Variational learning in L2

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 432-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Rankin
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Verb Movement ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Auxiliary Verbs ◽  
Syntactic Representation ◽  
Input Strings ◽  
Variational Learning

This study examines the interpretation of constituent wh-questions in L2 English by learners whose L1 is Austrian German. Austrian German and English share identical surface word order patterns for a range of question forms, but with distinct semantic interpretations. Non-target patterns of interpretation show that the learners ay high levels of proficiency continue to optionally parse English questions with the L1 syntax. The continued presence of thematic verb movement and head-final VP syntax in L1 German-L2 English interlanguage challenges previous findings that headedness is reset very early and that V2 is realised by auxiliary verbs. This is analysed as an instance of Variational Learning (Yang, 2002), whereby the L1 grammar is accessed to parse L2 input where possible. The L1 syntactic representation thus continues to be available at high proficiency levels to parse input strings that are linearly compatible, giving rise in the case of L1 German-L2 English to non-target parses and interpretation of wh-questions.

OV versus VO in Old High German

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svetlana Petrova ◽  
Helmut Weiß
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Landing Site ◽  
Old High German ◽  
Verb Movement ◽  
Functional Projection ◽  
Functional Head ◽  
Word Order Variation ◽  
Order Variation ◽  
The Right

This chapter surveys the word order variation in the right periphery of the clause in OHG. The investigation is based on a corpus including all dependent clauses introduced by the complementizer thaz ‘that’ in the minor OHG documents, a collection of up to forty smaller texts of various genres. The analysis shows that the majority of the data can be explained within a standard OV grammar, assuming additional extraposition of heavy XPs to the right. But apart from these cases, there is evidence supporting the assumption of leftward movement of the verb to an intermediate functional projection vP which is optional with basic OV but obligatory with basic VO. In addition, the chapter presents patterns which evidently involve verb movement to a higher functional head, above vP, and discusses the nature of the landing site of the verb in these cases.

scholarly journals On the Acquisition of Word Order in WH-Questions in theTromsø Dialect

Nordlyd ◽  
10.7557/12.48 ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marit Richardsen Westergaard
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Information Structure ◽  
Verb Second ◽  
Verb Movement ◽  
Syntactic Form ◽  
Wh Questions

This article reports on a study of three children acquiring a dialect of Norwegian which allows two different word orders in certain types of WH-questions, verb second (V2) and and verb third (V3). The latter is only allowed after monosyllabic WH-words, while the former, which is the result of verb movement, is the word order found in all other main clauses in the language. It is shown that both V2 and V3 are acquired extremely early by the children in the study (before the age of two), and that subtle distinctions between the two orders with respect to information structure are attested from the beginning. However, it is argued that V3 word order, which should be ìsimplerî than the V2 structure as it does not involve verb movement, is nevertheless acquired slightly later in its full syntactic form. This is taken as an indication that the V3 structure is syntactically more complex, and possibly also more marked.

scholarly journals Interlanguage studies in a cross cultural context: the interlanguage of Spanish speakers (L1) in an approach English (L2), German (L3)

2009 ◽  
pp. 315
Author(s):  
Claudia Grümpel
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Verb Movement ◽  
Children And Adolescent ◽  
Contrastive Study ◽  
Verb Placement ◽  
Grammar Analysis

This paper focuses on the acquisition of word order in German by adult native speakers of Spanish in an institutional context (longitudinal study) and a contrastive study on children and adolescent acquisition using transversal tests. The theoretical framework is based on generative grammar analysis proposed for verb placement in German and a review of recent acquisition studies. Analyses of verb movement account for an underlying subject-verb-object order for all languages proposed by Zwart (1993, 1997) based on parallel works by Kayne (1993, 1994) and Chomsky (1993, 1995).

scholarly journals Resilient grammars: On VO/OV in Germanic linguistic islands in Northern Italy

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-355
Author(s):  
Cecilia Poletto ◽  
Günther Grewendorf
Keyword(s):  
General Theory ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Specific Property ◽  
Northern Italy ◽  
Verb Movement ◽  
Common Path ◽  
Diachronic Change ◽  
Basic Word ◽  
Linguistic Islands

In this work we consider some residual cases of OV order in Cimbrian and show that this is due to the interaction between verb movement, a language specific property, and the syntax of bare quantifiers. This has consequences on a general theory on the change of the basic word order, since it shows that the passage from OV to VO can involve different structures in different languages depending on other properties, hence it is not possible to trace a common path in the diachronic change for all languages that have undergone this mutation.

scholarly journals BASIC WORD ORDER IN BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE: A HYBRID EXTENDED PROJECTION PRINCIPLE (EPP) | A ORDEM BÁSICA DE PALAVRAS NO PORTUGUÊS BRASILEIRO: UM PRINCÍPIO DA PROJEÇÃO ESTENDIDO (EPP) HÍBRIDO

2017 ◽  
pp. 104
Author(s):  
Michelle Sheehan
Keyword(s):  
Hybrid Model ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Small Clause ◽  
External Argument ◽  
Verb Movement ◽  
Basic Word ◽  
Explanatory Account ◽  
Extended Projection ◽  
The Subject

