Cover not available
Part of
Processability and Language Acquisition in the Asia-Pacific Region
Edited by Satomi Kawaguchi, Bruno Di Biase and Yumiko Yamaguchi
[Processability Approaches to Language Acquisition Research & Teaching 9] 2023
► pp. 63–90

Chapter 3
The development of lexical mapping in Chinese L2

The mapping of multiple arguments, passive and causative structures

| Australian National University
| Western Sydney University
| Western Sydney University

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
Published online: 2 February 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/palart.9.03liu
References
Bettoni, C., & Di Biase, B.
(Eds.) (2015a) Grammatical development in second languages: Exploring the boundaries of Processability Theory (Eurosla Monograph Series 3). Eurosla.Google Scholar
(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.Google Scholar
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.Google Scholar
Bresnan, J.
(2001) Lexical-functional syntax. Blackwell.Google Scholar
Bresnan, J., & Mchombo, S. A.
(1987) Topic, pronoun, and agreement in Chichewa. Language, 63(4), 741–782. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
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.Google Scholar
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.Google Scholar
Foley, W. A., & Van Valin, R. D.
(1984) Functional syntax and universal grammar. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
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.
(2009) Noun phrase morphemes and topic development in L2 Mandarin Chinese: A processability perspective. LAP Lambert Academic Publishing.Google Scholar
Givón, T.
(1984) Syntax: A functional-typological introduction. John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
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).Google Scholar
(2009) Unifying the long passive and the short passive: On the Bei construction in Taiwan Mandarin. Language and Linguistics, 10(3), 421–470.Google Scholar
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.Google Scholar
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.Google Scholar
Kawaguchi, S.
(2005) Argument structure and syntactic development in Japanese as a second language. In M. Pienemann (Ed.), Cross-linguistic aspects of Processability Theory (pp. 253–298). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2009 2009/09/01). Acquiring causative constructions in Japanese as a second language. Japanese Studies, 29(2), 273–291. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2010) Learning Japanese as a second language: A processability perspective. Cambria Press.Google Scholar
(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.Google Scholar
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.Google Scholar
Lenzig, A.
(2019) Towards an integrated model of grammatical encoding and decoding in SLA. In A. Lenzig, H. Nicholas, & J. Roos (Eds.), Widening contexts for Processability Theory: Theories and issues (pp. 13–48). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Levelt, W. J. M.
(1989) Speaking: From intention to articulation. The MIT Press.Google Scholar
Li, C. N., & Thompson, S. A.
(1981) Mandarin Chinese: A functional reference grammar. University Of California Press.Google Scholar
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.Google Scholar
Ortega, L.
(2009) Understanding second language acquisition. Hodder Education.Google Scholar
Pallotti, G.
(2007) An operational definition of the emergence criterion. Applied Linguistics 28(361–382). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
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. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pinker, S.
(1984) Language learnability and language development. Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Sun, C.
(2006) Chinese: A linguistic introduction. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
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.Google Scholar
(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.Google Scholar
Zhang, Y.
(2001) Second language acquisition of Chinese grammatical morphemes: A processability perspective (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Australian National University.
(2004) Processing constraints, categorial analysis, and the second language acquisition of the Chinese adjective suffix-de (adj). Language Learning, 54(3), 437–468. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2005) Processing and formal instruction in the L2 acquisition of five Chinese grammatical morphemes. In M. Pienemann (Ed.), Crosslinguistic aspects of Processability Theory (pp. 155–178). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(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.Google Scholar
(2015) The emergence of sentence topic in a topic-prominent language: A descriptive study of L2 Chinese. In K. Baten, K. Lochtman, & M. Van Herreweghe (Eds.), Theoretical and methodological developments in Processability Theory (pp. 45–69). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2019) Discourse-pragmatic conditions for object topicalisation structures in early L2 Chinese. In A. Lenzig, H. Nicholas, & J. Roos (Eds.), Widening contexts for Processability Theory: Theories and issues (pp. 207–239). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar