Second Language Acquisition of Constraints on WH-Movement by L2 English Speakers: Evidence for Full-Access to Syntactic Features

Abstract

This paper presents results from two experiments on the L2 acquisition of wh-features and relevant constraints (Superiority and Subjacency) by L1 Sinhala–L2 English speakers. Our results from a Truth Value Judgment Task and a Grammaticality Judgment Task with 31 English native controls and 38 Sinhala/English bilinguals show that the advanced adult L2 speakers of English we tested have successfully acquired the uninterpretable wh-Q feature and relevant movement constraints in English, despite the lack of overt wh-movement in L1-Sinhala. These results raise questions for Representational Deficit Accounts of second language acquisition and offer evidence that (i) uninterpretable syntactic features are not necessarily subject to an early critical period and (ii) uninterpretable features not instantiated in learners’ L1 can be available for L2 syntactic computation. We take our results as evidence for full access by L2 learners to syntactic properties that are not instantiated in their L1, but that remain accessible due to a cognitive capacity for language (i.e., knowledge of Universal Grammar) independently of the L1.

Wh in situ and topic-subject constructions in brazilian portuguese acquisition as a second language

“…It can be argued, then, that our results support Full Access approaches like the one defended by Hettiarachchi and Pires (2016), and it is not incompatible either with the Feature Reassembly hypothesis advanced by Lardiere (2008Lardiere ( , 2009. And, since the L2 learner seemed to be able to access UG and modify the strength of a formal feature, this can be considered as evidence against Representational Deficit approaches (such as Hawkins and Chan's Failed Functional Features Hypothesis, 1997, or the Interpretability Hypothesis adopted in Hawkins and Hattori, 2006).…”

“…Hawkins and Chan (1997) and Hawkins and Hattori (2006) respectively argue in favor of the Failed Functional Features Hypothesis and its refined version, the Interpretability Hypothesis, claiming that L2 learners are unable to acquire the uninterpretable wh-feature, due to its being subject to a critical period, just like any other uninterpretable feature determining parametric cross-linguistic differences must be. Hettiarachchi and Pires (2016), on the other hand, replicate…”

“…On the other hand, adopting an in situ approach like Grolla's (2005) for BP wh in situ, the acquisition of this structure involves the loosening of a shared formal feature's strength value, from strong in the L1 (Etxepare & Uribe-Etxebarria (2005), to optional in the L2, which constitutes a far less drastic change. As a contribution to wider discussions on general SLA theories, this work points out that the results regarding in situ interrogatives can be considered evidence in favor of Full Access approaches (in line with Hettiarachchi & Pires, 2016) and against Representational Deficit accounts of whfeature acquisition (like those in Hawkins & Chan, 1997;or Hawkins & Hattori, 2006). In turn, TSCs results indicate there is typological transfer from the L1 (as defended by Jung, 2004) and provide support to the influence of psychotypology in L1 transfer in SLA.…”

“…Fronted vs. in situ interrogatives in pairs of languages like English and Chinese and other typically in situ languages are the result of such an asymmetry and have already been extensively studied in SLA literature (Hawkins & Chan, 1997;Hawkins & Hattori, 2006;Hettiarachchi & Pires, 2016;Choi, 2016; were those reviewed in this dissertation, but there are many others). Apart from this, subject-verb inversion or lack thereof in interrogatives in Spanish vs. BP, as exemplified in (11), can also be an example of that kind of asymmetry, and it has not been studied as much.…”

“…In this section, I discuss four of the latest proposals related to the wh-feature in SLA and which constitute the literature most relevant to our topic of study. Two of them adopt a Representational Deficit approach (Hawkins & Chan, 1997;Hawkins & Hattori, 2006), one argues for Full Access (Hettiarachchi & Pires, 2016), and the last one follows the Feature Reassembly Hypothesis (Choi, 2016). Interestingly, contradicting findings and reinterpretation of similar data make possible for wh-movement to be used to argue in favor of completely opposite theories, as we will shortly see.…”