Telicity in the Second Language
Author
Roumyana Slabakova | University of Iowa
The author combines a syntax-theoretical treatment of telicity marking and an empirical study of the second language acquisition of English telicity marking by native speakers of Bulgarian, a Slavic language. It is argued that Vendler’s lexical classes of verbs (states, activities, accomplishments and achievements) can be represented in four phrase structure templates, where lexical properties of the verb and of the object compositionally determine telicity. A parameterized distinction between English and Slavic aspect is proposed. The book addresses two major acquisition issues: (1) what is the nature of the initial hypothesis Bulgarian learners of English entertain regarding telicity marking (i.e., is there native language transfer)? (2) are adult learners capable of resetting the telicity marking parameter? Both L1 transfer and parameter resetting are experimentally supported. In addition, the study investigates the L2 acquisition of a cluster of complex predicate constructions, purportedly related to the telicity parameter in the grammatical competence and in child language acquisition of English.
[Language Acquisition and Language Disorders, 26] 2001. xii, 236 pp.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Table of Contents
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Acknowledgements | p. xiii
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1. Aspect and theories of second language acquisition | p. 1
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2. Semantic and syntactic treatments of telicity | p. 21
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3. English and Slavic telicity: A syntactic account | p. 63
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4. First and second language acquisition of aspect | p. 103
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5. An experimental study of the L2 acquisition of telicity | p. 143
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6. Discussion, implications, and conclusion | p. 173
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Appendix | p. 199
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Index | p. 231
“This study is impressive in its scope and thoroughness. The author clearly presents the issues in acquisition as well as in syntax. Accordingly, this study not only contributes original work to the field of L2 acquisition, but also attempts to use L2 data to support the claim that there is an aspect parameter that implicates telicity with resultatives, verb particles and double objects.”
Melinda Whong-Barr, University of Durham, UK in Linguist List Vol-12-2795. Thu Nov 8 2001
“The main contribution of this volume is that it opens a new venue for the investigation of UG phenomena from the perspective of the L2 acquisition of telicity. Another strength of the volume is that the author acknowledges some of the faults of the study and methodology and provides alternative interpretations as well as suggestions for further research...the volume will be of great interest to researchers in syntax, semantics, and morphology in both L1 and L2 acquisition.”
Llorenç Comajoan, Middlebury College in Studies in Second Language Acquisition 25(1), 2003
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Subjects & Metadata
BIC Subject: CF – Linguistics
BISAC Subject: LAN009000 – LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General