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Title:
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Infinitival Subordination in Spanish: A study of Control, Raising and ECM constructions in bilingual and non-native acquisition
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Author:
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Rocio Perez-Tattam
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Email:
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click here to access email
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Degree Awarded:
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University of Ottawa
, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
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Degree Date:
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2007
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Linguistic Subfield(s):
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Syntax
Language Acquisition
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Subject Language(s):
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English
Spanish
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Director(s):
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Juana Muñoz Liceras
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Abstract:
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This dissertation investigates the acquisition of infinitival clauses by
child bilingual (L1 English/L1 Spanish) and adult non-native (L1 English/L2
Spanish) learners in Control, Raising and ECM configurations as shown in
examples (i)-(iiii).
(i) Juani quiere [PROi ver a María]
John wants [PROi to see to Mary]
(ii) Juan obligó a Maríai a [PROi tomar una decisión]
John forced Maryi [PROi to decide]
(iii) Juani parece [ti estar cansado]
John seems [ti to be tired]
(iiii) Juan vio a María [regar las plantas] (John saw Mary watering the plants)
John believes Mary [to be a friend]
The first part of this dissertation deals with the development of
infinitival clauses in natural production data from bilingual children
compared to monolingual (L1 English and L1 Spanish) children [ages
2;03-5;01], and the interaction of the relevant formal properties in
bilingual grammars where Spanish and English do not match.
The second part of this dissertation also deals with interaction regarding
their formal and structural properties where L1 and L2 grammars do not
match. I study the acceptance and comprehension of infinitival clauses in
experimental data from adults learning Spanish in an institutional setting.
I statistically compare them to a control group of adult native speakers in
order to determine the effect of the L1. I also divide the experimental
group into two levels, intermediate and advanced, in order to study the
effect of the level of language proficiency.
The main goal of this dissertation is to provide more insights on
similarities and differences between the bilingual and non-native
acquisition processes, particularly regarding transfer of formal properties
associated with functional categories and projections related to Control,
Raising and ECM constructions (i.e., Tense and the Complementizer system).
Ultimately, this dissertation may contribute to a better understanding of
the nature of bilingual and L2 grammars, and to the discussion regarding
the similarities and differences between L1 and L2 acquisition by looking
at factors that can be studied when more than one grammar is available.
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