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5 pages, 287 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Advances in Research on Morphosyntax and Multicompetent Speakers of French and Spanish: Introduction to the Special Issue

by Aarnes Gudmestad

Languages 2021, 6(4), 212; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6040212 - 20 Dec 2021

Viewed by 2059

Abstract

Historically, research on language acquisition among multicompetent speakers has devoted significant attention to the area of morphosyntax, compared to other domains of language (Ortega 2009, p [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphosyntactic Structures in French and Spanish: Advances in Research on Multicompetent Speakers)

Research

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18 pages, 1596 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Korean Learners’ Acquisition and Use of Variable First-Person Subject Forms in Spanish

by Avizia Y. Long

Languages 2021, 6(4), 208; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6040208 - 13 Dec 2021

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Abstract

Within the scope of research that lies at the intersection of sociolinguistics and second language acquisition, there is a growing body of empirical work on learners’ acquisition of variable subject expression in Spanish. This research has been instrumental for demonstrating that second language [...] Read more.

Within the scope of research that lies at the intersection of sociolinguistics and second language acquisition, there is a growing body of empirical work on learners’ acquisition of variable subject expression in Spanish. This research has been instrumental for demonstrating that second language (L2) learners acquire linguistic and social constraints on subject form use. The present study extends research on variable Spanish subject expression to an understudied learner population: native Korean-speaking learners. Interview data were examined for the range and frequency of first-person subject forms produced by Korean-speaking learners at four instructional levels as well as linguistic and individual (extralinguistic) predictors of subject use. Results showed that learners at each level produced primarily null subjects, and verb number, verb-form regularity, verb semantics, and use of Spanish outside of class significantly predicted use of an overt personal pronoun over null subjects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphosyntactic Structures in French and Spanish: Advances in Research on Multicompetent Speakers)

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28 pages, 2699 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Variable Future-Time Expression in Spanish: A Comparison between Heritage and Second Language Learners

by Ana de Prada Pérez, Inmaculada Gómez Soler and Nick Feroce

Languages 2021, 6(4), 206; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6040206 - 10 Dec 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2896

Abstract

This paper examines the expression of futurity in Spanish, specifically the periphrastic future (PF), the morphological future (MF), and the present indicative (PI) in heritage language learners (HLLs) and second language learners (L2 learners), a comparison that allowed us to explore whether linguistic [...] Read more.

This paper examines the expression of futurity in Spanish, specifically the periphrastic future (PF), the morphological future (MF), and the present indicative (PI) in heritage language learners (HLLs) and second language learners (L2 learners), a comparison that allowed us to explore whether linguistic experience provides HLLs an advantage over L2 learners in the domain of morphosyntax. These forms (PF, MF, and PI) are regulated by certainty, temporal distance, and the presence of temporal adverbials. Previous research showed that L2 learners acquire some of these linguistic constraints and that HLLs tend to reduce the MF to modal uses. Data from a contextualized acceptability judgment task completed by 46 HLLs and 42 L2ers manipulated for verb form, certainty, temporal distance, and adverb and revealed that (i) the PF and the MF were generally rated higher than the PI, (ii) HLLs were sensitive to the three linguistic factors examined, while the L2ers’ sensitivity was modulated by proficiency, and, relatedly, (iii) the two groups differed in the effect of proficiency. For the L2 learners, an increase in proficiency led to a closer pattern to that of monolingual native speakers (only for temporal distance). Differences in exposure to and instruction in Spanish are discussed as possible sources of these differences. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphosyntactic Structures in French and Spanish: Advances in Research on Multicompetent Speakers)

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18 pages, 850 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Acquisition of Verbal Epistemic Stance Marking during Study Abroad: The Case of je pense in L2 French

by Pascale Leclercq

Languages 2021, 6(4), 196; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6040196 - 29 Nov 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2810

Abstract

Epistemic stance markers, such as je pense in French, take on a variety of discursive functions, ranging from asserting an opinion, indicating the source of information, and mitigating a claim, to pragmatic functions, such as gaining time for discourse planning. Previous research suggests [...] Read more.

