scholarly journals Resolução anafórica em português europeu L2: efeitos de animacidade e a posição do antecedente

2021 ◽  
pp. 260-275
Author(s):  
Joana Teixeira ◽  
Alexandra Fiéis ◽  
Ana Madeira
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Anaphora Resolution ◽  
Null Subjects ◽  
Subject Pronouns ◽  
European Portuguese ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
L1 Influence ◽  
Choice Tasks

This study investigates the interpretation of subject pronouns in L2 EP by Italian native speakers, to examine the following questions: In overt subject resolution, do L1 Italian - L2 European Portuguese learners behave like L1 EP speakers regarding antecedent animacy (a property at the syntax-semantics interface) at L2 developmental stages and at the near-native level?; When the antecedent in object position is animate, do L1 Italian - L2 EP learners exhibit permanent optionality in the interpretation of overt subject pronouns but not of null subjects, as claimed by Sorace (2016), a.o.? Participants were 15 adult EP native speakers, 10 intermediate, 10 advanced and 10 near-native Italian adult learners of L2 EP. They were administered two multiple-choice tasks (speeded and untimed) with a 2x2 design crossing the following variables: animacy of the matrix object (animate vs. inanimate) and type of embedded pronominal subject (overt vs. null). Results indicate that L2 learners show problems only in the areas where the L1 and the L2 differ (Madeira, Fiéis & Teixeira, this volume), namely: the resolution of overt subjects in the presence of [-animate] object antecedent and the resolution of null subjects. Learners’ performance in these areas remains unstable even at the near-native level. These findings challenge the ideas that internal interfaces (syntax/semantics) are not persistently problematic and that null subjects are unproblematic in L2 anaphora resolution (cf. Sorace, 2011, 2016). They moreover point to the importance of L1 influence in L2 anaphora resolution, a factor generally played down in previous studies (e.g., Sorace, 2016).

scholarly journals Microvariação na resolução de sujeitos pronominais: português europeu vs. italiano

2021 ◽  
pp. 155-167
Author(s):  
Ana Madeira ◽  
Alexandra Fiéis ◽  
Joana Teixeira
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Language Group ◽  
Relevant Factor ◽  
Null Subjects ◽  
Null Results ◽  
Subject Pronouns ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Choice Tasks

The present study investigates the resolution of null and overt subject pronouns in intrasentential contexts, considering the role of animacy in antecedent assignment. Participants were 15 native speakers of EP and 14 of Italian. Each language group was administered two multiple choice tasks (speeded and untimed), which had a 2x2 design, crossing the following variables: animacy of the matrix object (animate vs. inanimate) and type of pronominal embedded subject (overt vs. null). Results indicate that there is microvariation in the resolution of overt pronominal subjects in EP and in Italian: the position of the antecedent is the most relevant factor in EP, whereas, in Italian, the animacy of the antecedent is the preponderant factor. Results also show that there is microvariation in the resolution of null subjects (contra previous claims in the literature): the bias for subject antecedents is weaker in Italian than in EP. Possible reasons for the observed microvariation are discussed in detail.

scholarly journals Aquisição da correferência pronominal catafórica no português europeu por aprendentes chineses

2017 ◽  
pp. 401-422
Author(s):  
Yi Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
European Portuguese ◽  
Syntactic Position ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
Overt Pronoun ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
Temporal Adverbial ◽  
Matrix Subject

This paper aims to investigate how Chinese learners of European Portuguese as second language acquire backward anaphora in this language, analyzing the interpretation of overt pronoun in left-dislocated temporal adverbial adjunct. Two experiments were administered to test if the syntactic position and the proximity of antecedent are main factors to determine the interpretation by the native speakers of Portuguese and the Chinese learners, as well as if the learners are influenced by their first language. The first test illustrates that in Chinese the native speakers may fluctuate between three possible interpretations in backward anaphora structures, namely the matrix subject, matrix object and the antecedent in context. The second test demonstrates that the native speakers of European Portuguese also fluctuate between the three interpretations, while the Chinese learners do not tend to accept an antecedent in the context. The test also shows that the C1 level learners are more likely to accept the matrix subject as the antecedent of the embedded overt pronoun than the B2 level learners.

scholarly journals How Chinese learners of L2 European Portuguese interpret null and overt pronouns in forward and backward anaphora

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-321
Author(s):  
Yi Zheng ◽  
Paula Luegi ◽  
Ana Madeira ◽  
Gabriela Matos
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Questionnaire Study ◽  
Developmental Effect ◽  
Overt Pronouns ◽  
European Portuguese ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
Overt Pronoun ◽  
L1 Influence ◽  
The Subject

