Cover not available
Article published In:
Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism
Vol. 11:5 (2021) ► pp.640–668

What does and doesn’t affect L2 overt pronoun production

A Corpus Study of L1-English, L1-Korean, and L1-Mandarin L2 Speakers of Japanese

| Long Island University Brooklyn
This study examined corpus data from learners of Japanese whose L1s are English, Korean, and Mandarin (as well as native-speaker Japanese controls), in order to investigate the effect of two separate (but sometimes conflated) potential influences on overt pronoun production in the L2: (i) whether or not the L1 is a topic-drop language (like Japanese), and (ii) the properties of overt pronouns in the L1 compared to those of Japanese. In order to investigate (i), the rate of overt pronoun use in topic/argument position for all three learner groups was tabulated and compared to that of native speakers. In order to investigate (ii), total rate of overt pronoun use in all positions was tabulated, as well as the type of case-/discourse-marking particles that accompanied overt pronouns in each learner group, compared to native speakers. Results show no influence of L1 topic-drop status, but some influence of L1 overt pronoun properties, in the form of (a) interactions between the morphosyntax of pronouns and broader DP/NP structure in the L1 and L2, and (b) shared discourse properties of the overt pronoun in the L1 and L2.
Keywords: topic-drop, pronoun, Japanese, second language acquisition, genitive
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1L2 Acquisition of topic-drop languages: Previous studies
    • 1.2Possible influences on overt pronoun production in L2 Japanese
      • 1.2.1Topic-drop status: [EPP] feature on T
      • 1.2.2Properties of overt pronouns: Frequency
      • 1.2.3Properties of overt pronouns: Morphosyntax
  • 2.Research questions
  • 3.Methods
    • 3.1Corpora & transcript selection
    • 3.2Procedure & coding
  • 4.Data analysis
    • 4.1Quantitative analysis
    • 4.2Qualitative analysis
    • 4.3Summary of results
  • 5.Discussion
    • 5.1Possible influence of [EPP] feature
    • 5.2Properties of overt pronouns in the L1: Overt pronoun frequency
    • 5.3Properties of overt pronouns in the L1: Overt pronoun morphosyntax
    • 5.4An unexpected finding: Overproduction of overt pronouns by L1-Korean speakers
    • 5.5Limitations
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 21 January 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.19007.nag
References (41)
References
ACTFL. (2012). ACTFL proficiency guidelines – speaking. [URL], accessed December, 2018.
Bates, D. M., Machler, M., Bolker, B., & Walker, S. (2015). Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4. Journal of Statistical Software, 67(1), 1–48. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chang, H., & Zheng, L. (2018). Asymmetries of null subjects and null objects in L1-English and L1-Japanese learners’ Chinese. Linguistics, 56(5), 1141–1166. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chierchia, G. (1998). Reference to kinds across languages. Natural Language Semantics, 61, 339–405. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gundel, J., Hedberg, N., & Zacharski, R. (1993). Cognitive status and the form of referring expressions in discourse. Language, 69(2), 274–307. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Han, N. R. (2006). Korean zero pronouns: Analysis and resolution. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Huang, C. T. (1984). On the distribution and reference of empty pronouns. Linguistic Inquiry, 15(4), 531–574.Google Scholar
(1989). Pro-drop in Chinese: A generalized control theory. In O. Jaeggli, & K. Safir (Eds.), The null subject parameter (pp. 185–214). Dordrecht: Kluwer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Huang, C. T., Li, Y. H., & Li, Y. (2009). The syntax of Chinese. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jaeggli, O., & Safir, K. (1989). The null subject parameter and parametric theory. In O. Jaeggli, & K. Safir (Eds.), The null subject parameter (pp. 1–44). Dordrecht: Kluwer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jia, L., & Bayley, R. (2002). Null pronoun variation in Mandarin Chinese. University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics, 8(3), 103–116.Google Scholar
Jin, H. G. (1994). Topic-prominence and subject-prominence in L2 acquisition: Evidence of English-to-Chinese typological transfer. Language learning, 44(1), 101–122.Google Scholar
Jung, E. H. (1999). A look at interlanguage development: The case of acquiring topic-prominence in spoken Korean by English L2 learners. In Proceedings of the 24th Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development. Somerville: Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar
Kamada, O. (2006). KY-koopasu to nihongo kyooiku kenkyuu [KY corpus and Japanese language education research]. Nihongo Kyooiku [Journal of Japanese Language Teaching], 1301, 42–51.Google Scholar
