The role of the L1 grammar in the L2 acquisition of segmental structure

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia A. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
First Language ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Phonological Acquisition ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Phonological Knowledge ◽  
Japanese Speakers ◽  
Phonological Interference

Acquisition of segmental structure in first language acquisition is accomplished through the interaction of Universal Grammar and the learner's detection of phonemic contrasts in the input (Rice and Avery, 1995; Brown and Matthews, 1993,1997). This article investigates the acquisition of the English /l–r/,/b–v/ and /f–v/ contrasts by second language learners whose L1s do not contrast these segments. Based on L1 phonological acquisition and infant speech perception research,a model of phonological interference is developed which explains how the influence of the L1 phonology originates and identifies the level of phonological knowledge that impinges upon L2 acquisition. It is proposed that if a learner's L1 grammar lacks the phonological feature that differentiates a particular non-native contrast, he or she will be unable to perceive the contrast and therefore unable to acquire the novel segmental representations. In order to evaluate this hypothesis, two experimental studies were conducted. Experiment 1 investigates the acquisition of /l/ and /r/ by Chinese and Japanese speakers; the acquisition of the /l–r/, /b–v/ and /f–v/ contrasts by Japanese speakers is compared in experiment 2. The results from an AX discrimination task and a picture selection task indicate that successful acquisition of a non-native contrast is constrained by the learner's L1 grammar. Differences between Chinese and Japanese speakers (experiment 1) and differences in the acquisition of several different contrasts among Japanese speakers (experiment 2) are argued to reflect subtle phonological properties of the learners' respective L1s. These findings demonstrate that a speaker's L1 grammar may actually impede the operation of UG, preventing the L2 learner from acquiring a non-native phonemic contrast.

Zibun and locality in L2 Japanese

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noriko Yoshimura ◽  
Mineharu Nakayama ◽  
Tomohiko Shirahata ◽  
Koichi Sawasaki ◽  
Yasushi Terao
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Value Judgment ◽  
Interface Theory ◽  
Parameter Resetting

AbstractSecond language learners encounter difficulty in interpreting the anaphoric relationship between a reflexive pronoun and its antecedent because they often fail to reset their parameter appropriately. However, the recent interface theory has called this parameter conversion approach into question, in particular, whether L2 learners do indeed reset their language parameter during the course of L2 acquisition. This paper explores this issue by conducting an experiment with a truth-value judgment task on the interpretations of zibun among English and Chinese speaking adult learners of Japanese. The results support our hypothesis that the short-distance interpretation of zibun can be acquired early if “locality” is the core notion of human cognition, as assumed in Universal Grammar, whereas long distance interpretation takes time to acquire because of the syntax-pragmatics interface. We emphasize that the parameter resetting approach cannot provide a plausible account for this “short vs. long” asymmetry in the acquisition of zibun binding.

scholarly journals A Review of the Interlanguage on Performance and Competence Representation: Universal Grammar

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Qurrata 'Ain ◽  
Pratomo Widodo
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
First Language ◽  
Field Research ◽  
The People ◽  
And Performance

Interlanguage has been the main development of field research on second language acquisition (SLA). According to Richard et al (1996) Interlanguage is one of the kinds of language that can be produced by second language learners in the process of acquiring or learning a new language. The influence of the universal grammar of the first language in learning the second language is still debated whether or not universal grammar takes part in second language acquisition. In this article has the aim to investigate the interlanguage of competence and performance representation. In second language acquisition, there is a confusion between the interlanguage of competence and performance. When people perform the second language, it will different from native speakers and argue that demonstrates defects in competence aspect. So, there is a lack of universal grammar. Interlanguage is natural when people acquire a second language based on the theory interlanguage. It might have the knowledge of grammar but when the people produced the sentence or words. It will be grammatical errors. There is some performance factor that the second language learners' competence is hidden such as parsing or demands of processing.  It differences between pure knowledge and how people use the knowledge of its self. Both of them do not always coincide. This research tried to offer a descriptive review of the Interlanguage on performance and competence representation.

