The Compounding Parameter in Second Language Acquisition

Slabakova, Roumyana

doi:10.1017/s0272263102004011

Cited by 25 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Slabakova (2002) investigated acquisition of a number of properties associated with a proposed compounding parameter (Snyder, 1995), in the L2 Spanish of L1-English speakers. Spanish and English are argued to have different settings of this parameter, with the result that N-N compounds, double objects, verb particle constructions (e.g., think through) and resultatives are all ungrammatical in Spanish but grammatical in English.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What’s in the Textbook and What’s in the Mind

Marsden

Whong

Gil

2017

Stud Second Lang Acquis

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This paper presents an experimental study of the rarely explored question of how input via instruction interacts with L2 acquisition at the level of modular linguistic knowledge. The investigation focuses on L2 knowledge of the English polarity item any, whose properties are only partially covered by typical language-teaching materials. We investigate Najdi-Saudi Arabic-speaking learners' knowledge of the distribution of any in contexts that are taught, contexts that are not taught but may be observable in the input, and contexts that are neither taught nor observable. We further test whether conscious awareness of instructed rules about any correlates with performance. Our findings suggest a role for instruction and also for internal, UG-constrained acquisition, and that these two paths interact. We explore our findings in terms of Sharwood Smith and Truscott's (2014a, 2014b) framework of modular online growth and use of language, in which cognitive development is driven by processing.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What’s in the Textbook and What’s in the Mind

Marsden

Whong

Gil

2017

Stud Second Lang Acquis

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“…Clahsen and Hong (1995) and Neeleman and Weerman (1997) argue that interlanguage grammars are construction specific, that is, each construction associated with a parameter has to be learned separately in pattern matching (Bley-Vroman, 1997). On the other hand, Slabakova (1999;2001;2002) finds parametric clustering in L2 grammars. All cited research on parametric clustering looks at parameters in which interpretations are related to functional category morphology and word order, that is, where L1-L2 differences are overt and visible.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learnability in the second language acquisition of semantics: a bidirectional study of a semantic parameter

Slabakova

2006

Second Language Research

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The study investigates the relationship between input, UG (Universal Grammar) parameter values, and the native language in the acquisition of a purely semantic property that is superficially unrelated to its syntactic trigger, The Bare Noun/Proper Name parameter (Longobardi, 1991; 1994; 1996;2001; 2005). On the one hand, English and Italian bare nouns have identical syntactic form and distribution, but differ in available interpretations. On the other hand, proper names display cross-linguistic constant meaning but variable word order. Variation in this respect can be accounted for by a parameter that is set to one value in English and another one in Italian. A bidirectional study of the two properties was conducted. Individual results calculated with the native speaker accuracy as the cut-off point for successful acquisition indicate that parametric restructuring is attested in both learning directions. In the English → Italian direction, the lack of one native interpretation in the target language (a contracting of the grammar) is achieved in the absence of negative evidence, in a Poverty of the Stimulus situation. In both directions, the semantic property is acquired based on input and/or positive evidence for the syntactic side of the parameter.

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“…Liceras and Díaz (), who studied these compounds, concluded that “their acquisition by English native speakers must be based on extremely limited positive evidence. Thus, it is not very surprising that even the advanced learners produced them only in about 60% of obligatory contexts” (as cited in Slabakova, , p. 516). The 10 forced‐choice items measuring knowledge of how the English noun‐noun compound construction translated to Spanish were formatted as sentences in Spanish that described an object that would be represented in English, but not in Spanish, as a left‐headed noun‐noun compound (e.g., tango shoes = zapatos de tango ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The two linguistic measures focused on two types of complex constructions . Forced‐choice pre‐ and postprogram questionnaire items investigated left‐headed noun‐noun compounds, which are found in English but not in Spanish and are not typically explicitly taught in the Spanish L2 classroom: for example, from Slabakova's () study, “tango shoes” or “doll maker.” If this structure were translated to Spanish, maintaining the same word order, it would be ungrammatical: * tango zapatos and *muñeca fabricante . For these structures to be grammatical in Spanish, they require a different word order and the addition of a prepositional phrase (PP).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Language Learners’ Characteristics, Target Language Use, and Linguistic Development in a Domestic Immersion Context

Isabelli-García

Lacorte

2016

Foreign Language Annals

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Second language acquisition research on the immersion context has focused primarily on study abroad, revealing the extent to which that context promotes learners’ developing linguistic and intercultural competence. However, little research has examined linguistic development in intensive, domestic immersion contexts. This study investigated the extent to which target language interactions in a seven‐week domestic immersion program predicted the acquisition of linguistic features that are not present in the learners’ native language or taught in the classroom. In addition, it addressed the way in which learners’ affective characteristics may account for variability in linguistic outcomes. Data obtained for 98 participants—including self‐reported individual variability questionnaires, language contact surveys, and questionnaires measuring the accuracy of left‐headed noun‐noun compounds, verb‐particle constructions, and resultatives—showed an association between the development of these syntactically complex structures and the amount of interaction with target language speakers in which participants reported engaging. Some participants also reported positive changes in their affective characteristics due to their participation in the intensive domestic immersion program. By emphasizing how language reflects the participants’ social environment, this analysis suggests that the contextual properties of a domestic immersion program can support language learners’ acquisition of syntactically complex linguistic elements.

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The Compounding Parameter in Second Language Acquisition

Cited by 25 publications

References 59 publications

What’s in the Textbook and What’s in the Mind

What’s in the Textbook and What’s in the Mind

Learnability in the second language acquisition of semantics: a bidirectional study of a semantic parameter

Language Learners’ Characteristics, Target Language Use, and Linguistic Development in a Domestic Immersion Context

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