Epistemic stance markers, such as je pense in French, take on a variety of discursive functions, ranging from asserting an opinion, indicating the source of information, and mitigating a claim, to pragmatic functions, such as gaining time for discourse planning. Previous research suggests that the epistemic marker je pense is mostly used in French conversation to express opinions and can be used as an indicator of the development of a learner’s assertiveness and pragmatic competence during a study abroad period. Using a functional approach, this paper seeks to find out the extent to which study abroad fosters the development of assertiveness and pragmalinguistic competence among L2 learners, through an analysis of stance marking in interview data from 26 Anglophone learners of French, who spent nine months abroad in a French-speaking country, and 10 French native speakers. The results show that learners are globally less assertive in their use of je pense than native speakers, particularly prior to departure, and that they develop pragmatic uses of je pense, thereby showing a development in their interactional strategies. Finally, the high inter-variability in the way learners used je pense suggests the importance of personal style. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphosyntactic Structures in French and Spanish: Advances in Research on Multicompetent Speakers)

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18 pages, 449 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Learner Development of a Morphosyntactic Feature in Argentina: The Case of vos

by Rebecca Pozzi

Languages 2021, 6(4), 193; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6040193 - 24 Nov 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2677

Abstract

Students have been found to improve their sociolinguistic competence, particularly regarding the acquisition of dialectal features, while studying abroad. Nevertheless, most of the research on learner development of morphosyntactic features in Spanish-speaking immersion contexts has examined that of variants characteristic of Peninsular Spanish [...] Read more.

Students have been found to improve their sociolinguistic competence, particularly regarding the acquisition of dialectal features, while studying abroad. Nevertheless, most of the research on learner development of morphosyntactic features in Spanish-speaking immersion contexts has examined that of variants characteristic of Peninsular Spanish in Spain, namely clitics and the informal second-person plural vosotros. Since the informal second-person singular, vos, is more prevalent than its equivalent, tú, in several Latin American countries, learner acquisition of this feature also merits investigation. This article explores second-language learner production of vos among 23 English speakers during a 5-month semester in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a popular study abroad destination. The findings from the multivariate analysis of over 1200 tokens of tú and vos indicate that learners used vos verb forms over 70% of the time by the end of the sojourn. Factors including social networks, proficiency level, mood, and task significantly influenced this use. Most notably, the stronger the learners’ social networks, the more they used vos verb forms and learners with high proficiency levels used these forms more than lower-proficiency learners. This study provides one of the first accounts of the acquisition of a widespread morphosyntactic feature of Latin American Spanish. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphosyntactic Structures in French and Spanish: Advances in Research on Multicompetent Speakers)

18 pages, 430 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Development of Discourse and Morphological Features in L2 Narratives: A Study with Classroom Spanish-Speaking Learners of French

by Maria Kihlstedt and Jesús Izquierdo

Languages 2021, 6(4), 191; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6040191 - 19 Nov 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2543

Abstract

Previous research has examined the organization of second-language French narratives through discourse or morphological analyses. At the discourse level, the analyses have investigated the foreground/background relationship. Conversely, at the morphological level, the analyses have examined the role played by verbal morphology and verbal [...] Read more.

Previous research has examined the organization of second-language French narratives through discourse or morphological analyses. At the discourse level, the analyses have investigated the foreground/background relationship. Conversely, at the morphological level, the analyses have examined the role played by verbal morphology and verbal predicates. Different methodological caveats have limited the interpretation of findings in both types of analyses. In order to provide new data, this cross-sectional study examined the evolution of discourse and morphological resources in the written narratives of Mexican Spanish-speaking learners of French whose language learning experience is limited to the classroom. The learners in the cross-sectional sample (n = 11) were selected from a population of 88 participants who completed lexical, past-tense and general proficiency tests. They also generated two written narratives during silent-film retelling tasks. The cross-sectional sample selection was based on the learners’ test scores and the results of parametric statistical analyses. The narratives were analyzed for the identification of foreground/background clauses, verbal morphology and verbal predicates. The results reveal that, as learners’ past-tense knowledge increases, the organization of narratives consolidates through a developmental path that involves the interrelated growth of discourse and morphological features. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphosyntactic Structures in French and Spanish: Advances in Research on Multicompetent Speakers)

17 pages, 2386 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The L2 Acquisition of French Interrogatives: Pragmatic Inferences in Clefted wh-Questions

by Emilie Destruel and Bryan Donaldson

Languages 2021, 6(4), 165; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6040165 - 11 Oct 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2702

Abstract

The present study aims to elaborate on the understanding of the second language (L2) acquisition of French interrogatives by focusing on clefted (subject) wh-questions, structures that are largely absent in prior L2 literature. Our research question addresses how L2 learners of French understand [...] Read more.