Why is ‘is’ easier than ‘-s’?: acquisition of tense/agreement morphology by child second language learners of English

2002 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tania Ionin ◽  
Kenneth Wexler
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
First Language ◽  
Inflectional Morphology ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Agreement Morphology ◽  
Verb Raising

This study of first-language (L1) Russian children acquiring English as a second language (L2) investigates the reasons behind omission of verbal inflection in L2 acquisition and argues for presence of functional categories in L2 grammar. Analyses of spontaneous production data show that the child L2 learners ( n = 20), while omitting inflection, almost never produce incorrect tense/agreement morphology. Furthermore, the L2 learners use suppletive inflection at a significantly higher rate than affixal inflection, and overgenerate be auxiliary forms in utterances lacking progressive participles (e.g., they are help people). A grammaticality judgement task of English tense/agreement morphology similarly shows that the child L2 English learners are significantly more sensitive to the be paradigm than to inflection on thematic verbs. These findings suggest that Tense is present in the learners’ L2 grammar, and that it is instantiated through forms of the be auxiliary. It is argued that omission of inflection is due to problems with the realization of surface morphology, rather than to feature impairment, in accordance with the Missing Surface Inflection Hypothesis of Prévost and White (2000). It is furthermore suggested that L2 learners initially associate morphological agreement with verb-raising and, thus, acquire forms of be before inflectional morphology on in situ thematic verbs.

How do second language learners build syntactic structure?

2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-64
Author(s):  
Eva M. Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
First Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Shallow Structure Hypothesis

Understanding the mechanisms learners use to process target language input is crucial to developing a complete model of both first language (L1) and second language (L2) acquisition. If adult L2 learners are found to process the target language with mechanisms that differ from those used by child L1 learners and adult native speakers, what implications might this have for the developing grammar? Clahsen and Felser review evidence that appears to point to such differences, generalizing their findings under a shallow structure hypothesis about how adult learners process input in L2.

The acquisition of parameterized grammars

1985 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia White
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Hypothesis Testing ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Negative Evidence ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Identical Fashion

In this paper, I look at some problems that arise if second language learners are assumed to acquire the L2 on the basis of unconstrained hypothesis testing, since this crucially involves the assumption of the availability of negative evidence and does not seem to be sufficiently 'fine-tuned' for the learner to acquire certain aspects of the L2 grammar. Instead, it is proposed that L2 acquisition, like L1, may involve the prior knowledge of a number of highly contrained principles of Universal Grammar which restrict the number of options available to the learner. In some cases, these principles may be subject to parametric variation, so that they do not work in identical fashion in L1 and L2, allowing for the possibility of transfer of the L1 parameter setting. Taking subjacency as a case in point, a pilot study is reported in which native speakers of French and Spanish learning English as a second language were tested for their judgements on the bounding status of S in the L2 grammar. In English S is a bounding node, whereas in French and Spanish it is not. It was found that subjects were less accurate in their judgements on the bounding status of S in English than native-speaking controls, with a number of subjects consistently transferring the L1 parameter. In most cases, subjects showed improvement with increasing level of ESL proficiency. The majority of subjects adopted a consistent position with respect to the question of the bounding status of S, suggesting that they were not indulging in unconstrained hypothesis testing.

Transfer of L1 Parameter Settings: Some Empirical Evidence from Polish Metrics

1992 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Archibald
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Parameter Setting ◽  
Second Language Learner

This paper describes an empirical investigation as to the utility of a principles and parameters model of grammar in describing the interlanguage grammars of second language learners. I argue that the framework of parameterized universal grammar is useful in accounting for second language learner knowledge and behaviour. The vast majority of their errors can be accounted for by the transfer of their first language (L1) parameter setting into the second language (L2).

Second Language Phonology as Redeployment of LI Phonological Knowledge

2005 ◽  
Vol 50 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 285-314
Author(s):  
John Archibald
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
First Language ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Metrical Structure ◽  
Phonological Knowledge ◽  
Phonological Features ◽  
Phonetic Cues ◽  
Interlingual Homographs

AbstractThis article presents research showing that second language (L2) learners do not have deficient representations and they are capable of acquiring structures that are absent from their first language (L1). The Redeployment Hypothesis—which claims that L2 phonologies include novel representations created via redeployment of L1 phonological components—is consistent with data from several domains, including acquisition of phonological features, syllable structure, moraic structure, and metrical structure. Moreover, it is shown that input prominence plays a role in L2 acquisition, and that language learners are sensitive to robust phonetic cues. Finally, studies done on interlingual homographs and homophones argue for non-selective access to the bilingual lexicon, suggesting that the language processing capacity is always engaged.

