Chapter 8. Offline L2-English relative clause attachment preferences
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Amy Atiles
Abstract
This paper adds to the debate on second language (L2) relative clause (RC) attachment preferences by investigating offline L2-English preferences by first-language (L1) speakers of Japanese, which has strong head-finality and free word order (Ito et al., 2021; Kamide & Mitchell, 1998; Yamada et al., 2017). A forced-choice task tested L1-English and L1-Japanese/L2-English speakers with RCs that were pragmatically disambiguated to bias high or low attachment or had neutral bias. The L2 group’s high-attachment preference across all conditions compared to L1-English speakers was statistically significant. No L2 proficiency no effects were found. As English and Japanese are predicted to be influenced by the competing parsing principles of Recency and Predicate Proximity, respectively, these results suggest that attachment preferences are transferrable to the L2.
Abstract
This paper adds to the debate on second language (L2) relative clause (RC) attachment preferences by investigating offline L2-English preferences by first-language (L1) speakers of Japanese, which has strong head-finality and free word order (Ito et al., 2021; Kamide & Mitchell, 1998; Yamada et al., 2017). A forced-choice task tested L1-English and L1-Japanese/L2-English speakers with RCs that were pragmatically disambiguated to bias high or low attachment or had neutral bias. The L2 group’s high-attachment preference across all conditions compared to L1-English speakers was statistically significant. No L2 proficiency no effects were found. As English and Japanese are predicted to be influenced by the competing parsing principles of Recency and Predicate Proximity, respectively, these results suggest that attachment preferences are transferrable to the L2.
Chapters in this book
- 日本言語政策学会 / Japan Association for Language Policy. 言語政策 / Language Policy 10. 2014 i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
-
Section A. (Null) subjects and anaphora resolution
- Chapter 1. What the acquisition of Japanese vs. Chinese contributes to generative approaches to SLA 10
- Chapter 2. Extending the Decreased Activation Hypothesis 37
- Chapter 3. Complements and adjuncts of one in L2 English noun drop 63
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Section B. The nominal domain
- Chapter 4. Second language acquisition of English plurals by Chinese learners 88
- Chapter 5. Revisiting plurality in SLA 111
- Chapter 6. L2 acquisition of English flexible count and flexible mass nouns by L1-Japanese and L1-Spanish speakers 134
-
Section C. Sensitivity in L2 processing & ambiguity resolution
- Chapter 7. Structural change and ambiguity resolution in L2 learners of English 172
- Chapter 8. Offline L2-English relative clause attachment preferences 197
- Chapter 9. Sensitivity to silently structured interveners 220
- Chapter 10. Sensitivity to event structure in passives supports deep processing in L1 and L2 238
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Section D. Forms and representations at the interfaces
- Chapter 11. “And yet it moves” 264
- Chapter 12. There isn’t a problem with indefinites in existential constructions in L2-English 290
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Section E. Factors in bi- and multilingual development
- Chapter 13. UG-as-Guide in selection and reassembly of an uninterpretable feature in L2 acquisition of wh -questions 316
- Chapter 14. The narrative skills of Russian-Cypriot Greek children 349
- Chapter 15. Multilingualism, linguistic diversity, and English in India 374
- 日本言語政策学会 / Japan Association for Language Policy. 言語政策 / Language Policy 10. 2014 401
Chapters in this book
- 日本言語政策学会 / Japan Association for Language Policy. 言語政策 / Language Policy 10. 2014 i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
-
Section A. (Null) subjects and anaphora resolution
- Chapter 1. What the acquisition of Japanese vs. Chinese contributes to generative approaches to SLA 10
- Chapter 2. Extending the Decreased Activation Hypothesis 37
- Chapter 3. Complements and adjuncts of one in L2 English noun drop 63
-
Section B. The nominal domain
- Chapter 4. Second language acquisition of English plurals by Chinese learners 88
- Chapter 5. Revisiting plurality in SLA 111
- Chapter 6. L2 acquisition of English flexible count and flexible mass nouns by L1-Japanese and L1-Spanish speakers 134
-
Section C. Sensitivity in L2 processing & ambiguity resolution
- Chapter 7. Structural change and ambiguity resolution in L2 learners of English 172
- Chapter 8. Offline L2-English relative clause attachment preferences 197
- Chapter 9. Sensitivity to silently structured interveners 220
- Chapter 10. Sensitivity to event structure in passives supports deep processing in L1 and L2 238
-
Section D. Forms and representations at the interfaces
- Chapter 11. “And yet it moves” 264
- Chapter 12. There isn’t a problem with indefinites in existential constructions in L2-English 290
-
Section E. Factors in bi- and multilingual development
- Chapter 13. UG-as-Guide in selection and reassembly of an uninterpretable feature in L2 acquisition of wh -questions 316
- Chapter 14. The narrative skills of Russian-Cypriot Greek children 349
- Chapter 15. Multilingualism, linguistic diversity, and English in India 374
- 日本言語政策学会 / Japan Association for Language Policy. 言語政策 / Language Policy 10. 2014 401
