ERIC Number: EJ856266
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Oct
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1366-7289
EISSN: N/A
The Syntax-Discourse Interface in Near-Native L2 Acquisition: Offline and On-Line Performance
Hopp, Holger
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, v12 n4 p463-483 Oct 2009
This study investigates ultimate attainment at the syntax-discourse interface in adult second-language (L2) acquisition. In total, 91 L1 (first-language) English, L1 Dutch and L1 Russian advanced-to-near-native speakers of German and 63 native controls are tested on an acceptability judgement task and an on-line self-paced reading task. These centre on discourse-related word order optionality in German. Results indicate that convergence at the syntax-discourse interface is in principle possible in adult L2 acquisition, both in off-line knowledge and on-line processing, even for L1 English speakers, whose L1 does not correspond to L2 German in discourse-to-syntax mappings. At the same time, non-convergence of the L1 Dutch groups and differences in the L2 groups' performance between tasks suggest that asymmetries in L1-L2 discourse configurations and computational difficulties in mapping discourse onto syntax constrain L2 performance.
Descriptors: Syntax, Second Language Learning, Word Order, German, Native Speakers, Adults, English, Indo European Languages, Russian, Control Groups, Language Processing, Computers, Internet, Concept Mapping, Task Analysis, Language Acquisition
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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