Evidence of syntactic constraints in the processing of wh -movement
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Saad Aldwayan
, Robert Fiorentino und Alison Gabriele
Abstract
Recent proposals have suggested that second language learners, unlike native speakers, are ‘shallow processors’ in that they do not make use of abstract syntactic knowledge in parsing, relying instead on lexical semantic knowledge and pragmatic notions such as plausibility (Clahsen & Felser, 2006a,b). The present study tested whether Najdi Arabic learners of English process whdependencies incrementally and whether they use knowledge of syntactic constraints in the processing of wh-movement. A group of advanced L2 learners (n = 40) as well as a control group of English native speakers (n = 40) participated in a self-paced reading study, which was based on Stowe (1986). The results of two experiments suggest that non-native processing is, like native processing, incremental and guided by syntactic constraints.
Abstract
Recent proposals have suggested that second language learners, unlike native speakers, are ‘shallow processors’ in that they do not make use of abstract syntactic knowledge in parsing, relying instead on lexical semantic knowledge and pragmatic notions such as plausibility (Clahsen & Felser, 2006a,b). The present study tested whether Najdi Arabic learners of English process whdependencies incrementally and whether they use knowledge of syntactic constraints in the processing of wh-movement. A group of advanced L2 learners (n = 40) as well as a control group of English native speakers (n = 40) participated in a self-paced reading study, which was based on Stowe (1986). The results of two experiments suggest that non-native processing is, like native processing, incremental and guided by syntactic constraints.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
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Part I. Introduction
- Second language processing and parsing 3
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Part II. Relative clauses and wh -movement
- Relative clause attachment preferences of Turkish L2 speakers of English 27
- Evidence of syntactic constraints in the processing of wh -movement 65
- Constraints on L2 learners’ processing of wh-dependencies 87
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Part III. Gender and number
- The effects of linear distance and working memory on the processing of gender agreement in Spanish 113
- Feature assembly in early stages of L2 acquisition 135
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Part IV. Subjects and objects
- Second language processing in Japanese scrambled sentences 159
- Second language gap processing of Japanese scrambling under a Simpler Syntax account 177
- The processing of subject-object ambiguities by English and Dutch L2 learners of German 207
- Connections between processing, production and placement 231
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Part V. Phonology and lexicon
- The exploitation of fine phonetic detail in the processing of L2 French 259
- Translation ambiguity 281
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Part VI. Prosody and context
- Reading aloud in two languages 297
- Near-nativelike processing of contrastive focus in L2 French 321
- Author index 345
- Subject index 349
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
-
Part I. Introduction
- Second language processing and parsing 3
-
Part II. Relative clauses and wh -movement
- Relative clause attachment preferences of Turkish L2 speakers of English 27
- Evidence of syntactic constraints in the processing of wh -movement 65
- Constraints on L2 learners’ processing of wh-dependencies 87
-
Part III. Gender and number
- The effects of linear distance and working memory on the processing of gender agreement in Spanish 113
- Feature assembly in early stages of L2 acquisition 135
-
Part IV. Subjects and objects
- Second language processing in Japanese scrambled sentences 159
- Second language gap processing of Japanese scrambling under a Simpler Syntax account 177
- The processing of subject-object ambiguities by English and Dutch L2 learners of German 207
- Connections between processing, production and placement 231
-
Part V. Phonology and lexicon
- The exploitation of fine phonetic detail in the processing of L2 French 259
- Translation ambiguity 281
-
Part VI. Prosody and context
- Reading aloud in two languages 297
- Near-nativelike processing of contrastive focus in L2 French 321
- Author index 345
- Subject index 349