Abstract Previous research has found a correlation between code-switching and filler words in corpus analyses of bilingual speech. To examine this correlation, 22 high-proficiency English-Spanish bilinguals completed a picture-based oral narrative task with one of three conditions — using only English or Spanish or switching freely (Mixed condition). In the Mixed condition, phrases containing a code-switch were significantly more likely to contain filler words. Speakers in the Mixed condition used significantly more filler words than the Spanish-only condition, despite using majority-Spanish utterances. These results support the correlation between filler words and code-switching, demonstrate that code-switching itself does not increase filler word use, and offer evidence that speakers’ filler word patterns are influenced by both languages when permitted to code-switch.
Abstract This study investigated the interpretations of Japanese negated disjunctions and conjunctions by L1-English and L1-Mandarin learners of L2-Japanese. Negated disjunctions and conjunctions have different interpretations in English as opposed to Japanese and Mandarin. The results of a Truth Value Judgment Task show that L1-Mandarin L2-Japanese learners had more target-like interpretations than L1-English L2-Japanese learners, suggesting L1 transfer. L1-English L2-Japanese learners had more difficulty with Japanese negated disjunctions than conjunctions, contrary to predictions based on learnability. L1-English L2-Japanese learners also had difficulty with another form of Japanese negated disjunction. From these results, I argue that the cognitive complexity of negated disjunctions is a potential delaying factor in the acquisition of their correct interpretations.
Abstract This study explores the subset — superset relation between English and Turkish through the L2 acquisition of reflexives in both languages. The objective is to investigate whether L2 learners can achieve target-like interpretations of reflexives regardless of their L1 structures or whether they exhibit a universal preference for a specific antecedent type. Unlike English reflexives, Turkish reflexives kendi and kendisi allow both local and non-local binding. The study involved two native speaker groups, and two learner groups: 24 English learners of Turkish, and 24 Turkish learners of English. Results from a Truth Value Judgment Task and a Picture Description Task reveal that both learner groups prefer the local antecedent over the nonlocal one, suggesting that the local readings serve as the default option in the L2 acquisition of reflexives.
Abstract This study investigates how second language (L2) learners and native speakers interpret pragmatically underinformative responses involving the quantifier some , and how their interpretations are influenced by the preceding question under discussion (QUD). Specifically, it examines how QUD cues containing all or any shape expectations for scalar implicatures. While all primes an upper-bound (not all) interpretation, any supports a lower-bound (at least some) reading. Both L2 learners and native speakers showed sensitivity to these contextual cues, adjusting their interpretation of some accordingly. However, only L2 learners’ sensitivity to the QUD was modulated by individual differences in inhibitory control. These findings suggest that aspects of executive function facilitate learners’ ability to integrate contextual information, thereby supporting L2 comprehension of pragmatic inferences.
Abstract This study examines whether Japanese learners of English (JLEs) can acquire universal constraints on syntactic movement (e.g., anti-locality), focusing on the that -trace effect and its amelioration effects through adverbial intervention (i.e., the adverb effect). Two acceptability judgment experiments were conducted to investigate JLEs’ sensitivity to these effects across proficiency levels. The results showed that JLEs are sensitive to that -trace violations and adverb effects with increased English proficiency. In addition, more proficient learners showed a preference for null complementizers over overt that , a pattern consistent with English native speakers. These findings suggest that the anti-locality constraint is operative in the L2 grammar of JLEs, supporting the Full Access view of second language acquisition.
