A processability approach to the development of case in L2 Icelandic
This article presents the findings of a study on the development of case assignment in Icelandic as a second
language within the context of Processability Theory (PT) and compares them with previous PT studies on the development of case in
L2 German, Russian, and Serbian. We argue that initially, learners are only able to appropriately mark subjects and objects in
canonical positions (e.g., subjnom v objacc
). Later they are also able to mark arguments with the
appropriate case in sentences that deviate from canonical word order (e.g., objacc/dat v subjnom
).
In order to examine the case development in L2 Icelandic, 148 learners were asked to fill in the blanks of sentences with missing
core arguments. Our results replicate for the most part the previous findings for L2 German, Russian, and Serbian. As such, the
present study adds to the typological plausibility of PT as a framework that predicts and explains developmental sequences.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Case in Icelandic
- 3.Processability theory and L2 case development
- 3.1Theoretical tenets
- 3.2Case acquisition in L2 German, Serbian, and Russian: A developmental hypothesis
- 4.The study
- 4.1Participants
- 4.2Data collection
- 4.3Data analysis
- 5.Findings and discussion
- 5.1The nominative subject
- 5.2The accusative direct object
- 5.3The dative indirect object
- 6.Discussion and conclusion
- Notes
-
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Cited by (1)
Cited by 1 other publications
Kawaguchi, Satomi, Bruno Di Biase & Yumiko Yamaguchi
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