Optionality and overgeneralisation patterns in second language acquisition: where has the expletive ensconced itself? Potsdam Linguistic Iinvestigations ; vol. 18.

Varley, Nadia:

ISBN 10: 3631667981 / ISBN 13: 9783631667989

Published by Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien: Peter Lang, 2015

About this Item

269 pp., 17 tables, 58 graphs. As new! - This book discusses the nature of optionality in second language grammars and the indeterminacy observed in second language users linguistic representations. For these purposes, experimental data from 213 learners of German and 150 learners of Russian have been collected and analysed with a special focus on the acquisition of various «subjectless» and impersonal constructions as well as argument licensing. Whereas voice alternations and argument licensing are topics amply discussed in theoretical domains, their practical implementation within second language research has remained a research lacuna. This piece of work intends to fill the gap. - Contents: 1. Introduction -- 1.1 Addressing the object of enquiry -- 1.2 Outline -- 2. Argument licensing and voice alternations -- 2.1 Theoretical background -- 2.2 Unaccusativity -- 2.3 Case and agreement in impersonals -- 2.4 Chapter summary -- 3. Previous L2 research: An overview -- 3.1 L1A vs. L2A -- 3.2 UG or not UG? -- 3.3 Syntactic impairment in L2A? -- 3.4 Underspecification and morphological deficits -- 3.5 L2 straddling the interfaces -- 3.6 Chapter summary -- 4. Parametric variation -- 4.1 On the EPP and expletives -- 4.2 Pro-drop -- 4.3 Impersonals, passives, and voice alternations cross-linguistically -- 4.4 Parameters and clustering effects in the languages under investigation -- 4.5 The L2A of arguments and voice alternations: Research questions and hypotheses -- 4.6 Chapter summary -- 5. Two studies -- 5.1 Methodology, informants, and data elicitation -- 5.2 'L2 GE' and 'L2 RU' tests: Description -- 5.3 Statistical evaluation - technical details -- 5.4 Results -- 5.5 Chapter summary -- 6. Discussion: On the complexities of L2 syntax -- 6.1 The nature of L2 knowledge -- 6.2 Exploring and explaining optionality in interlanguage grammars -- 6.3 L2 morpho-syntax -- 6.4 Chapter summary -- 7. Concluding remarks. ISBN 9783631667989 Sprache: Englisch Gewicht in Gramm: 356.

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Optionality and overgeneralisation patterns in second language acquisition: where has the expletive ensconced itself? Potsdam Linguistic Iinvestigations ; vol. 18.
• Publisher: Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien: Peter Lang
• Publication Date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3631667981
• ISBN 13: 9783631667989
• Binding: Hardcover, 22 cm, 360 g.
• Condition: Wie neu
• Weight: 356 grams
• Seller catalogs:
  • Sprachwissenschaft

About this title

Synopsis

This book discusses the nature of optionality in second language grammars and the indeterminacy observed in second language users’ linguistic representations. For these purposes, experimental data from 213 learners of German and 150 learners of Russian have been collected and analysed with a special focus on the acquisition of various «subjectless» and impersonal constructions as well as argument licensing. Whereas voice alternations and argument licensing are topics amply discussed in theoretical domains, their practical implementation within second language research has remained a research lacuna. This piece of work intends to fill the gap.

About the Author

Nadia Varley received her PhD in Germanic Linguistics at the University of Wuppertal. Her research focuses on syntax, interface phenomena and second language acquisition. She is also interested in the empirical verification of the theoretical claims within the framework of Generative Grammar.