Acquisition of scalar implicatures

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neal Snape ◽  
Hironobu Hosoi
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Scalar Implicatures ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Semantics And Pragmatics ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Research Questions

Abstract Our study investigates the second language (L2) acquisition of scalar implicatures some and all. We set out to answer two research questions based on three theoretical accounts, the lexical, pragmatic and syntactic accounts. In an experiment we include English and Japanese native speakers, and intermediate and advanced Japanese L2 learners of English. We used quantifiers some and all in ‘Yes/No’ questions in a context with sets of toy fruits, where pragmatic answers are expected, e.g., a ‘No’ response to the question ‘Are some of the strawberries in the red circle?’ (when a set of 14/14 strawberries are placed inside a red circle). Our individual results indicate that L2 learners are generally more pragmatic in their responses than native English speakers. But, there are neither significant differences between groups nor significant differences between L2 proficiency levels. We consider the implications of our findings for the acquisition of L2 semantics and pragmatics.

Priming and adaptation in native speakers and second-language learners

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 228-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
EDITH KAAN ◽  
EUNJIN CHUN
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Prepositional Phrase ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Double Object ◽  
Processing Strategies ◽  
L2 Learners

Native speakers show rapid adjustment of their processing strategies and preferences on the basis of the structures they have recently encountered. The present study investigated the nature of priming and adaptation in second-language (L2) speakers and, more specifically, whether similar mechanisms underlie L2 and native language adaptation. Native English speakers and Korean L2 learners of English completed a written priming study probing the use of double object and prepositional phrase datives. Both groups showed cumulative adaptation effects for both types of dative, which was stronger for the structure that was initially less frequent to them (prepositional phrase datives for the native English speakers, and double object datives for the L2 learners). This supports models of priming that incorporate frequency-based modulation of long-lasting activation of structures. L2 learners and native speakers use similar processing mechanisms; differences in adaptation can be accounted for by differences in the relative frequency of structures.

Effects of contrastive accents in memory for L2 discourse

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 1063-1079 ◽  
Author(s):  
EUN-KYUNG LEE ◽  
SCOTT FRAUNDORF
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Discourse Representation ◽  
Depth Of Processing ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Pitch Accents

Contrastive pitch accents benefit native English speakers’ memory for discourse by enhancing a representation of a specific relevant contrast item (Fraundorf et al., 2010). This study examines whether and how second language (L2) listeners differ in how contrastive accents affect their encoding and representation of a discourse, as compared to native speakers. Using the same materials as Fraundorf et al. (2010), we found that low and mid proficiency L2 learners showed no memory benefit from contrastive accents. High proficiency L2 learners revealed some sensitivity to contrastive accents, but failed to fully integrate information conveyed by contrastive accents into their discourse representation. The results suggest that L2 listeners’ non-native performance in processing contrastive accents, observed in this and other prior studies, may be attributed at least in part to a difference in the depth of processing of the information conveyed by contrastive accents.

Acquiring phenomena at the syntax/semantics interface in L2 Spanish

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 67-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Guijarro-Fuentes ◽  
Theodoros Marinis
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Verb Semantics ◽  
Syntactic Features ◽  
Interface Phenomena ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
The Subject

Recent second language (L2) acquisition research has proposed that purely syntactic features are easier to acquire and less vulnerable than ones involving the interfaces (Sorace, 2004; Serratrice et al. 2004). The present paper addresses this issue by investigating the acquisition of the Spanish personal preposition a in English L2 learners of Spanish. The distribution of a in direct object NPs relates to the specificity/definiteness of the NP, the animacy/agentivity of the subject, and verb semantics (Torrego 1998; Zagona 2002). 33 English L2 learners of Spanish of different proficiency levels, and 14 Spanish controls participated in an acceptability judgement task. The results showed significant differences between native speakers and L2 learners of all proficiency levels, who performed at chance, and support the claim that L2 learners have difficulties acquiring structures involving the syntax/semantics interface. However, the advanced learners showed sensitivity to the least complex condition providing evidence that interface phenomena may be acquirable.

scholarly journals Reference to kinds in L2 English

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Yılmaz Köylü
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Mass Nouns ◽  
Count Nouns ◽  
Bare Plurals ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Acceptability Judgments

This study investigated the acquisition of kind referring noun phrase interpretation in L2 English by learners with Turkish, Arabic and Chinese L1 backgrounds. 37 advanced learners of English with Turkish (10), Arabic (10) and Chinese (10) L1 backgrounds, and 7 native English speakers were recruited. The tasks were a 48-item Fill in the gaps task and a 64-item Acceptability judgment task. The results indicated that: (a) native speakers, and L2 learners mostly produced bare plurals for count nouns and bare singulars for mass nouns for kind reference; (b) L2 learners of English transferred the morphosyntactic manifestation of kind reference from their L1s, substantiating the Full Transfer Full Access Hypothesis (Schwartz & Sprouse, 1996); and (c) the similarity between the participants’ L1s and L2 did not always lead them to produce correct noun forms and articles for kind reference, neither did such a similarity consistently help the learners in their acceptability judgments for kind reference.

The role of acoustic cues in the development of (non-)target-like second-language prosodic representations

2010 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-114
Author(s):  
Annie Tremblay ◽  
Nathan Owens
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Acoustic Cues ◽  
Canadian French ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Primary Word ◽  
Heavy Syllable ◽  
Stress Patterns

AbstractThis study investigates the acquisition of English (primary) word stress by native speakers of Canadian French, with focus on the trochaic foot and the alignment of its head with heavy syllables. L2 learners and native English speakers produced disyllabic and trisyllabic nonsense nouns. The participants with consistent stress patterns were grouped according to their prosodic grammar, and their productions were analyzed acoustically. The results indicate that the L2 learners who failed to align the head of the trochaic foot with the heavy syllable realized stress with higher pitch. Conversely, the L2 learners who aligned the head of the trochaic foot with the heavy syllable realized non-initial stress by lengthening the syllable. Surprisingly, the native speakers produced higher pitch on the initial syllable irrespective of stress, and they used length to realize stress oh the heavy syllable. These findings suggest that L2 learners may have reached different prosodic grammars as a result of attending to distinct acoustic cues to English stress.

L2 Acquisition of Spanish VOT by English-Speaking Immigrants in Spain

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 361-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy L. Face ◽  
Mandy R. Menke
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
L2 Phonology ◽  
Long Time ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Considerable Individual Variation

AbstractPrevious studies of native English speakers learning Spanish as a second language (L2) document compromise voice onset time (VOT) values; however, the focus has been predominantly on voiceless stops and has almost exclusively investigated beginning and intermediate learners. This study fills a gap in the literature by considering the acquisition of VOT in both voiceless and voiced Spanish stops by long-time native English-speaking residents of Spain. Overall, the results show that the L2 speakers’ VOT values differ from those of native speakers across all stop consonants; yet L2 speakers’ productions of voiceless, as opposed to voiced, stops more closely approximate those of native speakers. Considerable individual variation is observed as no speaker achieves native-like performance overall, and no consonant is mastered by more than half of the speakers. Results are considered in light of what they contribute to our understanding of ultimate attainment of Spanish VOT, specifically, and L2 phonology more generally.

The use of lexical and sublexical cues in speech segmentation by second language learners of English

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-198
Author(s):  
Candise Yue Lin ◽  
Min Wang
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Semantic Relatedness ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Speech Segmentation ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Lexical Knowledge ◽  
Semantic Cues ◽  
L2 Learners

Abstract This study examined the use of lexical and sublexical cues in speech segmentation by Mandarin L2 learners of English, focusing on two types of lexical cue, lexical knowledge and semantic relatedness, and three coda (sublexical) cues, /n, s, ŋ/ due to their varying phonotactic probabilities in Mandarin and English. Thirty-five native English speakers and 30 L2 learners participated in two experiments. Experiment 1 showed that learners were able to use lexicality as a cue to segment L2 speech. The lexicality effect significantly interacted with L2 proficiency. Experiment 2 showed that learners did not use semantic cues to the same extent as native listeners did. All participants experienced more difficulty with word boundary identification preceded by /s/. This difficulty may stem from weak allophonic cues of /s/ in English. L2 learners with better proficiency may be better at recognizing familiar words from continuous speech, thus more efficiently utilizing the lexicality cue.

ERP signatures of subject–verb agreement in L2 learning

2007 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
LANG CHEN ◽  
HUA SHU ◽  
YOUYI LIU ◽  
JINGJING ZHAO ◽  
PING LI
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Neural Structure ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Syntactic Features ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
L2 Chinese ◽  
L2 Learners

In this study we examined ERP (event-related-potential) responses in the morphosyntactic processing of subject–verb agreements by L2 Chinese learners of English. Fifteen proficient L2 learners and fifteen native English speakers were presented with English sentences that varied in the grammaticality of the sentence with respect to subject–verb agreement. Our results indicate that late L2 learners show distinct ERP responses from native speakers in the processing of syntactic features that are absent in their L1, even when their behavioral patterns are similar to those of native speakers. The results are taken to support the proposal that language-specific experiences with L1 shape the neural structure of processing in L2.

Pre-emption of L1 properties in the L2 acquisition of English wh-interrogatives: Effects of L2 proficiency and age of onset

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 443-473
Author(s):  
Kholoud A. Al-Thubaiti
Keyword(s):  
Critical Period ◽  
Age Of Onset ◽  
First Language ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Saudi Arabic ◽  
Acceptability Judgment

AbstractThis study investigates whether second language (L2) speakers can pre-empt a first language (L1) property which involves uninterpretable features, such as resumption. The Interpretability Hypothesis predicts persistent L1 effects in L2 grammars because uninterpretable features resist resetting beyond some critical period (Tsimpli and Dimitrakopoulou 2007). Unlike English, Saudi Arabic allows grammatical resumption in complex wh-interrogatives, which is highly preferred with (D)iscourse-linked wh-forms (e. g. ʔayy-NP ‘which-NP’) but disallowed with non-D-linked ones (e. g. ʔeeʃ ‘what’). The study was conducted with fifteen native English speakers and 34 (very)-advanced Saudi Arabic L2 speakers of English with age of onset (AO 1–13 years). In a bimodal, timed acceptability judgment task, their accuracy judgments of 32 (un)grammatical wh-interrogatives were tested. As predicted, results show that L2 speakers of very advanced levels inaccurately accepted resumption especially with D-linked wh-interrogatives. The results also show non-significant differences between AO 1–6 and 7–13 years in their rejection accuracy of resumption.

Reassembly of plural and human features in the L2 acquisition of Chinese by adult Korean speakers

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 529-555
Author(s):  
Jiajia Su
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Grammaticality Judgment ◽  
Feature Reassembly ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Korean Speakers

This article reports on a study investigating the second language (L2) acquisition of the plural and human features in Mandarin Chinese by adult Korean speakers. Both plural and human features are represented in Korean and Chinese, but assembled in different ways. Forty-eight L2 learners at beginner, intermediate, and advanced Chinese proficiency levels and twenty-three native speakers of Chinese were tested using a grammaticality judgment task. The results show that L2 learners can successfully reassemble the two features, though L2 specific contexts and restrictions on feature realization are difficult. The advanced group has achieved native-like performance. The findings provide empirical evidence for the Feature Reassembly Hypothesis (Lardiere, 2009).

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document