Parameter-resetting in Second Language Acquisition

1993 ◽  
pp. 105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Platt
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Parameter Resetting

scholarly journals The Interpretability of Features in Second Language Acquisition: Evidence from Null and Postverbal Subjects in L2 English

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Prentza ◽  
Ianthi-Maria Tsimpli
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
English Grammar ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Parameter Resetting ◽  
L1 English

We examine the microparameters of null and postverbal subjects in the Greek L1/English L2 interlanguage, exploring the role of interpretability in interlanguage representations. Our results suggest that while uninterpretable features are inaccessible in L2 acquisition, interpretable features are available and play a compensatory role. Although the abstract L1 properties of subject-verb agreement seem to transfer to the L2 representation, the effects appear scattered and transfer is not direct. We thus suggest that Greek-learner L2 English grammar exhibits non-random optionality in the properties of null and postverbal subjects, regulated by parameter-resetting (feature re-valuation) which is, however, neither the L1 (Greek) nor the target L2 (English) option.

Features or parameters: which one makes second language acquisition easier, and more interesting to study?

2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 313-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roumyana Slabakova
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
First Language ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Parameter Resetting

While agreeing with Lardiere that the `parameter-resetting' approach to understanding second language acquisition (SLA) needs rethinking, it is suggested that a more construction-based perspective runs the risk of losing deductive and explanatory power. An alternative is to investigate the constraints on feature assembly/re-assembly in second language (L2) grammars. A model of grammatical organization is adopted from Ramchand and Svenonius (2008) in which properties of the conceptual—intentional (C—I) module of mind are universal, and variation between languages is determined by the extent to which such properties are grammaticalized or determined by context. Predictions are then made about the degree of difficulty involved in determining the appropriate mapping from the C—I module to grammar or context when a learner's first language (L1) is similar to or different from the L2.

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