Chapter 11
Cross-language influences in L2 syntactic processing and production in late L2 learners
Is syntactic processing in a second language (L2) influenced by the first language? This chapter reviews studies that address this issue, with an emphasis on work testing cross-linguistic structural priming. Such priming may indicate that the speaker has shared or connected syntactic representations across languages. We first sketch two types of theories of L2 syntactic representations: theories assuming that syntactic sharing increases with experience, and those assuming the opposite trajectory. We then review studies that found cross-linguistic priming in production and in comprehension and discuss how factors such as lexical overlap, proficiency, word order, case marking, and linguistic distance modulate this effect. We conclude with a discussion of the findings in light of current theories of syntactic processing in L2.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 1.1From L2-specific to shared (L1 + L2) syntactic representations
- 1.2Cross-linguistic influence from the start
- 2.Factors affecting cross-language syntactic influences
- 2.1Lexical effects
- 2.2Proficiency
- 2.3Word order
- 2.4Case marking
- 2.5Linguistic distance
- 3.Discussion
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References