Chapter 3
The development of lexical mapping in Chinese L2
The mapping of multiple arguments, passive and causative structures
This study tests the applicability of the Lexical Mapping Hypothesis (LMH) to the L2 acquisition of Chinese syntax within a Processability Theory framework. The LMH makes testable predictions for L2 acquisition based on the mapping between argument-structure and functional-structure. Empirical evidence from typologically diverse languages for the LMH is not robust as yet and does not include any L2 Chinese empirical study so far. This study ventures to fill the gap by testing the LMH for the acquisition of Chinese L2. Data for this investigation comes from a one-year longitudinal study on the oral production by three adult beginning learners of L2 Chinese in a Chinese university. Results show that the observed acquisition sequence of the investigated structures was consistent with the hypothesized LMT-based processing hierarchy applied to Chinese L2. This study contributes empirical evidence for the LMH, and supports the hypothesized intermediate stage, i.e., ‘default mapping and additional argument’.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Literature review on the acquisition of Chinese
- 3.The Lexical Mapping Hypothesis and L2 Chinese syntax
- 3.1The Lexical Mapping Hypothesis
- 3.2L2 Chinese syntax
- 4.The study
- 4.1Informants and data collection
- 4.2Data analysis
- 5.Results and discussion
- 5.1Default mapping
- Default mapping and additional arguments
- 5.2Nondefault mapping
- 6.Conclusion
-
Notes
-
References
-
Appendix
References (44)
References
Bettoni, C., & Di Biase, B. (Eds.). (2015a). Grammatical development in second languages: Exploring the boundaries of Processability Theory (Eurosla Monograph Series 3). Eurosla.
Bettoni, C., & Di Biase, B. (2015b). Processability Theory: Theoretical bases and universal schedules. In C. Bettoni & B. Di Biase (Eds.), Grammatical development in second languages: Exploring the boundaries of Processability Theory (pp. 19–79) (Eurosla Monograph Series 3). Eurosla.
Bettoni, C., Di Biase, B., & Nuzzo, E. (2009). Postverbal subject in Italian L2-A Processability Theory approach. In J.-U. Kessler & D. Keatinge (Eds.), Research in second language acquisition: Empirical evidence across languages (pp. 153–173). Cambridge Scholars.
Bresnan, J. (2001). Lexical-functional syntax. Blackwell.
Bresnan, J., & Mchombo, S. A. (1987). Topic, pronoun, and agreement in Chichewa. Language, 63(4), 741–782.
Brolin, M. (2017). The hierarchy of Chinese grammar: A cross-sectional study of L2 Chinese within Processability Theory (Unpublished MA dissertation). Lund University.
Di Biase, B., & Bettoni, C. (2015). The development of Italian as a second language. In C. Bettoni & B. Di Biase (Eds.), Grammatical development in second languages: Exploring the boundaries of Processability Theory (Eurosla Monograph Series 3). Eurosla.
Di Biase, B., Kawaguchi, S., & Yamaguchi, Y. (2015). The development of English as a second language. In C. Bettoni & B. Di Biase (Eds.), Grammatical development in second languages: Exploring the boundaries of Processability Theory (Eurosla Monograph Series 3). Eurosla.
Foley, W. A., & Van Valin, R. D. (1984). Functional syntax and universal grammar. Cambridge University Press.
Gao, Xiaodan. (2005). Noun phrase morphemes and topic development in L2 Mandarin Chinese: A processability perspective (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
Gao, Xiaodan. (2009). Noun phrase morphemes and topic development in L2 Mandarin Chinese: A processability perspective. LAP Lambert Academic Publishing.
Her, One-Soon. (2003). Chinese inversion constructions within a simplified LMT. In A. Bodomo & L. Kang Kwong (Eds.), Lexical-functional grammar analysis of Chinese. Journal of Chinese Linguistics (Monograph Series Number 19) (pp. 1–31).
Her, One-Soon. (2009). Unifying the long passive and the short passive: On the Bei construction in Taiwan Mandarin. Language and Linguistics, 10(3), 421–470.
Huang, Chu-Ren. (1992). Certainty in functional uncertainty. Journal of Chinese Linguistics, 20(2), 247–288. [URL]
Jackendoff, R. (1972). Semantic interpretation in generative grammar. The MIT Press.
Kaplan, R. M., & Bresnan, J. (1982). Lexical-functional grammar: A formal system for grammatical representation. In J. Bresnan (Ed.), The mental representation of grammatical relations (pp. 173–281). The MIT Press.
Kawaguchi, S. (2009, 2009/09/01). Acquiring causative constructions in Japanese as a second language. Japanese Studies, 29(2), 273–291.
Kawaguchi, S. (2010). Learning Japanese as a second language: A processability perspective. Cambria Press.
Kawaguchi, S. (2015). The development of Japanese as a second language. In C. Bettoni & B. Di Biase (Eds.), Grammatical development in second languages: Exploring the boundaries of Processability Theory (Eurosla Monograph Series 3). Eurosla.
Keatinge, D., & Kessler, J.-U. (2009). The acquisition of the passive voice in English as a foreign language: Production and perception. In J.-U. Kessler & D. Keatinge (Eds.), Research in second language acquisition: Empirical evidence across languages (pp. 67–92). Cambridge Scholars.
Levelt, W. J. M. (1989). Speaking: From intention to articulation. The MIT Press.
Li, C. N., & Thompson, S. A. (1981). Mandarin Chinese: A functional reference grammar. University Of California Press.
Liu, B. (2015). A processability approach to the L2 acquisition of Chinese syntax (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). The Australian National University.
Norman, J. (1988). Chinese. Cambridge University Press.
Ortega, L. (2009). Understanding second language acquisition. Hodder Education.
Pallotti, G. (2007). An operational definition of the emergence criterion. Applied Linguistics 28(361–382).
Pienemann, M., Di Biase, B., & Kawaguchi, S. (2005). Extending Processability Theory. In M. Pienemann (Ed.), Cross-linguistic aspects of Processability Theory (pp. 199–251). John Benjamins.
Pinker, S. (1984). Language learnability and language development. Harvard University Press.
Sun, C. (2006). Chinese: A linguistic introduction. Cambridge University Press.
Wang, K. (2009). Acquiring the passive voice: Online production of the English passive construction by Mandarin speakers. In J.-U. Kessler & D. Keatinge (Eds.), Research in second language acquisition: Empirical evidence across languages (pp. 93–117). Cambridge Scholars.
Wang, K. (2010). The acquisition of English passive constructions by Mandarin speakers: A developmental perspective (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Western Sydney].
Wang, X. (2011). Grammatical development among Chinese L2 learners: From a processability account (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Newcastle University.
Yamaguchi, Y., & Kawaguchi, S. (2022). The acquisition of lexical mapping in English as a second language: A study using two learner corpora. Second Language, 20, 29–45.
Zhang, Y. (2001). Second language acquisition of Chinese grammatical morphemes: A processability perspective (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Australian National University.
Zhang, Y. (2004). Processing constraints, categorial analysis, and the second language acquisition of the Chinese adjective suffix-de (adj). Language Learning, 54(3), 437–468.
Zhang, Y. (2007). Testing the Topic Hypothesis: The L2 acquisition of Chinese syntax. In F. Manrouri (Ed.), Second language acquisition research: Theory-construction and testing (pp. 145–171). Cambridge Scholars.