the more fine-grained distinctions between non-specific objects made by López (2012) compared to Torrego (1998). We also argue that although BP is a DOM language (as suggested by Schwenter 2014, Two kinds of differential object marking in Portuguese and Spanish. In Patricia Amaral & Ana Maria Carvalho (eds.), Portuguese-Spanish interfaces: Diachrony, synchrony, and contact, 237–260. Amsterdam: John Benjamins), our BP subjects do not show a clear acquisitional advantage over English speakers with regard to Spanish DOM, due to independent reasons that include the morphological realization of DOM in Spanish.

scholarly journals Emerging ASL Distinctions in Sign-Speech Bilinguals' Signs and Co-speech Gestures in Placement Descriptions

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Therese Frederiksen
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Group Placement

Previous work on placement expressions (e.g., “she put the cup on the table”) has demonstrated cross-linguistic differences in the specificity of placement expressions in the native language (L1), with some languages preferring more general, widely applicable expressions and others preferring more specific expressions based on more fine-grained distinctions. Research on second language (L2) acquisition of an additional spoken language has shown that learning the appropriate L2 placement distinctions poses a challenge for adult learners whose L2 semantic representations can be non-target like and have fuzzy boundaries. Unknown is whether similar effects apply to learners acquiring a L2 in a different sensory-motor modality, e.g., hearing learners of a sign language. Placement verbs in signed languages tend to be highly iconic and to exhibit transparent semantic boundaries. This may facilitate acquisition of signed placement verbs. In addition, little is known about how exposure to different semantic boundaries in placement events in a typologically different language affects lexical semantic meaning in the L1. In this study, we examined placement event descriptions (in American Sign Language (ASL) and English) in hearing L2 learners of ASL who were native speakers of English. L2 signers' ASL placement descriptions looked similar to those of two Deaf, native ASL signer controls, suggesting that the iconicity and transparency of placement distinctions in the visual modality may facilitate L2 acquisition. Nevertheless, L2 signers used a wider range of handshapes in ASL and used them less appropriately, indicating that fuzzy semantic boundaries occur in cross-modal L2 acquisition as well. In addition, while the L2 signers' English verbal expressions were not different from those of a non-signing control group, placement distinctions expressed in co-speech gesture were marginally more ASL-like for L2 signers, suggesting that exposure to different semantic boundaries can cause changes to how placement is conceptualized in the L1 as well.

scholarly journals Comprehension of grammatically modified and nonmodified sentences by second language learners

1992 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana C. Issidorides ◽  
Jan H. Hulstijn
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Nonnative Speakers ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Grammatical Structure ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
State Of Affairs

ABSTRACTAt issue in the present research is whether native speakers' “simplified” or modified utterances, as in foreigner-talk (FT), actually facilitate comprehension for nonnative speakers hearing such utterances. It was hypothesized that (grammatical) Dutch inversion sentences (AdvVSO) that have proven to be problematic in studies on Dutch second language (L2) acquisition - as reflected both in the (ungrammatical) output of L2 learners and in the (ungrammatical) FT input to L2 learners - would not be problematic in terms of comprehension, when compared with modified, ungrammatical AdvSVO and AdvSOV sentences, as long as such sentences do not express an implausible state of affairs. Three subject groups participated in the experiment: 20 English and 22 Turkish L2 learners of Dutch and 30 Dutch native speakers (control group). Subjects heard and interpreted declarative Dutch sentences, in which word order (NVN, VNN, NNV) and animacy configurations (Al [i.e., animate/inanimate], AA, LA) were systematically manipulated. Subjects had to name the noun (first or second) that functions as actor/subject of the sentence. Positive evidence was found for the hypotheses. It is concluded from the present study, as well as from a previous study (Issidorides, 1988), that linguistically more complex input will not necessarily impede comprehension. The fact that normative speakers have difficulties in producing a certain grammatical structure (e.g., the AdvVSO structure) does not imply that such a structure is also more difficult to understand in the speech of others.

scholarly journals Use and acquisition of mouth actions in L2 sign language learners

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Mesch ◽  
Krister Schönström
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Data ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Control Group ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Time Points ◽  
Learner Corpus ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Distribution Frequency

Abstract This article deals with L2 acquisition of a sign language, examining in particular the use and acquisition of non-manual mouth actions performed by L2 learners of Swedish Sign Language. Based on longitudinal data from an L2 learner corpus, we describe the distribution, frequency, and spreading patterns of mouth actions in sixteen L2 learners at two time points. The data are compared with nine signers of an L1 control group. The results reveal some differences in the use of mouth actions between the groups. The results are specifically related to the category of mouthing borrowed from spoken Swedish. L2 signers show an increased use of mouthing compared to L1 signers. Conversely, L1 signers exhibit an increased use of reduced mouthing compared with L2 signers. We also observe an increase of adverbial mouth gestures within the L2 group. The results are discussed in relation to previous findings, and within the framework of cross-linguistic influence.

scholarly journals Confirming or asserting?

