Michael Iverson

Poverty-of-the-Stimulus and SLA Epistemology: Considering L2 Knowledge of Aspectual Phrasal Semantics

Coupling a review of previous studies on the acquisition of grammatical aspects undertaken from contrasting paradigmatic views of second language acquisition (SLA) with new experimental data from L2 Portuguese, the present study contributes to this specific literature as well as general debates in L2 epistemology. We tested 31 adult English learners of L2 Portuguese across three experiments, examining the extent to which they had acquired the syntax and (subtle) semantics of grammatical aspect. Demonstrating that many individuals acquired target knowledge of what we contend is a poverty-of-the-stimulus semantic entailment related to the checking of aspectual features encoded in Portuguese preterit and imperfect morphology (see also Goodin-Mayeda and Rothman (2007), Montrul and Slabakova (2003), Slabakova and Montrul (2003)), namely, a [±accidental] distinction that obtains in a restricted subset of contexts, we conclude that UG-based approaches to SLA are in a better position to tap and gauge underlying morphosyntactic competence, since based on independent theoretical linguistic descriptions, they make falsifiable predictions that are amenable to empirical scrutiny, seek to describe and explain beyond performance, and can account for L2 convergence on poverty-of-the-stimulus knowledge as well as L2 variability/optionality (e.g., Lardiere (2007), Prévost and White (2000), Goad and White (2006), Slabakova (2008)).

Introduction: Some notes on the generative study of L3 acquisition

This article serves as a state-of the-science review of the blossoming field of generative third language (L3) acquisition as well as an introduction to this special issue on the same topic. We present and argue for the relevance of adult L3/L n acquisition for many perennial questions that have sat at the core of linguistic approaches to adult language acquisition since the Principles and Parameters framework was first adopted into second language acquisition (SLA; e.g. Flynn, 1985, 1987; Liceras, 1985; White, 1985a, 1985b; Schwartz, 1986). Furthermore, we highlight the unique, specific questions that have emerged from studying L3/Ln from a generative perspective thus far while suggesting refinements to these questions and additional ones that should emerge in future inquiry.

Input type and parameter resetting : Is naturalistic input necessary?

Abstract It has been argued that extended exposure to naturalistic input provides L2 learners with more of an opportunity to converge of target morphosyntactic competence as compared to classroom-only environments, given that the former provide more positive evidence of less salient linguistic properties than the latter (e.g., Isabelli 2004). Implicitly, the claim is that such exposure is needed to fully reset parameters. However, such a position conflicts with the notion of parameterization (cf. Rothman and Iverson 2007). In light of two types of competing generative theories of adult L2 acquisition – the No Impairment Hypothesis (e.g., Duffield and White 1999) and so-called Failed Features approaches (e.g., Beck 1998; Franceschina 2001; Hawkins and Chan 1997), we investigate the verifiability of such a claim. Thirty intermediate L2 Spanish learners were tested in regards to properties of the Null-Subject Parameter before and after study-abroad. The data suggest that (i) parameter resetting is possible and (ii) exposure to naturalistic input is not privileged.

Transfer at the initial stages of L3 Brazilian Portuguese: A look at three groups of English/Spanish bilinguals

This study examines three formal linguistic acquisition models of third language (L3) acquisition in the context of Brazilian Portuguese (BP), specifically examining Differential Object Marking (DOM). The main goal is to determine which of the models is best able to predict and explain syntactic transfer in three experimental groups: mirror-image groups of first/second language (L1/L2) English/Spanish bilinguals (i) L1 English/L2 Spanish and (ii) L1 Spanish/L2 English, and (iii) heritage Spanish/English bilinguals. The data provide evidence to support the Typological Primacy Model (Rothman, 2010, 2011, 2013), which predicts Spanish transfer irrespective of its status as an L1, L2 or bilingual first language (2L1). Additionally, the heritage speaker and L1 English group results, taken together, provide evidence for Iversons (2009) claim that comparing such populations adds independent supportive evidence that the acquisition of linguistic features or properties in an L2 acquired past puberty is not subject to a maturational critical period.

Informing the Age-of-Acquisition Debate: L3 as a Litmus Test.

