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Meaning and Structure in Second Language Acquisition: In honor of Roumyana Slabakova
Edited by Jacee Cho, Michael Iverson, Tiffany Judy, Tania Leal and Elena Shimanskaya
[Studies in Bilingualism 55] 2018
► pp. 35–66

Chapter 2
Mapping at external interfaces

Embedded clitic left dislocations in L2 Spanish

| University of Nevada, Reno

This study investigates embedded clitic left dislocation (CLLD), a syntax-discourse interface structure expressing topicalization, in a group of native and L2 Spanish speakers (beginners, intermediate, advanced). The Interface Hypothesis (Sorace, 2011) proposes that external interfaces pose inordinate difficulty for bilinguals, even at near-native levels. Results did not show evidence of such difficulty although differences in methodology (tasks imposing time pressure vs. not) could account for divergences. Additionally, not all syntax-discourse interface properties might be equally problematic: CLLD might not intrinsically place the same processing burden as other structures (e.g., anaphora resolution). Finally, results showed input quality was positively correlated to native-like outcomes, beyond proficiency. Hence, results are in broad agreement with accounts proposing input is the key factor for acquisition.

Keywords: second language acquisition, clitics, clitic left dislocation, Interface Hypothesis, input quality
Article outline
  • Structure under study
    • CLLD in Romance
    • CLLD and specificity
    • CLLD in embedded clauses
  • Learning tasks
    • Research question
  • Methods
    • Proficiency test
    • Background questionnaire
    • Clitic-knowledge test
    • Audio-visual rating task
  • Results
    • Proficiency test and background questionnaire
    • Clitic task
    • Audio-visual rating task
    • The contribution of study abroad
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 16 November 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sibil.55.02lea
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