Case morphology and word order in second language Turkish: Evidence from Greek learners

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Despina Papadopoulou ◽  
Spyridoula Varlokosta ◽  
Vassilios Spyropoulos ◽  
Hasan Kaili ◽  
Sophia Prokou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
First Language ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Case Morphology ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
Order Constraints ◽  
On Line

The optional use of morphology attested in second language learners has been attributed either to a representational deficit or to a ‘surface’ problem with respect to the realization of inflectional affixes. In this article we contribute to this issue by providing empirical data from the early interlanguage of Greek learners of Turkish. Three experiments have been conducted, a cloze task, a sentence picture matching task and an on-line grammaticality judgement task, in order to investigate case morphology and its interaction with word order constraints. The findings of all three experiments point towards a variable use of case morphology, which is also observed in previous studies of Turkish as a second language (L2). Moreover, they show clearly that the learners face difficulties with non-canonical word orders as well as with the interaction of word order constraints and Case. On the other hand, the learners performed well on verbal inflections. On the basis of these findings, we argue that the developmental patterns in the early stages of L2 acquisition cannot be attributed to a global lack of functional categories but rather to more localized difficulties, which seem to be related to (a) whether the features in the L2 are grammaticalized in the first language and (b) the way these features are encoded in the morphosyntax of the first language. Moreover, we claim that processing factors and the specific properties of the morphological paradigms affect L2 development.

The neural timecourse of American English vowel discrimination by Japanese, Russian and Spanish second-language learners of English

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Valerie L. Shafer ◽  
Sarah Kresh ◽  
Kikuyo Ito ◽  
Miwako Hisagi ◽  
Nancy Vidal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
American English ◽  
First Language ◽  
Perceptual Task ◽  
Temporal Contrast ◽  
Asymmetrical Pattern ◽  
Significant Difference

Abstract This study investigated the influence of first language (L1) phoneme features and phonetic salience on discrimination of second language (L2) American English (AE) vowels. On a perceptual task, L2 adult learners of English with Spanish, Japanese or Russian as an L1 showed poorer discrimination of the spectral-only difference between /æ:/ as the oddball (deviant) among frequent /ɑ:/ stimuli compared to AE controls. The Spanish listeners showed a significant difference from the controls for the spectral-temporal contrast between /ɑ:/ and /ʌ/ for both perception and the neural Mismatch Negativity (MMN), but only for deviant /ɑ:/ versus /ʌ/ (duration decrement). For deviant /ʌ/ versus /ɑ:/, and for deviant /æ:/ versus /ʌ/ or /ɑ:/, all participants showed equivalent MMN amplitude. The asymmetrical pattern for /ɑ:/ and /ʌ/ suggested that L2 phonetic detail was maintained only for the deviant. These findings indicated that discrimination was more strongly influenced by L1 phonology than phonetic salience.

SECOND LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT AND MORPHOSYNTACTIC DEVELOPMENT

2011 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 529-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patti Spinner
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
First Language ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Grammatical Development ◽  
Assessment Measure ◽  
Morphosyntactic Development ◽  
The One

The purpose of this study is to begin work toward a grammatical assessment measure that could bridge the gap between theoretical work on grammatical development, on the one hand, and tools such as the Michigan Test (which uses multiple-choice questions on vocabulary and grammar) or the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages scale (which uses holistic descriptions of grammar use), on the other hand. Such a measure would need to be practical to administer with large groups. Two proposals of grammatical development (processability theory, Pienemann, 1998, 2005; and organic grammar, Vainikka & Young-Scholten, 2006) were applied to short samples of spontaneous production data from 48 adult second-language learners of English from mixed first-language backgrounds. The rapid profile scale successfully accounted for the learners’ development but is of somewhat limited use with short samples of data. The organic grammar placement scale may need to be further refined, but it includes important indicators of grammatical development. A preliminary proposal for using a combined measure with a rubric is presented.

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