Academic Paper |
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| Title: | Processing empty categories in a second language: When naturalistic exposure fills the (intermediate) gap |
| Author: | Christos Pliatsikas |
| Email: | click here to access email |
| Homepage: | http://bham.academia.edu/ChristosPliatsikas/ |
| Institution: | University of Reading |
| Author: | Theodoros Marinis |
| Email: | click here to access email |
| Homepage: | http://www.personal.reading.ac.uk/~lls05tm/ |
| Institution: | University of Reading |
| Linguistic Field: | Language Acquisition |
| Abstract: | An ongoing debate on second language (L2) processing revolves around whether or not L2 learners process syntactic information similarly to monolinguals (L1), and what factors lead to a native-like processing. According to the Shallow Structure Hypothesis (Clahsen & Felser, ), L2 learners’ processing does not include abstract syntactic features, such as intermediate gaps of wh-movement, but relies more on lexical/semantic information. Other researchers have suggested that naturalistic L2 exposure can lead to native-like processing (Dussias, 2003). This study investigates the effect of naturalistic exposure in processing wh-dependencies. Twenty-six advanced Greek learners of L2 English with an average nine years of naturalistic exposure, 30 with classroom exposure, and 30 native speakers of English completed a self-paced reading task with sentences involving intermediate gaps. L2 learners with naturalistic exposure showed evidence of native-like processing of the intermediate gaps, suggesting that linguistic immersion can lead to native-like abstract syntactic processing in the L2. |
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This article appears in Bilingualism: Language and Cognition Vol. 16, Issue 1, which you can read on Cambridge's site or on LINGUIST . |
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