How strong is the ban on non-finite verbs in V2? Evidence from early second language learners of German with and without SLI

Abstract

Abstract:Using the standardized test LiSe-DaZ across four test rounds, we collected elicited production data from 22 typically developing early second language learners (eL2 TD) of German (mean age at T1: 3;7) and 11 older eL2 children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) (mean age at T1: 7;1). Focusing on the relation between verb placement and verbal inflectional morphology two questions were addressed: Do eL2 children obey the ban on non-finite verbs in verb-second position (V2) in German, and do eL2 SLI children differ from their eL2 TD peers in their morpho-syntactic behavior? This is the first study on this issue to systematically differentiate between V2 and verb-final position (Vf) and between bare verb forms and infinitives, based on a large sample of elicited production data. Results show that from the first test round onwards verbal inflectional morphology and verb placement were strongly related in the TD and the SLI group. Bare verb forms occurred in V2 only and are argued to be finite; en-infinitives were restricted to Vf. We conclude that a) the restrictions for morphological markings are inextricably tied to specific syntactic positions, b) that this knowledge is still accessible when L2 acquisition starts around age 3, and c) that the ban on non-finite verbs in V2 is invulnerable in eL2 TD and in SLI, indicating that SLI is matter of severe delay.

Childhood bilingualism and Specific Language Impairment: A study of the CP-domain in German SLI

“…Consider first the current results in the light of previous findings on SLI in German. As regards verb placement , our finding of a clear contrast between finite verbs typically appearing in the V2 position and non-finite verbs typically not appearing in the V2 position is in line with previous studies on German child language – see Clahsen (1989) and much subsequent research – as well as with findings from bilingual children with and without SLI (Wojtecka et al, 2013; Schulz & Schwarze, 2017).…”

“…A small point of deviance appears to be the distribution of bare forms such as spiel - ‘play’. While we found clause-final placement of these forms significantly more often in children with SLI (both monolingual and bilingual ones) than in typically-developing children, Schulz and Schwarze (2017) reported the occurrence of bare forms to be restricted to V2 in TD-L2 and SLI-L2 children. Consequently, they argued that these forms (despite lacking overt finiteness markers) function syntactically as finite verbs.…”

“…Consequently, they argued that these forms (despite lacking overt finiteness markers) function syntactically as finite verbs. Note, however, that this discrepancy between the two studies is more apparent than real, as bare forms were overall very rare in Schulz and Schwarze's (2017) data set. In their TD-L2 children there was a total of 28 bare forms (all of which appeared in V2), and in the SLI-data there were 25 cases in total, 22 of which were in V2.…”

“…Furthermore, correctly agreeing -e or -n forms in sentences with overt subjects were coded as ‘finite’ (3d), and non-agreeing -e or -n forms in sentences with overt subjects were treated as ‘non-finite’ (4a); see Clahsen & Penke (1992) and Rothweiler et al (2012) for further justification. Special attention was given to bare unmarked stems ( Ich/du/er kauf ‘I/you/he buy’) which have been argued to be finite by some (Schulz & Schwarze, 2017; Prévost, 2003) and finite or non-finite by others (Rothweiler et al, 2012, 2017). We analysed verb placement for these forms separately.…”

“…Potential links between verb placement and subject-verb agreement in German-speaking bilingual children with SLI have been investigated by Schulz and Schwarze (2017) in a study of 11 sequential bilingual children with SLI (AoA: 2;9-3;9, 7–75 months of exposure) compared to 22 younger bilingual typically-developing children (AoA: 2;0-3;4, 5–19 months of exposure). The bilingual children had different L1s, most frequently Arabic, Russian, or Turkish.…”