In a questionnaire study we investigate how native speakers of European Portuguese (EP) and Chinese, as well as Chinese learners of EP as second language (L2), interpret null and overt pronouns in forward and backward anaphora. Results show that EP native speakers exhibit different interpretative biases for null and overt pronominal subjects in both forward and backward anaphora. Chinese native speakers show similar interpretation in backward anaphora in their L1 but a subject preference with both null and overt pronouns in forward anaphora conditions. Chinese learners of L2 EP present an overall preference to interpret both pronouns as referring to the subject referent, although there is a developmental effect towards the target interpretation in overt pronoun backward anaphora conditions. Results confirm previous studies in L2 EP (Madeira et al., 2012; Lobo et al., 2017), but add the possibility that this pattern may be explained by L1 influence.------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMO OS APRENDIZES CHINESES DO PORTUGUÊS EUROPEU L2 INTERPRETAM OS PRONOMES NULOS E CLAROS NA ANÁFORA PARA FRENTE E PARA TRÁSNum estudo de questionário investigamos como os falantes nativos do Português Europeu (PE) e do chinês, bem como os aprendentes chineses que adquirem PE como língua segunda (L2), interpretam pronomes nulos e plenos em condições de anáfora e de catáfora. Os resultados mostram que os falantes nativos de PE exibem diferentes interpretações para sujeitos pronominais nulos e plenos tanto em anáfora como em catáfora. Os falantes nativos de Chinês mostram uma interpretação semelhante em catáfora na sua L1, mas preferem como antecedente o sujeito para pronome nulo e pleno nas condições de anáfora. Os aprendentes chineses de PE L2 preferem interpretar ambos os pronomes como referindo-se a um antecedente sujeito. No entanto, na condição de catáfora com pronome pleno, existe um efeito de desenvolvimento para a interpretação-alvo. Os resultados confirmam os estudos anteriores em PE L2 (Madeira et al. 2012; Lobo et al. 2017) e adicionam a possibilidade de explicar a interpretação na L2 por influência da L1.---Original em inglês.

scholarly journals Anaphora resolution in near-native speakers of Italian

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonella Sorace ◽  
Francesca Filiaci
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Main Clause ◽  
Subordinate Clause ◽  
Matrix Clause ◽  
Null Subject ◽  
Subject Pronouns ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Processing Strategies ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Subject Pronoun

This study presents data from an experiment on the interpretation of intrasentential anaphora in Italian by native Italian speakers and by English speakers who have learned Italian as adults and have reached a near-native level of proficiency in this language. The two groups of speakers were presented with complex sentences consisting of a main clause and a subordinate clause, in which the subordinate clause had either an overt pronoun or a null subject pronoun. In half of the sentences the main clause preceded the subordinate clause (forward anaphora) and in the other half the subordinate clause preceded the main clause (backward anaphora). Participants performed in a picture verification task in which they had to indicate the picture(s) that corresponded to the meaning of the subordinate clause, thus identifying the possible antecedents of the null or overt subject pronouns. The patterns of responses of the two groups were very similar with respect to the null subject pronouns in both the forward and backward anaphora conditions. Compared to native monolingual speakers, however, the near-natives had a significantly higher preference for the subject of the matrix clause as a possible antecedent of overt subject pronouns, particularly in the backward anaphora condition. The results indicate that near-native speakers have acquired the syntactic constraints on pronominal subjects in Italian, but may have residual indeterminacy in the interface processing strategies they employ in interpreting pronominal forms.

NATIVE AND NONNATIVE INTERPRETATION OF PRONOMINAL FORMS

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Schimke ◽  
Saveria Colonna
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Null Subjects ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Subject Pronouns ◽  
Overt Pronouns

This study investigates the influence of grammatical role and discourse-level cues on the interpretation of different pronominal forms in native speakers of French, native speakers of Turkish, and Turkish learners of French. In written questionnaires, we found that native speakers of French were influenced by discourse-level cues when interpreting ambiguous overt subject pronouns in French, whereas native speakers of Turkish were mainly influenced by a syntactic cue—subjecthood—when interpreting null subjects (pro) in Turkish translation equivalents. When interpreting implicit subjects of nonfinite dependent clauses (PRO), native speakers of both French and Turkish were influenced by subjecthood. Finally, Turkish learners of French were influenced by discourse-level cues in the interpretation of overt pronouns as well as PRO and showed no subject preference in either case. These results are in line with approaches to second language (L2) acquisition that stress the role of discourse-level principles in the processing and use of a L2 (Clahsen & Felser, 2006; Klein & Perdue, 1997).

Anaphora resolution in near-native Italian grammars: Evidence from native speakers of Croatian

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 107-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tihana Kraš
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Selection Task ◽  
Anaphora Resolution ◽  
Null Subject ◽  
Subject Pronouns ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Third Person ◽  
Crosslinguistic Influence

This paper reports the results of an experimental study on the resolution of intra-sentential anaphora in Italian, by native Italian speakers and near-native Italian speakers whose L1 is Croatian. In a picture-selection task, the two groups of speakers had to identify the antecedents of third person null and overt subject pronouns in ambiguous forward and backward anaphora sentences and their unambiguous counterparts. In all contexts under investigation, near-natives expressed native-like antecedent preferences, indicating that they have acquired not only the syntactic, but also the discourse-pragmatic constraints on the realisation of pronominal subjects in Italian. Given that Croatian and Italian do not differ with respect to the licensing and distribution of pronominal forms, the results provide additional evidence for an account attributing the well-attested tendency of bilingual speakers of a null subject language and a non-null subject language to overuse and misinterpret overt subjects in the null subject language to crosslinguistic influence.

scholarly journals ONLINE PRONOUN RESOLUTION IN L2 DISCOURSE: L1 Influence and General Learner Effects

2008 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 333-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Roberts ◽  
Marianne Gullberg ◽  
Peter Indefrey
Keyword(s):  
First Language ◽  
Pronoun Resolution ◽  
Subject Pronouns ◽  
Online Processing ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
Overt Pronouns ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
L1 Influence ◽  
Final Interpretation ◽  
Subject Pronoun

This study investigates whether advanced second language (L2) learners of a nonnull subject language (Dutch) are influenced by their null subject first language (L1) (Turkish) in their offline and online resolution of subject pronouns in L2 discourse. To tease apart potential L1 effects from possible general L2 processing effects, we also tested a group of German L2 learners of Dutch who were predicted to perform like the native Dutch speakers. The two L2 groups differed in their offline interpretations of subject pronouns. The Turkish L2 learners exhibited a L1 influence, because approximately half the time they interpreted Dutch subject pronouns as they would overt pronouns in Turkish, whereas the German L2 learners performed like the Dutch controls, interpreting pronouns as coreferential with the current discourse topic. This L1 effect was not in evidence in eye-tracking data, however. Instead, the L2 learners patterned together, showing an online processing disadvantage when two potential antecedents for the pronoun were grammatically available in the discourse. This processing disadvantage was in evidence irrespective of the properties of the learners' L1 or their final interpretation of the pronoun. Therefore, the results of this study indicate both an effect of the L1 on the L2 in offline resolution and a general L2 processing effect in online subject pronoun resolution.

Faetar null subjects: a variationist study of a heritage language in contact

2017 ◽  
Vol 2018 (249) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Nagy ◽  
Michael Iannozzi ◽  
David Heap
Keyword(s):  
Heritage Language ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Null Subjects ◽  
Subject Pronouns ◽  
Greater Toronto Area

AbstractFaetar is an under-documented variety descended from Francoprovençal and spoken in two isolated Apulian villages in southern Italy as well as in the emigrant diaspora, especially in the Greater Toronto Area. Speakers use two series of subject pronouns (

scholarly journals When Bilingualism is the Common Factor: Switch Reference at the Junction of Competence and Performance in Both Second Language and Heritage Language Performance

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 590-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffany Judy ◽  
Michael T. Putnam ◽  
Jason Rothman
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Common Factor ◽  
Language Performance ◽  
Subject Pronouns ◽  
Different Populations ◽  
The Common ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Heritage Language Speakers

In this paper we take a closer look at the oft-touted divide between heritage language speakers and adult second language (L2) learners. Here, we explore whether some properties of language may display general effects across different populations of bilinguals, explaining, at least partially, why these two groups show some common differences when compared with monolinguals. To test this hypothesis, we adduce data from two unique populations of bilinguals: a moribund variety of heritage German spoken in southwestern Kansas (Moundridge Schweitzer German) and L2 adult learners of Spanish. Empirically, we investigate whether the confound of switch reference adds an additional cognitive burden to these bilinguals in licensing object control predicates in the former and referential subject pronouns in the latter. Our preliminary findings support the view that overarching concepts such as incomplete acquisition cannot capture the variability observed in these populations, thus further supporting approaches that interpret findings such as these to be the result of specific variables.

scholarly journals Issues in developing the learning motivation of adult learners for studying foreign languages

2020 ◽  
Vol 133 (4) ◽  
pp. 99-105
Author(s):  
А.А. Palina ◽  
◽  
T.A. Kokhanover ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
Adult Students ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Educational Activity ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
Experimental Training ◽  
Basic Learning

This article highlights issues of formation a motivation to learn foreign languages in adult students. The teaching practice shows that working with students of different ages has its own distinctive features, and teaching adults has its own specifics. This article considers such element of educational activity as motivation, and particularities of its formation namely in adults. It presents the basic learning needs of adults, their requirements for the pedagogical process, as well as possible difficulties in teaching them. It provides the list of conditions and principles necessary for successful development and maintenance of adult students’ motivation. The article suggests such method as correspondence with native speakers of a foreign language. It describes the conduct of experimental training using the proposed method, which is supported by the results of a survey to identify the level of adult students’ motivation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document