Kim-Renaud, Y. K. (2012). Modern Korean. in N. Tranter (Ed.), The languages of Japan and Korea (pp. 123–167). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kuroda, S. Y. (1965). Generative grammatical studies in Japanese. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). MIT, Boston.Google Scholar
Lardiere, D. (2008). Feature assembly in second language acquisition. In J. M. Liceras, H. Zobl and H. Goodluck (Eds.), The role of formal features in second language acquisition (pp. 106–40). New York: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Lee, S. (2014). Language learners’ retrieval strategies as shown in topic-controlled deletion in topic chains: A comparison between Chinese and Korean native speakers’ interlanguages. Language Research, 50(1), 91–119.Google Scholar
Lee, I., & Ramsey, S. R. (2000). The Korean Language. Albany: SUNY Press.Google Scholar
Lee, D., & Yonezawa, Y. (2008). The role of the overt expression of first and second person subject in Japanese. Journal of Pragmatics, 401, 733–767. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Li, C. N., & Thompson, S. A. (1989). Mandarin Chinese: A functional reference grammar. Los Angeles: Univ. of California Press.Google Scholar
Li, X. (2014). Variation in subject pronominal expression in L2 Chinese. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 36(1), 39–68. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Li, Y. A. (1999). Plurality in a classifier language. Journal of East Asian Linguistics, 8(1), 75–99. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nakahama, Y. (2009). Cross-linguistic influence on referent introduction and tracking in Japanese as a second language. The Modern Language Journal, 93(2), 241–260. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics. (2010). Nihongo Gakushuusha Kaiwa Deetabeesu [Japanese Learners’ Conversation Database]. [URL], accessed November, 2017.
Noguchi, T. (1997). Two types of pronouns and variable binding. Language, 73(4), 770–797. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Norman, J. (1988). Chinese. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Obana, Y. (2003). The use of kare/kanojo in Japanese society today. New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies, 5(1), 139–155.Google Scholar
Oh, S. Y. (2007). Overt reference to speaker and recipient in Korean. Discourse Studies, 9(4), 462–492. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ono, T., & Thompson, S. (2003). Japanese (w)atashi/ore/boku “I”: They’re not just pronouns. Cognitive Linguistics, 14(4), 321–347. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Polio, C. (1995). Acquiring nothing?: The use of zero pronouns by nonnative speakers of Chinese and the implications for the acquisition of nominal reference. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 17(3), 353–377. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
R Core Team (2017). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. URL [URL]
Russell, R. (2004). Acquisition and attrition of -wa and -ga in Japanese as a second language. In J. Cohen, K. McAlister, K. Rolstad & J. MacSwan, (Eds.), Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism (pp. 2020–2036). Somerville: Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar
Saito, Mamoru, Lin, T. H., & Murasugi, K. (2008). N’-ellipsis and the structure of noun phrases in Chinese and Japanese. Journal of East Asian Linguistics, 171, 247–271. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Slabakova, R. (2016). Second language acquisition. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Sorace, A. (2011). Pinning down the concept of interface in bilingualism. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 1(1), 3–33. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Uemura, R. (1997). Deetabeesu de siraberu [Research using databases]. Nihongo-gaku [Japanese Linguistics], 16(12), 60–68.Google Scholar
Watanabe, A. (2008). The Structure of DP. In Miyagawa, S. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Linguistics.Google Scholar
Xie, T. (1992). Topic-Controlled Deletion in Topic Chains in Chinese: A comparison between native speakers and foreign language learners. Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association, 28(3), 21–31.Google Scholar
Yanagimachi, T. (2000). JFL learners’ referential-form choice in first-through third-person narratives. Japanese Language Education around the Globe, 109–128.Google Scholar
Zushi, M. (2003). Null arguments: the case of Japanese and Romance. Lingua, 1131: 559–604. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by (1)

Cited by one other publication

Nagano, Marisa & Gita Martohardjono
2023. Language-specific properties and overt pronoun interpretation:The case of L2 Japanese. Second Language Research DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 5 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.