Learnability and the Lexicon

Theories and second language acquisition research

Alan Juffs | University of Pittsburgh

Hardbound – Available

ISBN 9789027224781 (Eur) | EUR 105.00

ISBN 9781556197758 (USA) | USD 158.00

e-Book –

ISBN 9789027285645 | EUR 105.00 | USD 158.00

This book provides a critical review of recent theories of semantics-syntax correspondences and makes new proposals for constraints on semantic structure relevant to syntax. Data from several languages are presented which suggest that semantic structure in root morphemes is subject to parametric variation which has effect across a variety of verb classes, including locatives, unaccusatives, and psych verbs.

The implications for first and second language acquisition are discussed. In particular, it is suggested that different parametric settings may lead to a learnability problem if adult learners do not retain access to sensitivity to underlying semantic organization and morphological differences between languages provided by Universal Grammar.

An experiment with Chinese-speaking learners of English is presented which shows that learners initially transfer L1 semantic organization to the L2, but are able to retreat from overgeneralisations and achieve native-like grammars in this area.

Suggestions for further research in this rapidly developing area of theory and acquisition research are also made.

[Language Acquisition and Language Disorders, 12] 1996. xi, 277 pp.

Publishing status: Available
Published online on 18 March 2011

https://doi.org/10.1075/lald.12

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments | p. xiii

1. Linguistic Theory, Language Acquisition, and the lexicon | p. 1

2. Generative approaches to semantic-syntax correspondences | p. 32

3. Semantic structure: crosslinguistic patterns and constraints | p. 76

4. Acquiring Semantic-Syntax Correspondences | p. 128

5. Testing knowledge of semantic-syntax correspondences in a second language | p. 169

6. Analysis and discussion | p. 205

7. Epilogue | p. 230

Appendix I: English Locative Verbs | p. 253

Appendix II: Chinese Locative Verbs and Arguments Structures | p. 255

Appendix III: Test of Verb Meanings | p. 259

Appendix IV: Production task | p. 261

Appendix V: Grammaticality Judgement Task | p. 262

Index | p. 267

“This book is the first and so far most comprehensive study of the acquisition of argument structure in a second language within a generative framework. It is a fascinating window into the cognitive processes of L2 acquisition. It should find a place on the shelves of anyone interested in the relationship between linguistics and language acquisition.”

Antonella Sorace in Journal of Linguistics 36, 2000

Cited by (32)

Cited by 32 other publications

Order by:

Wu, Shiyu, Dilin Liu & Zan Li

2023. Testing the Bottleneck Hypothesis: Chinese EFL learners’ knowledge of morphology and syntax across proficiency levels. Second Language Research 39:4 ► pp. 1191 ff.

Juffs, Alan & Shaohua Fang

2022. A Generative Approach to the Instructed Second Language Acquisition of Spanish se. Language Learning 72:S1 ► pp. 83 ff.

SHKURENKO, Anastasiia & Filiz CELE

2022. L2 acquisition of Russian aspect by L1 Turkish speakers. RumeliDE Dil ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi :31 ► pp. 1561 ff.

Nishi, Yumiko & Yasuhiro Shirai

2021. Verb learning and the acquisition of aspect. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism 11:3 ► pp. 323 ff.

Gonçalves, Perpétua

2018. Chapter 2. Research on L2 varieties of European languages. In The Portuguese Language Continuum in Africa and Brazil [Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics, 20], ► pp. 43 ff.

Dekydtspotter, Laurent & Hyun-Kyoung Seo

2017. TRANSITIVITY IN THE PROCESSING OF INTRANSITIVE CLAUSES. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 39:3 ► pp. 527 ff.

Yang, Charles & Silvina Montrul

2017. Learning datives: The Tolerance Principle in monolingual and bilingual acquisition. Second Language Research 33:1 ► pp. 119 ff.

Zhang, Xiaopeng

2017. Second Language Users’ Restriction of Linguistic Generalization Errors: The Case of English Un– Prefixation Development. Language Learning 67:3 ► pp. 569 ff.

Bordag, Denisa, Amit Kirschenbaum, Andreas Opitz, Maria Rogahn & Erwin Tschirner

2016. INCIDENTAL ACQUISITION OF GRAMMATICAL FEATURES DURING READING IN L1 AND L2. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 38:3 ► pp. 445 ff.

Montrul, Silvina A.

