The interpretation of verbal moods in Spanish: A close replication of Kanwit and Geeslin (2014)

Abstract

This study is a close replication of Kanwit and Geeslin (2014), a variationist investigation of the interpretation of verbal moods in adverbial clauses in Spanish. Whereas the first language (L1) of the second-language participants in the initial study was English, we explore whether Kanwit and Geeslin’s results extend to other L1 populations—Swedish and French learners of Spanish. Participants in the replication study completed the same interpretation task and grammar test as those in the initial study. Results showed, for example, that multiple factors influenced their variable interpretation of verbal moods, there was evidence of change between course levels, and there were certain differences in interpretation between the French and Swedish groups. This study contributes to knowledge about the interpretation of a variable structure by enhancing the confirmatory power of some of the initial study’s findings, while also suggesting that the learners’ L1 leads to diverging findings.