Semantic and pragmatic constraints on mood selection

2003 ◽  
pp. 129-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Marques
Keyword(s):  
Mood Selection

ON COMPLEXITY AND DIVERGENCE IN HERITAGE LANGUAGE GRAMMARS

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Silvia Perez-Cortes
Keyword(s):  
Heritage Language ◽  
Previous Literature ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Mood Selection ◽  
High Degree

Abstract For more than a decade, research on heritage speakers’ (HSs’) mood selection has documented a high degree of variability in their interpretation and use of mood morphology in variable contexts. Most of the previous literature, however, has focused on late-acquired alternations, and often limited analyses to one form (i.e., subjunctive), making it difficult to draw conclusions about HSs’ knowledge of mood distinctions. This study intends to fill this gap by examining Spanish HSs’ (n = 76) and Spanish-dominant controls’ (n = 25) interpretation and use of an early acquired mood alternation, where the presence of indicative or subjunctive conveys the report of an assertion or a command. Results from two experimental tasks reveal that, even though HSs’ performance tends to differ from that of controls’—especially at lower levels of proficiency—the nature and extent of their divergences suggests the need to embrace a more nuanced analysis of HSs’ linguistic outcomes when examining modal contrasts.

scholarly journals Semantics and syntax in Old English mood selection

2020 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 304-339
Author(s):  
Howard Jones ◽  
Morgan Macleod
Keyword(s):  
Old English ◽  
Mood Selection

The role of aural recognition in L2 Spanish mood selection

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 555-587
Author(s):  
Annalisa Teixeira
Keyword(s):  
Unique Challenge ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Phonological Sensitivity ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
L2 Spanish ◽  
Mood Selection ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Pedagogical Approaches

It is widely recognized that the development of mood selection in Spanish poses a unique challenge for English-speaking L2 learners, but the role that aural mood recognition plays in this process has yet to be fully explored (Collentine, 2010). This present study, conducted with intermediate-advanced L2 Spanish students, considers issues of aural saliency for regular and irregular present subjunctive forms, and argues that if students cannot perceive mood modeled in spoken input, the necessary frequency-driven, form-meaning connections essential for acquisition could be hindered, impacting mood production (Ellis, 2002, 2009). These exploratory results suggest a positive correlation between phonological sensitivity to the present subjunctive form and target-like mood production, especially when coupled with mood noticing strategies. The outcome of this study offers insight into L2 mood selection development and adds support to pedagogical approaches that strengthen aural mood recognition and encourage explicit strategies for mood processing.

MOOD SELECTION IN RELATIVE CLAUSES

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Borgonovo ◽  
Joyce Bruhn de Garavito ◽  
Philippe Prévost
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Relative Clause ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Lexical Semantics ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Lively Debate ◽  
Specific Pair ◽  
Mood Selection

There is presently a lively debate in second language (L2) acquisition research as to whether (adult) learners can acquire linguistic phenomena located at the interface between syntax and other modules, such as semantics, pragmatics, and lexical semantics, in contrast to phenomena that are purely syntactic in nature. For some researchers, the interface is precisely the place where fossilization occurs and the source of nonconvergence in L2 speakers. In this article we focus on the acquisition of the morphosyntax-semantics interface by examining the acquisition of mood in Spanish relative clauses by native speakers (NSs) of English. In particular, we focus on the contrast illustrated byBusco unas tijeras que corten“I am looking for scissors that cut-subj” versusBusco unas tijeras que cortan“I am looking for scissors that cut-ind.” When the indicative is used, there is a specific pair of scissors that the speaker is looking for. With the subjunctive, any pair of scissors will do, as long as it satisfies the condition expressed by the relative clause; the determiner phrase is nonspecific. In other words, we are dealing not with ungrammaticality, as both moods are possible in these contexts, but rather with differences in interpretation. General results showed that the learners could appropriately select the expected mood. We also saw that performance was not uniform across the various conditions tested. However, variability is not solely a product of L2 acquisition; we show it can be found in NSs as well.

scholarly journals Differential Access: Asymmetries in Accessing Features and Building Representations in Heritage Language Grammars

Languages ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Perez-Cortes ◽  
Putnam ◽  
Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Language Loss ◽  
State Representation ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Feature Values ◽  
Mood Selection ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Differential Access

In this article, we propose that elements of heritage language grammars—both in the form of axiomatic features and larger combined representational units—are not easily lost over the course of the lifespan. This view contrasts with alternative explanations for the steady-state representation of these grammars that suggest truncated acquisition or erosion are the primary culprits of perceived language loss. In production and comprehension processes for heritage bilinguals, particular elements are more difficult to access than others, leading to differential ways to access representations and feature values. To illustrate and support this hypothesis, we build on previous work by examining the interpretation and use of obligatory mood selection in Spanish desiderative constructions in three groups of heritage speakers with different levels of language proficiency.