Abstract Following Cabrelli et al. (What the start of L3 tells us about the end of L2: N-drop in L2 and L3 Portuguese, BUCLD, 2008), Iverson (Competing SLA hypotheses assessed: Comparing heritage and successive Spanish bilinguals of L3 Brazilian Portuguese, Mouton de Gruyter, 2009) and others, I argue that the L3 initial state is an important tool in testing claims made with respect to ultimate attainment in adult language acquisition. Given the appropriate language combinations, testing knowledge of an L3 at the initial state hints at the possibility (or not) of acquisition of new features and parameter resetting in adulthood. Herein I re-examine two studies, Guijarro-Fuentes et al. (Non-convergence at advanced levels, learnability and the preemption problem in L2 semantics: DP and Bare nominal interpretations in L2 Portuguese, University of Southampton, 2008) and Iverson (Competing SLA hypotheses assessed: Comparing heritage and successive Spanish bilinguals of L3 Brazilian Portuguese, Mouton de Gruyter, 2009) which look at the acquisition of L3 Brazilian Portuguese (BP) by learners with L1 English/adult L2 Spanish. Spanish and BP share many phenomena that English lacks; therefore, any L3 initial-state knowledge of these shared phenomena must come via L2 Spanish. Although not the original goal of these works, they implicitly indicate new feature acquisition in adulthood and highlight how L3 studies in general contribute to the age of acquisition debate.

Islands and Objects in L2 Spanish: Do You Know the Learners Who Drop___?.

This study tests native Brazilian Portuguese (BP) speakers of second language (L2) Spanish in the domain of phonologically null object pronouns. This is a worthwhile first language (L1)-L2 pairing given that these languages are historically and typologically related and both seemingly allow for object drop. Nevertheless, the underlying syntax of phonologically null object pronouns is distinct in each language, resulting in differences in their respective syntactic reflexes. We pursue whether or not it is more difficult to acquire new syntactic structure for a L2 property that, on the surface, is shared by the L1. In other words, we explore whether advanced BP learners of L2 Spanish will be successful in the acquisition of Spanish object drop to the same degree as English learners and European Portuguese learners who were previously shown by Bruhn de Garavito and Guijarro-Fuentes (2001) to be quite successful. By means of a scalar grammaticality judgment task with context, we examine competence of the Spanish restrictions on the distribution of dropped objects that differ from BP in various syntactic positions (e.g., simple clauses vs. strong islands) while alternating the Spanish-specific semantic variable of definiteness as determined by the context. The data show that the semantic alternations are acquired as well as the new syntax; however, such acquisition does not guarantee preemption of the L1 syntactic option, which may result in target-deviant variability. We discuss the data in light of what they bring to bear on questions pertinent to formal SLA theory.

To Inflect or Not to Inflect Is the Question Indeed: Infinitives in Second Language (L2) Portuguese

A luz de previsoes feitas por duas abordagens concorrentes na aquisicao de L2 por adultos – Acesso Total (FA, Full Access) (e.g., White 1989, 2003; Schwartz & Sprouse 1996) e Tracos Malsucedidos (FF, Failed Features) (e.g., Hawkins & Chan 1997; Liceras & Diaz, 1999) – o presente estudo examina a aquisicao de infinitivos flexionados por adultos aprendizes de portugues como L2, falantes nativos de ingles e bilingues de espanhol/ingles. A aquisicao total semelhante ao nativo de infinitivos flexionados requer a reconfiguracao de um parâmetro sintatico (o Parâmetro do Sujeito Nulo) e um parâmetro morfologico (o Parâmetro-Infl) para esses aprendizes. Como as abordagens FF sustentam um periodo pos-critico de insucesso na aquisicao de novos tracos na L2, ausentes na L1, preve-se que a aquisicao tipica da lingua alvo nao seja possivel. Por outro lado, as abordagens FA, que sustentam a possibilidade da reconfiguracao dos parâmetros nos adultos, preveem que a competencia nativa de infinitivos flexionados seja alcancavel, mas nao inevitavel. Os dados que apresentamos apoiam as abordagens FA, e demonstram que os adultos aprendizes avancados alcancam um conhecimento interpretativo dos infinitivos flexionados do portugues semelhante ao de nativos. Tambem consideramos o papel da transferencia da L1 e as implicacoes possiveis, ja que diferem para ambos os grupos.