2016. The causative/inchoative morphology in L2 Turkish under the Feature Reassembly Approach. In Second Language Acquisition of Turkish [Language Acquisition and Language Disorders, 59], ► pp. 107 ff.

Nagano, Tomonori

2015. Acquisition of English verb transitivity by native speakers of Japanese . Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism 5:3 ► pp. 322 ff.

ZHANG, JINGYU

2015. Animacy hierarchy effects on the second language acquisition of attributive psych adjectives. Applied Psycholinguistics 36:2 ► pp. 275 ff.

Gruhn, Mirja & Nina Reshöft

2014. Getting Closer to Native Speaker Competence: How Psycholinguistic Experiments Can Enrich Language Learning and Teaching. In Classroom-oriented Research [Second Language Learning and Teaching, ], ► pp. 203 ff.

Zyzik, Eve

2014. Causative verbs in the grammar of Spanish heritage speakers. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism 4:1 ► pp. 1 ff.

Singh, Michael

2013. Worldly Critical Theorizing in Euro-American Centered Teacher Education? Preparing Bilingual Teacher-Researcher Theorists for the Twenty-First Century. In Preparing Teachers for the 21st Century [New Frontiers of Educational Research, ], ► pp. 141 ff.

Stringer, David

2012. Spatial Feature Assembly in First and Second Language Acquisition. Spatial Cognition & Computation 12:4 ► pp. 252 ff.

Boping Yuan & Yang Zhao

2011. Asymmetric syntactic and thematic reconfigurations in English speakers’ L2 Chinese resultative compound constructions. International Journal of Bilingualism 15:1 ► pp. 38 ff.

Grüter, Theres, Moti Lieberman & Andrea Gualmini

2010. Acquiring the Scope of Disjunction and Negation in L2: A Bidirectional Study of Learners of Japanese and English. Language Acquisition 17:3 ► pp. 127 ff.

Gabriele, Alison

2009. TRANSFER AND TRANSITION IN THE SLA OF ASPECT. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 31:3 ► pp. 371 ff.

Hall, Christopher J., Denise Newbrand, Peter Ecke, Ulrike Sperr, Vanessa Marchand & Lisa Hayes

2009. Learners' Implicit Assumptions About Syntactic Frames in New L3 Words: The Role of Cognates, Typological Proximity, and L2 Status. Language Learning 59:1 ► pp. 153 ff.

Chan, Alice Y. W.

2004. Syntactic Transfer: Evidence from the Interlanguage of Hong Kong Chinese ESL Learners. The Modern Language Journal 88:1 ► pp. 56 ff.

Lardiere, Donna

2003. Revisiting the comparative fallacy: a reply to Lakshmanan and Selinker, 2001. Second Language Research 19:2 ► pp. 129 ff.

White, Lydia

2003. Second Language Acquisition and Universal Grammar,

Oshita, Hiroyuki

2000. What is happened may not be what appears to be happening: a corpus study of ‘passive’ unaccusatives in L2 English. Second Language Research 16:4 ► pp. 293 ff.

Montrul, Silvina

1999. Causative errors with unaccusative verbs in L2 Spanish. Second Language Research 15:2 ► pp. 191 ff.

Montrul, Silvina

2001. The Acquisition of Causative/Inchoative Verbs in L2 Turkish. Language Acquisition 9:1 ► pp. 1 ff.

Montrul, Silvina

2001. First-language-constrained variability in the second-language acquisition of argument-structure-changing morphology with causative verbs. Second Language Research 17:2 ► pp. 144 ff.

Slabakova, Roumyana

1999. The parameter of aspect in second language acquisition. Second Language Research 15:3 ► pp. 283 ff.

Slabakova, Roumyana

2013. Meaning in Second Language Spanish. In The Handbook of Spanish Second Language Acquisition, ► pp. 311 ff.

Juffs, Alan

1998. Some effects of first language argument structure and morphosyntax on second language sentence processing. Second Language Research 14:4 ► pp. 406 ff.

Juffs, Alan

1998. The acquisition of semantics-syntax correspondences and verb frequencies in ESL materials. Language Teaching Research 2:2 ► pp. 93 ff.

Juffs, Alan & Michael Harrington

1996. Garden Path Sentences and Error Data in Second Language Sentence Processing. Language Learning 46:2 ► pp. 283 ff.

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 16 september 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.

Subjects