Feature dependency and the poverty of the stimulus in the acquisition of L2 German plural allomorphy
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John Archibald
Abstract
In this study, I investigated the acquisition of L2 German plural allomorphy via a written production task of classroom learners in North America. Trommer (2015) has argued that the mutual exclusivity of marking plural by either an [n] suffix or an umlauted (i.e. [CORONAL]) stem vowel derives from a universal property of phonological representations. The crossing of association lines, which would result from doubly linking the [CORONAL] feature (which marks the plural), is banned. The data show that the learners made many errors, but that the number of forms which suggested a violation of this universal property were statistically insignificant. I argue that these data are consistent with models showing that interlanguage phonologies are governed by universal phonological principles.
Abstract
In this study, I investigated the acquisition of L2 German plural allomorphy via a written production task of classroom learners in North America. Trommer (2015) has argued that the mutual exclusivity of marking plural by either an [n] suffix or an umlauted (i.e. [CORONAL]) stem vowel derives from a universal property of phonological representations. The crossing of association lines, which would result from doubly linking the [CORONAL] feature (which marks the plural), is banned. The data show that the learners made many errors, but that the number of forms which suggested a violation of this universal property were statistically insignificant. I argue that these data are consistent with models showing that interlanguage phonologies are governed by universal phonological principles.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- Introduction 1
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L2 acquisition of syntax
- Intervention effects in L1 and L2 English raising 11
- Explaining the difficulty with L2 acquisition of scope interpretation by speakers of a scope-rigid language 41
- Definiteness and argument position in the interpretation of bare nouns 67
- L1-Mandarin L2-English learners’ acquisition of English double-quantifier scope 93
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L2 acquisition at interfaces
- Feature dependency and the poverty of the stimulus in the acquisition of L2 German plural allomorphy 117
- Development of L2 prosody 137
- Transfer of prosodic representation 157
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Impact of previously learned languages
- The role of L1 Norwegian and L2 English in the acquisition of verb placement in L3 German 191
- Feature reconfiguration at the syntax-discourse interface 213
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Exploring extra-linguistic factors and their impact on L2 acquisition
- Interference-based and capacity-based approaches to working memory in second language sentence processing 243
- Heritage language speakers inform the critical period hypothesis for first and second language acquisition 265
- A different type of RC attachment resolution 287
- Subject Index 315
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- Introduction 1
-
L2 acquisition of syntax
- Intervention effects in L1 and L2 English raising 11
- Explaining the difficulty with L2 acquisition of scope interpretation by speakers of a scope-rigid language 41
- Definiteness and argument position in the interpretation of bare nouns 67
- L1-Mandarin L2-English learners’ acquisition of English double-quantifier scope 93
-
L2 acquisition at interfaces
- Feature dependency and the poverty of the stimulus in the acquisition of L2 German plural allomorphy 117
- Development of L2 prosody 137
- Transfer of prosodic representation 157
-
Impact of previously learned languages
- The role of L1 Norwegian and L2 English in the acquisition of verb placement in L3 German 191
- Feature reconfiguration at the syntax-discourse interface 213
-
Exploring extra-linguistic factors and their impact on L2 acquisition
- Interference-based and capacity-based approaches to working memory in second language sentence processing 243
- Heritage language speakers inform the critical period hypothesis for first and second language acquisition 265
- A different type of RC attachment resolution 287
- Subject Index 315
