L2 acquisition of Wh-interrogatives at the syntax-discourse interface: interface hypothesis again [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]

This study sets out to answer one major question: do linguistic phenomena relating to syntax-discourse interface constitute difficulty for Yemeni learners of English? It presents data from an experiment on the acquisition of L2 English wh-interrogatives by L1 Yemeni Arabic speakers, aiming to provid...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:F1000 research Vol. 12; p. 1198
Main Author: Shormani, Mohammed
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England Faculty of 1000 Ltd 2023
F1000 Research Limited
F1000 Research Ltd
Subjects:
(pronoun) resumption
Bilingualism
Cartography
D-linking
eng
Grammar
Humans
Hypotheses
Interface Hypothesis
Interfaces
L2 acquisition
Language
Linguistics
Multilingualism
Multiple choice
Syntax
Syntax-discourse Interface
wh-interrogatives
L2 acquisition
(pronoun) resumption
Syntax-discourse Interface
Interface Hypothesis
wh-interrogatives
D-linking
ISSN:2046-1402, 2046-1402
Online Access:Get full text
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Description
Summary:This study sets out to answer one major question: do linguistic phenomena relating to syntax-discourse interface constitute difficulty for Yemeni learners of English? It presents data from an experiment on the acquisition of L2 English wh-interrogatives by L1 Yemeni Arabic speakers, aiming to provide empirical evidence either in support of the Interface Hypothesis (IH) or against it. Two learner groups, intermediate and advanced, were recruited as participants of the study, and a native speaker group of (British) English was also recruited as the control group. The advanced group learners have a near-native proficiency in English. The data utilized consisted of 20 (D-)iscourse linked and non-d-linked wh-interrogatives presented to the three groups in the form of a (decontextualized) bi-modal multiple-choice paced judgement task. Results showed that both learner groups, specifically the advanced learners, performed near-native like in the non-d-linked, but far short of near/native-like performance in the d-linked wh-interrogatives. The study concluded that L2 learners' English is still vulnerable at the syntax-discourse interface, hence supporting the IH.
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No competing interests were disclosed.
ISSN:2046-1402
2046-1402
DOI:10.12688/f1000research.133802.1