Feature reassembly and L1 preemption

Acquiring CLLD in L2 Italian and L2 Romanian

Dados Bibliográficos

ID11655810
AutoresLiz Smeets (0000-0002-5285-6703, York University, autor correspondente)
Ano2023
Volume40
Fascículo3
Páginas559-589
Data de publicação2023-05-21
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoSecond language Research (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0267-6583 • E-ISSN: 1477-0326
EditoraSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/02676583231156307
PMID39092003
OpenAlexW4377242234
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas3
Referências citadas43

This study investigates feature acquisition and feature reassembly associated with Clitic Left Dislocation (CLLD). The article compares the acquisition of CLLD in second language (L2) Italian to L2 Romanian to examine effects of first language (L1) transfer, construction frequency and the type of interface involved (external vs. internal interface) within the same syntactic construction. The results from an acceptability judgment task and a written elicitation task show that while English near-native speakers of Italian/Romanian acquired the L2 constraints on CLLD, which is [+anaphor] for Italian and [+specific] for Romanian, data from both Romanian L2 learners of Italian and Italian L2 learners of Romanian showed persistent L1 transfer effects. Target-like acquisition for these groups requires both grammatical expansion and retraction; Romanian CLLD requires the addition of an L1-unavailable [+specific] feature and the loss of a [+anaphor] feature, while Italian CLLD requires the addition of an L1-unavailable [+anaphor] and the loss of a [+specific] feature. The reported findings extend evidence in favour of the Feature Reassembly Hypothesis to the syntax-discourse interface, as reassembly of interpretational features associated with CLLD proved more difficult than feature acquisition. While learners at the near-native levels were able to broaden the contexts that allow a clitic in the L2 (grammatical expansion), L1 preemption difficulties were attested as well. This was the case regardless of the frequency of the relevant construction in the input and the type of L2 feature that needed to be added/removed

Clitic · Comprehension approach · Feature (linguistics · First language · Language transfer · Linguistics · Natural language · Natural language processing · Romanian · Second-language acquisition · Syntax · Computer Science · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism · Phonetics and Phonology Research · Psychology · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation