High Applicatives in the Interlanguage of L2 Learners of French
High Applicatives in the Interlanguage of L2 Learners of French Elena Shimanskaya The University of...
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Transcript of High Applicatives in the Interlanguage of L2 Learners of French Elena Shimanskaya The University of...
High Applicatives in the Interlanguage of L2 Learners of FrenchElena ShimanskayaThe University of IowaSLA graduate students symposium 2011
OUTLINE1. The main hypothesis and SLA theory
2. The property: low and high applicative
3. Learning tasks
4. Previous research
5. Research questions
6. Tasks
7. Participants
8. Results
9. Discussion
10.Conclusions
1. The main hypothesis and SLA theory
Assumption:only relevant functional categories
are activated in the grammar of each language (White, 2003)
2 logical possibilities for L2A
L2 learners can acquire a new
functional category
L2 learners will be unable to
acquire a new functional category
Full Access to UG: Schwartz and Sprouse (1996), Epstein et
al. (1996), Flynn and Martohardjono (1994), Flynn
(1996)
UG unavailable in L2A: Fundamental Difference Hypothesis (Bley-Vroman, 1990), No Parameter Resetting view (Hawkins and Chan, 1997)
1. The main hypothesis and SLA theory
Can new functional categories or rather new configurations involving functional projections be acquired in the process of L2A?
OUTLINE1. The main hypothesis and SLA theory
2. The property: low and high applicative
3. Learning tasks
4. Previous research
5. Research questions
6. Tasks
7. Participants
8. Results
9. Discussion
10.Conclusions
2. The property: low and high applicative
Benefactive and adversative datives
Some terminology (Crystal, 2008)
Benefactive “a case form or construction whose function in a sentence is to express the notion ‘on behalf of’ or ‘for the benefit of’. A benefactive form (‘a benefactive’) expresses the sense of ‘intended recipient’, and is often introduced by a for phrase in English, e.g. I’ve got a book for you. (52)
Adversative “a form or construction which expresses an antithetical circumstance. Adversative meaning can be expressed in several grammatical ways, such as through a conjunction (but), adverbial (however, nevertheless, yet, in spite of that, on the other hand), or preposition (despite, except, apart from, notwithstanding).” (15)
2. The property: low and high applicative
Adversative (1)/benefactive (2) dative pronouns can be found in French but not in English:
(1) Les invités lui ont mangé tout ce qu’il y avait dans le frigo.
The guests dat.3sg aux. eaten all that that-it there had in the fridgeThe guests ate everything in the fridge on him/her.
(Roberge and Troberg, 2009: 256)
(2) Elmer lui a dévalisé deux banques le mois dernier. Elmer dat.3sg aux. robbed two banks the month lastElmer robbed two banks for him last month.
(Rouveret and Vergnaud, 1980: 170)
2. The property: low and high applicative
Bantu languages (Pylkkänen, 2008) Certain non-core arguments are introduced in the specifier of the so-called ‘applicative heads’ that can take the form of special applicative morphemes. The addition of this special morpheme to a verb allows the verb to take an argument that expresses a beneficiary of the action.
French adversative /benefactive dative clitic pronouns are analyzed as applicative heads.
(Roberge and Troberg, 2009)
(3) N – a – i – lyi – i – a m–ka k–elya FOC - 1SG - PRES - eat - APPL - FV 1-wife 7-foodHe is eating food for his wife.
(Pylkkänen, 2000: 1)
2. The property: low and high applicative
High Applicativesmerged above the verbal
projection and take the entire VP as their complement
He is eating food for his wife.
Low Applicativesmerged below the verb and
only take the theme as their complement
I baked him a cake.
Cross linguistically: Some languages have both high and low applicatives, e.g. Spanish (Cuervo, 2003), some only one e.g. English double object construction is introduced via a low applicative head
(Pylkkänen, 2008)
2. The property: low and high applicative
English double object construction is introduced via a low applicative head (Pylkkänen, 2008)
No high applicative in English (Pylkkänen, 2008).
Two tests:
1. dative argument with an unergative verb:(4) *I ran him.
2. dative pronoun with a static verb(5) *I held him the bag.
1. a dative constituent is “only acceptable in its clitic form, it may not be expressed as an à-phrase”
(8) Les invités lui ont mangé tout ce qu’il y avait dans le frigo.
The guests ate everything in the fridge on him/her. versus(9) *Les invités ont mangé tout ce qu’il y avait dans
le frigo à Marc.‘The guests ate everything in the fridge on Marc.’
2. the dative clitic in French “…must c-command a referential DP”
(10) Paul lui a bu trois pastis. Paul him pst. drank three pastis. Paul drank three pastis on him. versus(11) *Paul lui a bu. Paul drank on him.’
(Roberge and Troberg, 2009: 256)
dative clitic = appl morpheme
PP = applied argumentThe applied argument can
only be merged in the spec of the applicative projection. But, you cannot have a PP in the spec
Need to merge something in spec operator
Operator needs to be bound need a referential DP
2. The property: low and high applicativeFrench adversative/benefactive dative clitics as high
applicatives
2. The property: low and high applicative1. English has only low applicative (e.g. double object construction)
2. French has high applicative in its inventory of functional categories. High applicative heads express a distinct semantic meaning (introduce an individual that is positively or negatively affected by the event) and show certain restrictions related to their syntax (Roberge and Troberg, 2009 ):
2a. dative clitic = applicative morpheme2b. operator is merged in the specifier of the applicative
projection
OUTLINE1. The main hypothesis and SLA theory
2. The property: low and high applicative
3. Learning tasks
4. Previous research
5. Research questions
6. Tasks
7. Participants
8. Results
9. Discussion
10.Conclusions
3. Learning tasks
1. restructure the grammar to allow for the applicative head to be merged above the VP in L2;
2. determine that unlike L1 (double object construction), the applied argument introduced in the specifier position (null pro in French) does not establish the relation of possession with the direct object, but introduces an argument that is affected by the entire event expressed by the VP;
3. find out that the applicative head is not null in L2, but is realized as a dative clitic;
4. determine that in L2 in order for the VP to be able to add an affected applied argument it has to contain a referential DP that can bind the operator in the spec of the ApplP.
L1 English
L2 Frenchprepositional phrases
(not cliticized to the verb in English)or periphrastic constructions
dative clitics
3. Learning tasks
Some additional notes:1. The structure under investigation
(adversative/benefactive dative) is not taught in L2 classrooms
2. Neither the learners nor the native speakers are aware of the syntactic restrictions discussed by Roberge and Troberg (2009).
3. The property that is being tested in this study is associated with colloquial language and requires an appropriate pragmatic context in order for the sentences to be treated as grammatical by native speakers.
OUTLINE1. The main hypothesis and SLA theory
2. The property: low and high applicative
3. Learning tasks
4. Previous research
5. Research questions
6. Tasks
7. Participants
8. Results
9. Discussion
10.Conclusions
4. Previous research
Study L1 L2 Property Task Findings
Cuervo (2007)
EngSpanis
h
dative alternati
onGJT
+morphosyntax- semantic
distinctionsSikorsk
a (2009)
Polish
Spanish
low applicativ
esGJT
did not analyze the clitic as a productive morphological element
OUTLINE1. The main hypothesis and SLA theory
2. The property: low and high applicative
3. Learning tasks
4. Previous research
5. Research questions
6. Tasks
7. Participants
8. Results
9. Discussion
10.Conclusions
5. Research questionsCan L2 learners acquire a new structural
configuration that is not found in their L1?
Can L2 learners correctly interpret the structure that is not found in their L1?
RQ1: Do L2 learners consider sentences with adversative dative as grammatical?
RQ2: Are L2 learners of French sensitive to the restriction on the adversative/benefactive datives and reject sentences without a referential VP-internal DP?
RQ3: Have the learners acquired the adversative meaning associated with the construction when provided with an appropriate discourse?
OUTLINE1. The main hypothesis and SLA theory
2. The property: low and high applicative
3. Learning tasks
4. Previous research
5. Research questions
6. Tasks
7. Participants
8. Results
9. Discussion
10.Conclusions
6. Tasks
Grammaticality judgment taskCondition 1 (n=5)Adversative/benefactive dative + VP-
internal DP:Paul lui a bu trois pastis. Paul him pst. drank three pastisPaul drank three pastis on him.
Condition 2 (n=5)Adversative/benefactive dative + no VP-internal DP:*Paul lui a bu. Paul drank on him.
Fillers (n=10): total of 20
Instructions:“perfect” = 4“okay” = 3“awkward” = 2“horrible” = 1“no intuition”
Truth-value judgment task
A story followed by 2 sentences: true or false?
5 pairs of stories: 10 stories
+ 10 distractor stories = 20 stories total
2×2 design
Paper and pencil format
An adversely affected individual is
supported by the story
not supported by the story
Dative clitic
true false
No dative clitic
true true
OUTLINE1. The main hypothesis and SLA theory
2. The property: low and high applicative
3. Learning tasks
4. Previous research
5. Research questions
6. Tasks
7. Participants
8. Results
9. Discussion
10.Conclusions
7. Participants
In order to eliminate the influence of L1 as a factor in the performance of the L2 learner, I gave English translation of the truth value judgment task to one native speaker of English
Native speaker L2 subject
Age 32 22
Occupation French TA French TA
Years studying French
N/A 10 years
Abroad experience
N/AQuebec city – 3
months, France – 10 months
Other foreign languages
English advanced
Italian beginner
OUTLINE1. The main hypothesis and SLA theory
2. The property: low and high applicative
3. Learning tasks
4. Previous research
5. Research questions
6. Tasks
7. Participants
8. Results
9. Discussion
10.Conclusions
8. Results
Both subjects performed well on the fillers
Dative clitic Fillers
Condition 1
Grammatical
with a DP
Condition 2
Ungramm.without a
DP
Grammatical
Ungramm.
Native Speaker
3.2 1 4 1
L2 learner 3 2.25 4 1.8
Grammaticality judgment task (mean scores)
8. Results
The native speaker did not find the sentences with the adversative/benefactive dative clitic “perfect”.
Dative clitic Fillers
Condition 1
Grammatical
with a DP
Condition 2
Ungramm.without a
DP
Grammatical
Ungramm.
Native Speaker
3.2 1 4 1
L2 learner 3 2.25 4 1.8
Grammaticality judgment task (mean scores)
8. Results
The L2 learner on average rated the ungrammatical sentences with an adversative/benefactive dative clitic higher, than the native speaker.
Dative clitic Fillers
Condition 1
Grammatical
with a DP
Condition 2
Ungramm.without a
DP
Grammatical
Ungramm.
Native Speaker
3.2 1 4 1
L2 learner 3 2.25 4 1.8
Grammaticality judgment task (mean scores)
8. Results
However, the L2 learner rated these ungrammatical sentences lower than the grammatical counterparts.
Dative clitic Fillers
Condition 1
Grammatical
with a DP
Condition 2
Ungramm.without a
DP
Grammatical
Ungramm.
Native Speaker
3.2 1 4 1
L2 learner 3 2.25 4 1.8
Grammaticality judgment task (mean scores)
8. Results
Both the native speaker and the L2 learner correctly answered “True” to all the sentences without the clitic on both experimental conditions (stories with and without an adversely affected individual). Thus, I do not include these results here.
The truth-value judgment task
An adversely affected individual is
supported by the story
not supported by the story
Dative clitic
trueCondition 1
falseCondition 2
No dative clitic
true true
8. Results
All the three subjects performed well on the distractor-stories.
Accuracy of the truth-value judgment task
Sentences with a clitic
DistractorsCondition 1affected individual
+ clitic
Condition 2no affected individual
+ clitic
Native speaker
100% 100% 100%
L2 learner 80% 20% 96%
English control
40% 80% 94%
8. Results
The L2 learner basically accepted as true the sentences with the dative clitic in spite of the context. She accepted 80% of sentences with a clitic that followed a story that contained an adversely affected individual. However, she also failed to reject in 80% of cases the sentence with a clitic after the stories that did not contain an affected individual.
Accuracy of the truth-value judgment task
Sentences with a clitic
DistractorsCondition 1affected individual
+ clitic
Condition 2no affected individual
+ clitic
Native speaker
100% 100% 100%
L2 learner 80% 20% 96%
English control
40% 80% 94%
8. Results
Control English : he was more willing to reject sentences with a dative pronoun which produced target-like results in condition 2. However, he also rejected as false 40% of sentences with the clitic that followed the stories that actually contained an affected individual.
Accuracy of the truth-value judgment task
Sentences with a clitic
DistractorsCondition 1affected individual
+ clitic
Condition 2no affected individual
+ clitic
Native speaker
100% 100% 100%
L2 learner 80% 20% 96%
English control
40% 80% 94%
OUTLINE1. The main hypothesis and SLA theory
2. The property: low and high applicative
3. Learning tasks
4. Previous research
5. Research questions
6. Tasks
7. Participants
8. Results
9. Discussion
10.Conclusions
9. DiscussionRQ1: Does the L2 learner consider the sentences
with adversative dative as grammatical?
Yes. The degree of acceptability is close to that of a native speaker: 3 for the L2 learner versus 3.2 for a native speaker
RQ2: Is the L2 learner of French sensitive to the restriction on the adversative/benefactive datives and rejects sentences without a referential VP-internal DP?
RQ3: Has the learner acquired the adversative meaning associated with the construction when provided with an appropriate discourse?
9. DiscussionRQ1: Does the L2 learner consider the sentences with
adversative dative as grammatical?
RQ2: Is the L2 learner of French sensitive to the restriction on the adversative/benefactive datives and rejects sentences without a referential VP-internal DP?
The L2 learner showed the contrast (3 for grammatical and 2.25 for ungrammatical). However the contrast is sharper in the grammar of the native speaker (3.2 for grammatical and 1 for ungrammatical sentences).
RQ3: Has the learner acquired the adversative meaning associated with the construction when provided with an appropriate discourse?
9. DiscussionRQ1: Does the L2 learner consider sentences with
adversative dative as grammatical?
RQ2: Is the L2 learner sensitive to the restriction on the adversative/benefactive datives and rejects sentences without a referential VP-internal DP?
RQ3: Has the learner acquired the adversative meaning associated with the construction when provided with an appropriate discourse?
No. The L2 learner was not sensitive to the context in which the construction can be used. Instead, she accepted sentences with the clitic as true in spite of the context.
9. DiscussionCan L2 learners acquire a new structural
configuration that is not found in their L1?
Looks like the answer is positive (the results of the GJT).
Can L2 learners correctly interpret the structure that is not found in their L1?
Interprets it differently than in L1 (English control treated most of the sentences with dative pronouns as false), but not target-like. The L2 learner considered most of the sentences with dative pronouns as true in spite of the context.
9. Discussion
The restructuring of grammar is possible in
principle
Bottleneck Hypothesis (Slabakova, 2008): the acquisition of morphology is a necessary prerequisite for acquiring the semantics
The restructuring of the syntactic representation does not automatically
guarantee the acquisition of semantics
The L2 learner has already noticed the presence of the dative clitic in this construction
However, the L2 learner is still in the process of constructing an appropriate semantic interpretation
OUTLINE1. The main hypothesis and SLA theory
2. The property: low and high applicative
3. Learning tasks
4. Previous research
5. Research questions
6. Tasks
7. Participants
8. Results
9. Discussion
10.Conclusions
10. ConclusionsCan new functional categories or rather new
configurations involving functional projections be acquired in the process of L2A?
Property: the acquisition of the high applicative head found in the adversative/benefactive construction in French by L2 learners whose L1 (English) does not have this syntactic configuration in its inventory.
Findings: the L2 subject has acquired the syntactic restrictions imposed on the L2 construction, but is not aware of an appropriate semantic context
do not disprove the possibility of successful acquisition of new functional categories or new structural configurations
But, the findings suggest that the acquisition of semantics follows the acquisition of syntax and, possibly, constitutes an additional developmental stage
10. Conclusions
Limitations
1. The property is very subtle, since even the native speaker participant only rated the sentences that were designed to be grammatical as acceptable, but did not give them the maximum points for grammaticality.
2. The minimal number of participants
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