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-43
Author(s):  
Cecilia Andorno ◽  
Fabiana Rosi
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Discourse Markers ◽  
Negative Polarity ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
L2 Learners

Yes and no allow an easy management of talk-in-interaction and, unlike other classes of discourse markers, occur from early stages of L2 acquisition onwards (Perdue 1993; Bernini 1996, 2000; Andorno 2008a for L2 Italian). However, problems in their use can arise in replies to negative utterances such as “Didn’t you hear the news?”, “You didn’t read the news, did you?”, as in this case speakers have to choose one of the two conflicting values possibly encoded by the particles — either asserting a positive/negative polarity for the proposition at issue or confirming/reversing the negative polarity conveyed by the previous speaker. Since Pope (1973), a distinction has been drawn between languages with polarity-oriented particles, such as English yes/no, and languages with agreement-oriented particles, such as Japanese hai/iie. The study compares the use of Italian sì/no and other routines such as echo-constructions in native speakers and L2 learners with either a polarity-oriented or an agreement-oriented L1. Results show that cross-linguistic influence can affect the use of sì/no in L2, as pointed for other domains of pragmatic competence (Gass & Selinker 1992; Kasper 1992; Jarvis & Pavlenko 2008). Results further show that, even when learners lack pragmalinguistic competence in the use of particles, they treat replies of confirmation or rejection differently, thus revealing sociopragmatic sensitivity similar to that of native speakers in recognising the markedness of disagreement replies.

L2 acquisition of Bulgarian clitic doubling: A test case for the Interface Hypothesis

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan P. Ivanov
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Test Case ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Clitic Doubling ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Interface Hypothesis ◽  
Discourse Interface

The purpose of this study is to expand the testing ground of the Interface Hypothesis (Sorace, 2006) by investigating the degree to which second language (L2) learners of Bulgarian with English as their first language (L1) had acquired the pragmatic function of clitic doubling as a topicality marker. Advanced and intermediate L2 speakers of Bulgarian, as well as a control group of Bulgarian native speakers, participated in the experiment. The experimental materials included a proficiency test and a pragmatic felicity task. The results showed that the intermediate participants did not differentiate between the felicitous and the infelicitous options in the pragmatic felicity task in a target-like manner as their responses either did not exhibit a statistically significant difference or favored the response closest to the L1. However, the advanced L2 learners had successfully acquired the pragmatic meaning of clitic doubling in Bulgarian and performed in a native-like manner. The study highlights the fact that successful learning at the syntax–discourse interface cannot be excluded, and more research – exploring as many interface conditions as possible – needs to be carried out in order to validate the Interface Hypothesis as a legitimate constraint that permanently hinders native-like performance.

scholarly journals On the second language acquisition of Spanish reflexive passives and reflexive impersonals by French- and English-speaking adults

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annie Tremblay
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Control Group ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Advanced Level ◽  
Test Items ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
French And English ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Object Marking

This study, a partial replication of Bruhn de Garavito (1999a; 1999b), investigates the second language (L2) acquisition of Spanish reflexive passives and reflexive impersonals by French- and English-speaking adults at an advanced level of proficiency. The L2 acquisition of Spanish reflexive passives and reflexive impersonals by native French and English speakers instantiates a potential learnability problem, because (1) the constructions are superficially very similar ( se V DP) but display distinct idiosyncratic morphological and syntactic behaviour; (2) neither exists in English, and the reflexive impersonal does not exist in French; and (3) differences between the two are typically not subject to explicit instruction. Participants - 13 English, 16 French and 27 Spanish speakers (controls) - completed a 64-item grammaticality-judgement task. Results show that L2 learners could in general differentiate grammatical from ungrammatical items, but they performed significantly differently from the control group on most sentence types. A look at the participants’ accuracy rates indicates that few L2 learners performed accurately on most sentence types. Grammatical and ungrammatical test items involving [+animate] DPs preceded or not by the object-marking preposition a were particularly problematic, as L2 learners judged them both as grammatical. These results confirm that the L2 acquisition of Spanish reflexive passives and reflexive impersonals by French- and English-speaking adults instantiates a learnability problem, not yet overcome at an advanced level of proficiency.

