Interface strategies in monolingual and end-state L2 Spanish grammars are not that different

Abstract

This study explores syntactic, pragmatic, and lexical influences on adherence to SV and VS orders in native and fluent L2 speakers of Spanish. A judgment task examined 20 native monolingual and 20 longstanding L2 bilingual Spanish speakers' acceptance of SV and VS structures. Seventy-six distinct verbs were tested under a combination of syntactic and pragmatic constraints. Our findings challenge the hypothesis that internal interfaces are acquired more easily than external interfaces (Sorace, 2005, 2011; Sorace and Filiaci, 2006; White, 2006). Additional findings are that (a) bilinguals' judgments are less firm overall than monolinguals' (i.e., monolinguals are more likely to give extreme “yes” or “no” judgments) and (b) individual verbs do not necessarily behave as predicted under standard definitions of unaccusatives and unergatives. Correlations of the patterns found in the data with verb frequencies suggest that usage-based accounts of grammatical knowledge could help provide insight into speakers' knowledge of these constructs.

Oxytocin response to youth-mother interactions in clinically anxious youth is associated with separation anxiety and dyadic behavior

“…The importance of affective touch for OT response is in line with previous research showing that somatosensory stimulation is linked to OT release and to soothing mechanisms (Uvnas-Moberg, Handlin, & Petersson, 2015). OT release due to sensory nerve activation during birth and breastfeeding is well known, but external stimulation (e.g., stroking) is also associated with OT release, reduced stress, and prosocial behavior in humans (Matthiesen, Ransjo-Arvidson, Nissen, & Uvnas-Moberg, 2001) and animals (Lund et al, 2002; Stock, & Uvnas-Moberg, 1988).…”

The Development of Subject Position in Dutch-Dominant Heritage Speakers of Spanish: From Age 9 to Adulthood

“…As for the linguistic constraints on word order, the generative literature has predominantly focused on the comparison between verb type and focus, to test the prediction that the latter is more vulnerable due to its relation to information structure. Most of these studies have been carried out with Spanish-English bilingual populations, both with L2 speakers (e.g., Lozano 2006;Hertel 2003;Arche 2008, 2014;Parafita Couto et al 2015) and with heritage speakers of Spanish in the U.S. (Zapata et al 2005; De Prada Pérez and Cabo 2012). Zapata et al (2005) conclude that the heritage speakers did not show target-like knowledge of either verb type or focus, given that they did not behave categorically in line with the predictions in each condition.…”

Learning a non-native language in a naturalistic environment: Insights from behavioural and neuroimaging research

“…In an acceptability judgment task, Parafita Couto et al (2015) examined the interaction between word order and focus in the context of unaccusative (e.g., arrive) and unergative (e.g., walk) verbs in Spanish in a group of English late L2 learners of Spanish with extensive naturalistic exposure to L2 input. Immersed late L2 learners accepted different word order patterns depending on the focus context; however, they failed to distinguish between unaccusative and unergative verbs, and the ability to do so was a function of the verb's frequency rather than its categorical classification on the basis of unaccusativity.…”