The present study aims to elaborate on the understanding of the second language (L2) acquisition of French interrogatives by focusing on clefted (subject) wh-questions, structures that are largely absent in prior L2 literature. Our research question addresses how L2 learners of French understand two specific properties associated with these interrogatives: existence and exhaustivity. Using two rating tasks, we examined whether a total of 48 L2 learners converge towards the native norm for these properties, which occur at the syntax-discourse interface and may therefore be vulnerable to incomplete acquisition, following the Interface Hypothesis. Our findings suggest that L2 learners at the intermediate level acquire an understanding of the existential inference before an understanding of exhaustivity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphosyntactic Structures in French and Spanish: Advances in Research on Multicompetent Speakers)

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22 pages, 1534 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Adjective Type on Position and Interpretation in Native Polish Classroom Learners of Spanish

by Tiffany Judy

Languages 2021, 6(3), 153; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6030153 - 14 Sep 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2986

Abstract

This study examines the effect of adjective type on distribution and interpretation of Spanish adjectives in native Polish classroom learners of Spanish. A native Spanish group (n = 16), an advanced Spanish learner group (n = 24), and an intermediate Spanish [...] Read more.

This study examines the effect of adjective type on distribution and interpretation of Spanish adjectives in native Polish classroom learners of Spanish. A native Spanish group (n = 16), an advanced Spanish learner group (n = 24), and an intermediate Spanish learner group (n = 25) completed one task examining knowledge of the syntactic distribution of intensional and classifying adjectives and two tasks examining interpretive knowledge of the syntax–semantic distribution of qualifying adjectives in Spanish. While native-like convergence largely obtained for the interpretive tasks, statistically significant differences obtained between native and learner groups on the syntactic task, perhaps a by-product of overgeneralization of the postnominal position resulting from explicit instruction. The main import of this study is that examination of an understudied and typologically–distinct language pairing allows for syntactic and syntax–semantic microvariations to inform the L2 learners’ outcomes on the tasks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphosyntactic Structures in French and Spanish: Advances in Research on Multicompetent Speakers)

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20 pages, 2069 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Feature Matching Does Not Equal Convergence: Acquisition of L2 French Accusative Pronouns by L1 Spanish Speakers

by Elena Shimanskaya and Tania Leal

Languages 2021, 6(3), 144; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6030144 - 26 Aug 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2460

Abstract

Our study aims to determine whether formal similarity between two languages (operationalized via the Feature Reassembly Hypothesis) allows adult L2 learners of French (Spanish native speakers; NSs) to straightforwardly acquire third-person singular accusative clitics in their L2. Additionally, we examined the role of [...] Read more.

Our study aims to determine whether formal similarity between two languages (operationalized via the Feature Reassembly Hypothesis) allows adult L2 learners of French (Spanish native speakers; NSs) to straightforwardly acquire third-person singular accusative clitics in their L2. Additionally, we examined the role of surface similarity, since French and Spanish overlap and diverge in several ways. In terms of formal similarity, third-person accusative clitic pronouns in Spanish are almost perfect analogues of their French counterparts. In terms of surface similarity, however, while the feminine accusative pronouns are identical (“la” [la]), the masculine ones differ in Spanish (“lo” [lo]) and French (“le” [lǝ]). Participants included French NSs (n = 26) and Spanish-speaking L2 French learners (n = 36). Results from an offline forced-choice picture selection task and an online self-paced reading task did not support the Feature Reassembly Hypothesis because learners showed considerable difficulty with the interpretation and processing of these pronouns, revealing that, unlike French NSs, their interpretations and processing are guided by the feature [±Human] and, to a lesser degree, by gender, which might be due to the surface-level similarity between feminine accusative clitic pronouns in both languages. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphosyntactic Structures in French and Spanish: Advances in Research on Multicompetent Speakers)

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