ERIC Number: EJ781124
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Dec
Pages: 33
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0272-2631
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Double Objects in Spanish as a Second Language: Acquisition of Morphosyntax and Semantics
Cuervo, Maria Cristina
Studies in Second Language Acquisition, v29 n4 p583-615 Dec 2007
This experimental study on the acquisition of the double-object construction in Spanish as a second language (L2) by a group of first language (L1) English adults investigates the role of Universal Grammar (UG) and its interaction with L1 in two modules of grammar: morphosyntax and semantics. The double-object construction in Spanish differs from its English counterpart in its morphosyntactic properties (case, clitic doubling, word order) and its semantics (interpretation of arguments and restrictions on the construction). Results show that L2 learners are sensitive to most of the morphosyntactic properties of the double-object construction but lag behind in the acquisition of its semantics. The experimental group shows evidence of UG-constrained acquisition in their sensitivity to morphosyntactic properties not instantiated in their L1 as well as in their nontarget but UG-licit analysis of the semantic restrictions of Spanish double objects. The dissociation between level of knowledge of morphosyntax and of semantics suggests that modularity of grammar is reflected in SLA exactly as it is in L1 acquisition.
Descriptors: Experimental Groups, Morphology (Languages), Syntax, Language Universals, Grammar, Semantics, Second Language Learning, Spanish, Knowledge Level, Word Order, English, Native Speakers, Language Research
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
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Language: English
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