From emergence to acquisition
Developmental issues in Arabic interlanguage morphology
This paper concerns the emergence and development of agreement marking in Arabic interlanguage. It investigates the effect of competing structures (pragmatics, semantics and morphosyntax) on the development of Arabic subject-verb agreement morphology. It is hypothesised that Arabic Interlanguage morphology is constrained by the availability of processing strategies (Clahsen, 1986) and competing information structures (Bates and McWhinney, 1981; 1987) especially when dealing with complex agreement patterns. The results show that linguistic complexity (a) influences the types of processing strategies employed and (b) determines the order of acquisition of different agreement patterns. It is also revealed that when the three information structures compete for interpretation of speech, morphosyntax emerges as the least influential eventhough it seems that S-V agreement in Arabic, at least on the surface, is essentially a transfer of morphosyntactic features (person, number and gender) from the subject onto the verb.
References (43)
References
Anderson, S.R. (1985) Inflectional morphology. In T. Shopen (ed) Language typology and syntactic description. Vol1 31. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bakalla, M.H. (ed) (1980) Proceedings of the first international symposium on teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers. Riyadh, University of Riyadh.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Barlow, M. (1992) A situated theory of agreement. New York, Garland Publishing.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bates, E. and B. MacWhinney. (1981) SLA from a functional perspective: Pragmatic, semantic and perceptual strategies. In H. Winitz (ed) Annals of the New York Academy of Science conference on native and foreign language acquisition. New York, New York Academy of Sciences.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bates, E. and B. MacWhinney Bates. (1987) Language universals, individual variation, and the competition model. In B. McWhinney and E. Bates (eds) Mechanisms of language acquisition. New York, Cambridge University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bever, T.G. (1970) The cognitive basis for linguistic competence. In T.G. Hayes (ed) Cognition and tlie development of language. New York, Wiley.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cazden, C., E. Cancino, E. Rosansky and J. Schumann (1975) Second language acquisition sequences in children, adolescents and adults. Report submitted to the National Institute of education, Washington D.C.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Clahsen, H. (1986) Connecting theories of language processing and (second) language acquisition. C.W. Pfaff (ed) First and second language acquisition processes. Cambridge, Newbury House.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Clahsen, H. and P. Muysken (1989). The UG paradox and second language acquisition. Second Language Research 21:99-119.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Decamp, D. (1973) Implicational scales and socio linguistic linearity. Linguistics 731:30-43.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Dik, S. (1978) Functional grammar. Amsterdam, North Holland.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Fassi Fehri, A. (1988) Agreement in Arabic, Binding and coherence. In M. Barlow and C. A. Ferguson (eds) Agreement in natural language. Stanford, CA, CSLI.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Givon, T. (1979) Discourse and syntax (Syntax and Semantics No 121) New York, Academic Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Givon, T. (1990) Syntax: A functional-typological introduction. Vol. 21. Amsterdam, John Benjamins.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Gutman, L. (1948) A basis for scaling qualitative data. American Sociolinguistic Review 91:139-150. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hakuta, K. (1976) A case study of a Japanese child learning English as a second language. Language Learning 26,2:321-351. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Klein, W. (1991) SLA theory: Prolegomena to a theory of language acquisition and implications for theoretical linguistics. In T. Huebner and C. A. Ferguson (eds).![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lapointe, S.G. (1984) Toward a unified theory of agreement. Paper presented at the Conference on Agreement in Natural Language, Stanford University.
Lapointe, S.G. (1988.b) Distinguishing types of morphosyntactic co-occurences: mismatch resolution, agreement and government. Proceedings of the Twenty-Fourth Regional Meeting of the Chicago Linguistic Society. Vol. 21 Parasession on agreement in grammatical theory. Chicago, Chicago Linguistic Society.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Langacker, R.W. (1986) Foundations of cognitive grammar topics, in B. Rudaka-Oyston (ed) Cognitive linguistics. Amsterdam, John Benjamins.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Larsen-Freeman, D. and M. Long (1991) An introduction to second language classroom research. London, Longman.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Eid, M. and J. McCarthy (eds) (1990) Perspectives on Arabic linguistics. Amsterdam, John Benjamins.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Mansouri, F. (1995.a) A discourse approach to the acquisition of Arabic S-V agreement by Australian learners. Unpublished M.A thesis. The Australian National University.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Mansouri, F. (1995.b) The acquisition of Arabic subject-verb agreement by Australian learners. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics 16,2:64-85.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Meisel, J., H. Clahsen and M. Pienemann, (1981) On determining developmental stages in natural SLA. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 3,1:109-135. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Moutaouakil, A. (1985) Topic in Arabic: Towards a functional analysis. In A.M. Bolkestein, C. De Groot and J. L. Mackenzie (eds) Syntax and pragmatics in functional grammar. Foris Publication: Dordrecht-Holland. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Neel, A.F. (1980) Fundamentals of Arabic grammar for non-Arabic Speakers. In Bakalla (ed.).![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Omar, M. (1973) The acquisition of Egyptian Arabic as a native language. The Hague, Mouton. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pienemann, M. (1984) Psychological constraints on the teachability of languages. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 6,2:186-214. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pienemann, M and M. Johnston (1985) Towards an explanatory model of language acquisition. Paper presented at the 1985 Los Angeles Second Language Research Forum, UCLA.
Pienemann, M. (1989) Is language teachable? Psycholinguistic experiments and hypotheses. Applied Linguistics 101:52-79. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pienemann, M. (1994) Towards a theory of processability in second language acquisition. Unpublished ms, Australian National University. A more comprehensive edition of this paper is to appear in a forthcoming book Language processing and second language acquisition.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Rutherford, W. (1983) Language typology and language transfer. In S. Gass and L. Selinker (eds) Language transfer in language learning. Rowley, MA, Newbury House.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Sadock, J. (1986) An autolexical view of pronouns, anaphora and agreement. Working Papers on Linguistics, University of Chicago, 21.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Slobin, D.I. (1973) Cognitive prerequisites for the development of grammar. In C.A. Ferguson and D.I. Slobin (eds) Studies of child language development. New York, Holt Rinehart and Winston.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Slobin, D.I. (ed) (1985) The cross-linguistic study of language acquisition. Hillsdale, NJ, Earlbaum.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Van Valin, R.D., and W.A. Foley, (1980) Role and reference grammar. In E.A. Moravcsik and J.R. Wirth. (eds) Current approaches to syntax. New York, Academic Press. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cited by (2)
Cited by two other publications
Kawaguchi, Satomi
2009.
Acquiring Causative Constructions in Japanese as a Second Language.
Japanese Studies 29:2
► pp. 273 ff.
![DOI logo](//benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 30 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.