scholarly journals The early stages in adult L2 syntax: additional evidence from Romance speakers

1996 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Vainikka ◽  
Martha Young-Scholten
Keyword(s):  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Weak Continuity ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
Auxiliary Verbs ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Verb Raising ◽  
L1 Acquisition

Vainikka and Young-Scholten (1994) propose an analysis of the acquisition of German by adult Korean and Turkish speakers based on the Weak Continuity account of L1 acquisition. They claim that L2 acquisition initially involves a bare VP whose (final) headedness is transferred from the learner's L1, with functional projections evolving entirely on the basis of the interaction of X'- Theory with the input. In this article, we extend this account to data from Italian and Spanish speakers learning German. Our analysis reveals that these learners initially posit a bare VP whose (initial) headedness is transferred from their native languages but, while still at the bare VP stage, they adopt the head-final VP of German. At this bare VP stage the morphological elements incompatible with the VP are not attested (e.g., auxiliary verbs, verbs marked for agreement and obligatory subjects). At the next stage of acquisition, simi lar to what Vainikka and Young-Scholten observed for the Korean and Turkish speakers, the Italian and Spanish speakers posit a head-initial func tional projection. This projection further resembles the first functional projec tion observed in the acquisition of German by children (Clahsen, 1991) and involves optional verb-raising and the emergence of elements which typically appear in INFL (auxiliaries, modals) and in Spec (IP) (obligatory subjects). We conclude that child L1 learners and adult L2 learners build up syntactic structure in much the same manner and propose that the Weak Continuity approach accounts for all instances of syntactic acquisition.

The acquisition of null and overt pronominals in Japanese by English speakers

1997 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazue Kanno
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Control Group ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Null Pronouns ◽  
Overt Pronouns ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
L2 Learners

This article reports on an experimental study that examines the role of UG in the L2 acquisition of Japanese by English speakers. The study focuses on the acquisition of the principle that prevents overt pronouns from having quantified NPs as antecedents in languages (such as Japanese) that have null pronouns. A group of 28 English speakers taking a fourth semester course in Japanese were asked to interpret the null and overt pronominal in the Japanese equivalent of patterns such as Everyone i thinks he/Øi is smart.Not only did the L2 learners exhibit a statistically significant difference in their interpretation of null and overt pronominals with respect to binding by a quantified NP, consistent with the UG principle, but their performance was not significantly different from that of a native-speaker control group.

THE LEVEL OF CYTOKINES IN THE SALIVA OF PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 825-831
Author(s):  
Lyudmila Belskaya ◽  
Viktor Kosenok
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
Urgent Task ◽  
Advanced Stages ◽  
New Biomarkers ◽  
Histological Verification ◽  
Control Study ◽  
Biochemical Examination

Currently, the urgent task is to search for new biomarkers as a promising tool for early detection and monitoring of breast cancer. The aim of the study was to study the level of cytokines in the saliva of patients with breast cancer. In the case-control study volunteers participated, which were divided into 3 groups: the main (breast cancer, n = 43), the comparison group (fibroadenoma, n = 32) and the control group (conditionally healthy, n = 39). All participants were questioned; biochemical examination of saliva, histological verification of the diagnosis was carried out. Intergroup differences are estimated by a nonparametric criterion. It is shown that in the context of breast cancer, the level of cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10 and IL-18) is increasing, except for IL-8, the content of which decreases compared to the control group. When the disease progresses by the nature of the dynamics, the parameters are divided into two groups: IL-2, IL-4, IL-18 and IL-6, IL-8, IL-10. For the first group of cytokines, there was a decrease in content during the transition from the early stages to the more common ones. For the second group, when passing from stages T1-2N0M0 to T1-2NjM0, the level of cytokines remains practically constant. In the future, the level of cytokines is observed for stage T3_4N0_2M0, and for IL-2, IL-4 and IL-10, the level of cytokines reaches values corresponding to early stages, whereas for IL-6, IL-8 and IL-18 in the same direction, a significant increase in indicators was noted. Additionally, the IL-6/IL-8 ratio was calculated depending on the tumor size, as well as the presence / absence of metastasis. It is shown that this ratio is statistically significantly increased in the advanced stages of the disease. Particularly interesting is the increase in this ratio in saliva at the initial stages of the disease.

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