Differences in use without deficiencies in competence: passives in the Turkish and German of Turkish heritage speakers in Germany

ABSTRACT Determining how and why adult outcomes of heritage speaker (HS) bilingualism differ from monolinguals is difficult because it requires the reconstruction of developmental paths from end-state data. In an effort to address this issue, we examine HSs of Turkish in Germany at an early age of development (10–15 years old, n = 22), as well as age-matched monolingual controls in Turkey (n = 20) and Germany (n = 20), using a structured elicitation task for production of passives. The goal is to see whether HSs have the representation of passives in their mental grammars and to better understand the relative weight of factors (age at time of testing, immigration status of the Turkish parents (first or second generation), and literacy in the L1) that potentially contribute to the formation of HSs’ grammatical competence. The results show that all HSs have the underlying representation for passives in both Turkish and German. There was a significant effect of only literacy; high level of L1 literacy has a positive effect on monolingual-like production as compared to those with no literacy. We discuss these results pertaining to explicating ultimate attainment outcomes in heritage language acquisition in relation to larger debates in the field.

Older Age of Onset in Child L2 Acquisition Can Be Facilitative: Evidence from the Acquisition of English Passives by Spanish Natives.

We report a longitudinal comprehension study of (long) passive constructions in two native-Spanish child groups differing by age of initial exposure to L2 English (young group: 3;0-4;0; older group: 6;0-7;0), where amount of input, L2 exposure environment, and socioeconomic status are controlled. Data from a forced-choice task show that both groups comprehend active sentences, not passives, initially (after 3·6 years of exposure). One year later, both groups improve, but only the older group reaches ceiling on both actives and passives. Two years from initial testing, the younger group catches up. Input alone cannot explain why the younger group takes five years to accomplish what the older group does in four. We claim that some properties take longer to acquire at certain ages because language development is partially constrained by general cognitive and linguistic development (e.g. de Villiers, 2007; Long & Rothman, 2014; Paradis, 2008, 2010, 2011; Tsimpli, 2014).

Spanish as a Heritage Language in the United States: The State of the Field

The growing Hispanic population in the United States and the importance of its language in all areas of everyday life, including education, have challenged specialists from diverse disciplines; they have responded by exploring new fields to understand and aid the development of programmes to facilitate the life of this community. Linguistic, sociolinguistic and historical studies about the language spoken in the territory known as the United States of America since 1513 offer a firm basis for the study of Spanish as a heritage language (SHL). Initially, the majority of studies related to the teaching of Spanish but the participation of the Hispanic community in other areas—health, the media, the judiciary system, business—opened up new lines of instruction and investigation. The editors of this volume have collected together fourteen studies written by some of the most active researchers in the field of SHL. Besides Beaudrie’s and Fairclough’s introduction, which contextualizes the discipline and discusses its main issues, they have incorporated a closing chapter by Guadalupe Valdés, in which she states that future research in the field should investigate diverse aspects of SHL and also consider those aspects that are shared with other languages within the larger field of Heritage Language (HL) where many groups have similar experiences. Among the many definitions put forward, the editors favour Joshua Fishman’s 2001 definition of the heritage speaker as ‘an individual who has personal or familial connection to a nonmajority language’ (7) and consider that the main objective of the study of Spanish as a heritage language is its maintenance (5). The first section of this volume offers an overview of the field and includes four works that discuss the discipline from a variety of angles—historical, sociological and theoretical. Introducing concrete examples from the legal system and the entertainment world, Glenn Martínez’s study, for instance, offers evidence to demonstrate the need for language policy and language planning. Research and instruction must help the Spanish-speaking community to conduct its life in the various areas of society; therefore instruction to SHL students should prepare them for different professions and develop them as leaders. According to Martínez, a move in these two directions will promote a positive attitude towards bilingualism in the wider community. The second part of the volume is made up of three chapters that summarize research conducted in Spanish-speaking communities of the United States as well as in SHL classrooms from grammatical, pragmatic and code-switching perspectives. In one of these studies, Silvina Montrul examines critically several investigations that have applied quantitative analysis to data collected in bilingual communities. Among other studies, she discusses Carmen Silva-Corvalán’s renowned work on language attrition in the tense-aspect and mood verb system across generations in the Spanish of Mexican-Americans, and concludes that Silva-Corvalán considers that the changes found are internally motivated. For Montrul, studies that try to determine the grammatical competence of speakers offer information about the nature of language knowledge, and about language use and change in bilingual contexts, which is useful information in language teaching environments. Bulletin of Spanish Studies, Volume XCI, Number 8, 2014