<p>This paper proposes a novel analysis of word order in Brazilian Portuguese (BP), based on a hybrid model of EPP satisfaction. It is proposed that the subject requirement or EPP is a [uD] feature on T which can be satisfied either by DP movement or by movement of an inflected verb bearing a [D] feature in BP. This, it is claimed, offers an explanatory account of basic word order patterns in BP.  External argument DPs, merged above V, are closer to T than V, meaning that they must raise to satisfy the EPP, predicting SV(O) order with transitive and unergative predicates, including transitive psych-predicates. Internal arguments are merged below V, however, and so with unaccusatives, it is movement of the verb bearing a [uD] feature which satisfies the EPP, giving rise to VS order. With copular verbs which take small clause complements, a similar affect holds, as the copular verb can satisfy the EPP. Verb movement can also satisfy the EPP in impersonal contexts, hence the fact that BP lacks overt expletives.</p><p>Resumo: Este artigo propõe uma nova análise da ordem de palavras no Português Brasileiro (PB), baseada num modelo hibrido de satisfação do Princípio da Projeção Extendido (PPE). Propõe-se que o requisito de sujeito ou PPE é um rasgo [uD] no núcleo T, que se pode satisfazer ou por alçamento de um DP ou por movimento de um verbo flexionado com um traço [D] no PB. Esta abordagem oferece uma análise explanatória da ordem básica das palavras no PB. Os argumentos externos (dos verbos transitivos e inergativos) que originam acima do verbo, são mais perto de T, assim que devem mover para satisfazer o PPE, o que prediz corretamente a ordem SV(O) com estes verbos (incluso os predicados psicológicos transitivos).  Os argumentos internos originam abaixo do verbo, assim que com os verbos inacusativos, e o verbo com um traco [D] que deve satisfazer o PPE, ocasionando a ordem VS. Com os verbos copulares com clausulas pequenas como complemento, observamos algo parecido porque a verbo copulativo também pode satisfazer o PPE. O alçamento do verbo também pode satisfazer o PPE em contextos impessoais, por isso a falta de expletivos no PB. </p><p> </p>

scholarly journals Acquiring Word Order in Slovak as a Foreign Language: Comparison of Slavic and Non-Slavic Learners Utilizing Corpus Data

2021 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 353-370
Author(s):  
Martina Ivanová ◽  
Miroslava Kyseľová ◽  
Anna Gálisová
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Error Rate ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Error Distribution ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
Written Texts ◽  
Corpus Data

Abstract The paper deals with the acquisition of Slovak word order in written texts of students of Slovak as a foreign language. Its attention is focused on identifying the correct and incorrect placement of enclitic components, and their erroneous usage is analysed with respect to different investigated variables (types of enclitic components, types of syntactic construction, distance from lexical/syntactic anchor, and realization in pre- or post-verbal position). The paper also pays attention to the error rate regarding individual proficiency levels of students, and error distribution in two language groups, Slavic and Non-Slavic learners, is compared.

Changing EPP parameters

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lieven Danckaert
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Clause Structure ◽  
Verb Movement ◽  
Modal Verbs ◽  
The Core ◽  
History Of ◽  
Parametric Change ◽  
T Domain ◽  
The Way

This chapter starts with a description of the core facts concerning the VPAux/AuxVP alternation in the history of Latin. In the case of modal verbs and infinitives, there is a clear decline of the head-final order VPAux, whereas Late Latin BE-periphrases surprisingly prefer this order. Against the backdrop of these observations, the discussion then turns to the analysis of Classical and Late Latin clause structure. It is proposed that during the transition from Classical to Late Latin, a major parametric change took place related to the way the clausal EPP-requirement is satisfied. In the earlier grammar (‘Grammar A’), the entire VP undergoes A-movement to the high T-domain, resulting in the characteristic VPAux word order. In the later grammar (‘Grammar B’) the EPP-requirement is met by means of verb movement, with the VP staying in situ. In this grammar VPAux-orders are derived through roll-up movement, which is incompatible with the VOAux-pattern.

Cross-linguistic syntactic priming in Korean learners of English

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 1223-1247
Author(s):  
Myeongeun Son
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Syntactic Priming ◽  
Information Structures ◽  
Thematic Roles ◽  
Syntactic Representation ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Korean And English ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Korean Learners ◽  
Korean Learners Of English

AbstractThis study investigates whether L2 learners develop and share an abstract syntactic representation between an L1 and L2 with different word orders and, if so, whether one language’s unique syntactic features affect the shared representation. Korean (SOV) and English (SVO) have equivalent dative alternations; however, because Korean allows word-order scrambling, several dative structures are available in Korean that do not have English counterparts. In this study’s cross-linguistic syntactic priming experiment, intermediate and advanced Korean learners of English described pictures in English after reading various types of Korean dative sentences. The study found evidence of cross-linguistic syntactic priming between Korean and English, regardless of L2 proficiency, but only when prime and target structures shared identical functional assignments, information structures, and order of thematic roles. These results suggest that, within limits created by language-specific features, L2 learners can develop and share abstract representations between two languages with different word orders.

Een Minimalistische Analyse Van Tweede-Taalverwervingsdata

1999 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. 49-59
Author(s):  
Sonja Terluin
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Selection Criterion ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Verb Movement ◽  
Initial State ◽  
Verb Morphology ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Initial Hypothesis

This paper reports on the acquisition of word order and subject-verb agreement by adult Turkish learners of Dutch. Five initial state hypotheses were translated into three Mini-malist hypotheses. An evaluation of these hypotheses showed that Minimal Trees and Full Transfer/'Full Access were empirically hardly distinguishable, in spite of the great differences between the original theories. The selection criterion used turned out to be inappropiate to properly evaluate Weak Features' (based on Valueless Features, the Basic Variety and the Initial Hypothesis of Syntax.) Word order in the initial state is probably determined by the word order of L1. The exact analysis for (the) stage(s) preceding target language structure, however, remains unclear. A strong relationship was found between verb morphology and verb movement, but it is unclear how Turks discover this relationship, which does not exist in their mother tongue.

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