Interface conditions on postverbal subjects: A corpus study of L2 English

This paper investigates how syntactic knowledge interfaces with other cognitive systems by analysing the production of postverbal subjects, V(erb)–S(ubject) order, in an L1 Spanish–L2 English corpus and a comparable English native corpus. VS order in both native and L2 English is shown to be constra...

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Veröffentlicht in:Bilingualism (Cambridge, England) Jg. 13; H. 4; S. 475 - 497
Hauptverfasser: LOZANO, CRISTÓBAL, MENDIKOETXEA, AMAYA
Format: Journal Article
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.10.2010
Schlagworte:
Berlusconi, Silvio
Bilingualism
Cognitive systems
Computational Linguistics
Corpus Analysis
Corpus linguistics
Data Analysis
Encoding
Encoding (Cognitive process)
English (Second Language)
English as a Second Language Learning
Error Analysis (Language)
Error Patterns
Errors
Form Classes (Languages)
Grammar lexicon relationship
Grammatical subject
Human-computer interaction
Husbands
Hypotheses
Interfaces
Knowledge
Language Acquisition
Linguistics
Native Speakers
Phonology
Production
Property
Second Language Learning
Spanish
Subject
Syntactic analysis
Syntactic processing
Syntax
Syntax Discourse Relationship
Syntax Phonology Relationship
Syntax Semantics Relationship
Word Order
corpus
processing
interfaces
transfer
unaccusative
ISSN:1366-7289, 1469-1841
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Zusammenfassung:This paper investigates how syntactic knowledge interfaces with other cognitive systems by analysing the production of postverbal subjects, V(erb)–S(ubject) order, in an L1 Spanish–L2 English corpus and a comparable English native corpus. VS order in both native and L2 English is shown to be constrained by properties operating at three interfaces: (i) lexicon–syntax: the verb is unaccusative (Unaccusative Hypothesis); (ii) syntax–discourse: the subject is focus (End-Focus Principle) and (iii) syntax–phonology: the subject is heavy (End-Weight Principle). We show that, since learners produce VS under the same interface conditions as native speakers, unaccusativity is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for VS production. However, learners overproduce VS and make persistent errors in their syntactic encoding. Our findings support recent proposals that these difficulties stem from problems at coordinating syntactic knowledge with knowledge from other external systems, but they suggest that the nature of such difficulties is not external to the syntax.
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ISSN:1366-7289
1469-1841
DOI:10.1017/S1366728909990538