Processing pragmatic inferences in L2 French speakers

Abstract

A large amount of literature exists on how native speakers derive and process pragmatic inferences, yet few studies have examined the issue in second language learners, despite a controversial debate of second language (L2) ultimate attainment of phenomena situated at external interfaces. This study contributes to the debate on the integration of external interfaces in highly proficient end-state adult L2 grammars. In an effort to bridge the empirical gap in the past literature, this article reports on two sentence-picture verification tasks designed to test the processing cost of the exhaustive inference associated with cleft sentences in the L2 French of English learners with different proficiency levels. Truth-value judgments and reaction times were recorded in contexts that violated or supported the exhaustive inference. Overall, results show that L2 learners diverge from the natives in their online processing of the exhaustive inference only and that proficiency plays an important role in predicting their behavior. Nevertheless, what post-hoc observations of the data reveal that L2 length of exposure to native input might be an even better predictor, since only those L2 speakers who have had more exposure to native French input compute the exhaustive inference in clefts as fast as French natives.