Proficiency Matters: L2 Avoidance in Spanish Complex Wh- Production

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The Derivational Complexity Hypothesis (Jakubowicz & Strik 2008) proposes that computationally complex structures interact with syntactic constraints in linguistic production, causing the rise of avoidance strategies in child L1 and adult L2 speakers. These avoidance strategies have until recently been understudied in the field of SLA (as opposed to the use of ungrammatical structures), but they actively compete with target-like forms during the language acquisition process and can therefore advance our understanding of non-native linguistic development. This article provides evidence for the DCH based on avoidance strategies shown by non-native speakers of Spanish in the production of the whisland (How did you say when the jewels were stolen?). Through a game-based elicitation task, speakers at the intermediate and high-advanced level were prompted to produce questions containing a wh-island. The results show that intermediate speakers of Spanish significantly avoid producing questions that contain an island, as opposed to native and high-advanced speakers. The strategies used instead of the target are of a less complex nature (pronominalization of the second clause, omission of the middle verb), therefore supporting the DCH. High-advanced and native data, on the other hand, show a use of creative strategies that is absent from the intermediate data. Off-target constructions by these groups often consist of questions that are structurally more complex than the intended target forms (use of relative clauses and embedded NPs).Keywords. Second Language Acquisition; Derivational Complexity Hypothesis; Avoidance Strategies; Wh-Islands; Production; Spanish. RESUMEN. La Hipótesis de Complejidad Derivacional (Jakubowicz y Strik 2008)propone que las estructuras complejas desde un punto de vista computacional interactúan con las restricciones sintácticas en la producción lingüística, causando así un aumento del uso de estrategias de evasión en hablantes de L1 (niños) y L2 (adultos). Estas estrategias de evasión han recibido poca atención en el campo de la adquisición de segunda lengua hasta la fecha (a diferencia del uso de estructuras agramaticales), pero compiten con las formas meta durante el proceso de adquisición y, por tanto, pueden contribuir a nuestro conocimiento del desarrollo lingüístico no nativo. Este artículo apoya la HCD basándose en el uso de estrategias de evasión por parte de hablantes no nativos de español en la producción de la isla qu-(¿Cómo dijiste cuándo fueron robadas las joyas?). Con el uso de un experimento de estimulación lúdico, se motivó a dos grupos de hablantes intermedios y cuasi-nativos a producir preguntas que contuvieran una isla qu-. Los resultados muestran que los hablantes intermedios evitan producir preguntas que contengan una isla, al contrario que los hablantes cuasi-nativos y nativos. En su lugar, utilizan estructuras más simples desde un punto de vista computacional (pronominalización de la segunda cláusula, omisión del verbo medio), apoyando por tanto la HDC. Los dato...

Null-Prep as a systematic interlanguage phenomenon: Evidence from relative clauses, interrogatives, and sluicing constructions

“…Complexity considerations have proved to be significant in the development of language in children (Bentea and Durrleman, 2014; Prévost et al, 2010, 2014), atypical grammars (Thompson et al, 2003; Thompson and Shapiro, 2005, 2007), heritage languages (Hopp et al, 2019), and L2 grammars (Slavkov, 2015; Turrero-Garcia, 2017).…”

“…As for PiP structures, we assume that the preposition merges with the wh -word (11a), an extra previous step that direct object interrogatives, for instance, do not require. Questions can present different levels of complexity, as they can involve long vs. short movement, simple vs. multiple wh , direct vs. indirect questions, or extractions from islands, with different levels of complexity, and this has direct effects on their acquisition (Hopp et al, 2019; Turrero-Garcia, 2017). However, in this study, we only focus on wh -question movement within a clause.…”