Acquisition of Chinese Verb Separation by Adult L2 Learners
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5900769 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Zhe Gao (0000-0002-7951-6848, Carnegie Mellon University, corresponding author), Seth Wiener (0000-0002-7383-3682, Carnegie Mellon University), Brian Macwhinney (0000-0002-4988-1342, Carnegie Mellon University) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 225 |
| Publication date | 2022-08-29 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Languages (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2226-471X • E-ISSN: 2226-471X |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/languages7030225 |
| OpenAlex | W4293758666 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 26 |
Chinese verb separation is a grammatical construction in which a bimorphemic verb compound separates and expands into a verb phrase. For example, to say "sang one song", one must insert the aspect marker le and classifier phrase yī shǒu between the verb chàng gē 'sing-song' as in chàng le yī shǒu gē (sing-LE-one-classifier-song). Adult second language (L2) learners face at least three problems related to acquiring verb separation: separation patterns are complex and numerous, classroom oral input is limited, and L1 transfer often fails. To better understand L2 learners' acquisition of verb separation, this study tested 28 adult L2-Chinese classroom learners. Three tasks were administered online: verb decomposition, grammaticality judgment, and oral translation. On average, only 37% of verbs were accurately decomposed, 63% of verbs were accurately judged to be grammatical, and 19% of verbs were orally produced with the correct separation pattern. Chinese verb separation, particularly decomposition and oral production, is thus extremely challenging for L2 learners to acquire-even for advanced learners with a relatively large vocabulary size. The results are discussed in terms of the Unified Competition Model and L2 Chinese pedagogy
Grammar · Grammaticality · Linguistics · Merge (version control · Modal verb · Natural language processing · Phrase · Reflexive verb · Verb · Verb phrase ellipsis · Vocabulary · Computer Science · Natural Language Processing Techniques · Philosophy · Psychology · Second Language Acquisition and Learning · Text Readability and Simplification · Artificial Intelligence
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| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2025 (3) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |