Multiple constraints on the acquisition of English dative alternations by Zhuang EFL learners
Roles of verb bias, verb semantics, and argument features
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24230558 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Keshu Xiang (0000-0001-9496-9637, Guangxi Medical University), Shuna Liu (0000-0003-0417-5732, Guangxi Medical University), Yingxi Wen (Guangxi Medical University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-21 |
| Publication date | 2026-10-14 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Multilingualism (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1479-0718 • E-ISSN: 1747-7530 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14790718.2026.2747801 |
| OpenAlex | W7221821839 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 33 |
This study investigated the effects of verb bias, verb semantics, and argument features in Zhuang EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners’ acquisition of English dative alternations. A sentence rating task was used in the study. Participants in the study were L1 Zhuang–L2 Mandarin–L3 English speakers at intermediate and advanced English proficiency levels. Linear mixed-effects models demonstrated that verb-bias, verb-semantics, and argument features jointly exerted constraining effects: significant main effects emerged for verb-bias (preemption), verb semantics (mailing and bequeathing), and multiple argument features (syntactic complexity, pronominality of recipient, definiteness of theme, animacy of recipient, animacy of theme, number of theme, person of recipient and previous prepositional object construction). By-group analysis further revealed that advanced learners showed broader sensitivity to these multi-dimensional constraints. To the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to jointly examine verb bias, verb semantics, and argument features of English dative alternations in this specific L3 learner population, with learners’ sensitivity to predictive factors scaling positively with their proficiency.
dative alternation · English as a foreign language · Language transfer · Mandarin Chinese learners · Second-language acquisition · verb bias · verb semantics · Zhuang language · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Second Language Acquisition and Learning · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
Analyzing Linguistic Data
Language, Usage and Cognition
Verb argument structure overgeneralisations for the English intransitive and transitive constructions
Unraveling overgeneralization in second language acquisition
Multiple Constraints on Second Language Processing of English Dative Alternation
Structural priming facilitates L2 learning of the dative alternation in Mandarin
Integration of Verbal and Constructional Information in the Second Language Processing of English Dative Constructions
Factors influencing L2 learners’ use of the English dative construction
Definiteness, Animacy, and NP Ordering
Evolving means of formal language policy on Putonghua and minority languages on the Chinese mainland (1986–2021)
Linguistic schoolscapes of an ethnic minority region in the PRC
Genericity in L2 French and L3 English
Negative entrenchment
Cognitive indigenization effects in the English dative alternation
Constraints on the argument structure of dative verbs in advanced L3 English
Heaviness vs. newness
Japanese and Chinese Learners' Acquisition of the Narrow-Range Rules for the Dative Alternation in English
Processing reflexes of the Feature Hierarchy (Person > Number > Gender) and implications for linguistic theory
The indirect object construction in English
Predicting syntax
The Learnability and Acquisition of the Dative Alternation in English
| Highly cited | No |
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