Subjunctive Use in the Speech of New York City Spanish Heritage Language Bilinguals

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Martillo Viner
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
York City ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Rank Order ◽  
Oral Production ◽  
Verb Forms ◽  
Group Variation ◽  
Mood Selection ◽  
Heritage Language Speakers

Through quantitative investigation, the present study considers the use of subjunctive verb forms in the speech of Spanish heritage language speakers in New York City. The data are from recorded conversations with 26 participants of Puerto Rican, Dominican, Mexican, Ecuadorian, Colombian and Cuban national origins. The purpose of this sociolinguistic study is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the mood grammar of NYC Spanish-English bilinguals in oral production. Results from statistical analyses show significant language-internal differences (e.g., context and rank order), but are null for all external variables, including national and regional grouping, suggesting a homogenous cohort with respect to mood selection. This study also explores inter- and intra-group variation, as well as a bilingual spectrum in which two individual participants demonstrate variable degrees of control with respect to grammatical mood.

scholarly journals What Can L2ers Tell Us about Codeswitching? Mood Selection in Spanish

Languages ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 200
Author(s):  
Nick Feroce ◽  
Ana de Prada Pérez ◽  
Lillian Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Community Norms ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Mood Selection ◽  
Spanish Heritage Speakers ◽  
Linguistic Structures ◽  
Acceptability Judgment

An increasing amount of research shows that bilinguals that engage in codeswitching (CS) may show different patterns of usage and sensitivity to particular linguistic structures depending on community norms. Additionally, proficiency may play a different role in sensitivity to code-switched utterances depending on speaker background, as well as the structure investigated. In this study, we aim to examine how bilinguals not exposed to CS in the community rate CS vs. unilingual sentences involving mood selection in Spanish. In an online acceptability judgment task (AJT), 20 Spanish L2ers rated sentences containing verbs in the indicative and subjunctive mood in restrictive relative clauses manipulated for the specificity of the antecedent in two separate sessions: a Spanish monolingual mode and a CS session. The L2ers did not show evidence of a CS effect and maintained a mood distinction according to the specificity of the antecedent both in unilingual and codeswitched sentences. These results are in contrast with the results previously reported for Spanish heritage speakers (HSs), where a CS effect is attested in the loss of preference for the subjunctive in nonspecific relative clauses in the CS vs. the monolingual Spanish condition. Additionally, this distinction is found at both lower and higher proficiency levels. The differences between these speakers and HSs are consistent with data from previous research on CS effects on phonology and Det–N switches. We argue that exposure to community norms is necessary for the acquisition of patterns not related exclusively to the grammaticality of switch junctures (I-language).

Examining L2 acquisition of the Spanish pluperfect subjunctive

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 487-522
Author(s):  
Diana P. Botero
Keyword(s):  
Proficiency Test ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Strong Line ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Multiple Interfaces ◽  
Spanish Subjunctive ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Mood Selection ◽  
Selection Of

There is a strong line of research on mood selection of the Spanish subjunctive (e.g., relative, argument, and adverbial clauses), but little attention has been paid to the Spanish pluperfect subjunctive in second language (L2) acquisition. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the acquisition of the Spanish pluperfect subjunctive in conditional clauses. This study aims to demonstrate what is easier and what is more difficult to acquire, as well as what the results can tell us in terms of interfaces. Forty-five participants (n=24 adult Spanish learners and n=21 native speakers) completed a proficiency test and four linguistic tasks. The results show variation by native speakers in their use of the subjunctive, while Spanish learners had difficulty with the morphology, but not with the semantics or pragmatics. These results are consistent with hypotheses that recognize that difficulty stems from morphology. The findings also suggest that the use of the Spanish pluperfect subjunctive involves multiple interfaces that interact simultaneously at the moment of the morphological realization.

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