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Article In: Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism: Online-First Articles

L1 word order does not modulate predictive use of dative verb constraints in L2 Mandarin

ORCiD logo with link | Shenzhen University
ORCiD logo with link | University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
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Abstract
This study investigates cross-linguistic influence in L2 prediction: specifically, the hypothesis that first language (L1) speakers of a verb-final language are less likely to use verb information for real-time prediction in a verb-medial (SVO) second language (L2; Şafak, D. F., & Hopp, H. (2023). Cross-linguistic differences in predicting L2 sentence structure: The use of categorical and gradient verb constraints. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 45(5), 1234–1260. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). Two groups of L2 learners of Mandarin (L1 English, SVO; L1 Japanese/Korean, SOV) participated in a visual world eye-tracking experiment to measure their anticipatory fixations on upcoming arguments following dative verbs with categorical or gradient constraints. Results indicate both groups made predictive use of categorical constraints of non-alternating verbs, with no evident between-group differences. Following alternating verbs with gradient constraints, both groups showed a general predictive bias for prepositional dative constructions. These findings indicate that lack of experience with verb-based prediction in the L1 is not a hinderance to predictive use of verb-based cues in an L2.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The role of cross-linguistic influence (CLI) in L2 predictive processing
  • 3.Word order and dative constructions in Mandarin, English, Japanese, and Korean
  • 4.The present study
    • 4.1Research questions and hypotheses
    • 4.2Participants
    • 4.3Methods
      • 4.3.1The visual world eye-tracking (VWP) experiment
    • 4.4Data Analysis
    • 4.5Results
      • 4.5.1Categorical constraints of non-alternating verbs
      • 4.5.2Gradient biases of alternating verbs
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Data availability
  • CRediT author contributions
  • Notes
  • References
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