LINGUIST List 11.1509

Tue Jul 11 2000

Review: Archibald: 2nd Lang Acq. & Ling Theory

Editor for this issue: Andrew Carnie <carnielinguistlist.org>



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  • Antrim, Nancy Mae, Review Archibald

    Message 1: Review Archibald

     Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2000 10:33:30 -0600
    From: Antrim, Nancy Mae <nantrimutep.edu>
    Subject: Review Archibald


    John Archibald, ed. Second Language Acquisition and Linguistic Theory. Blackwell: Malden, MA. 256 pages. $29.95

    Nancy Mae Antrim, University of Texas at El Paso

    This volume consists of seven chapters concerning different sub-fields of second language acquisition research by various authors and an introduction by the editor. In his introduction John Archibald, a professor of linguistics at the University of Calgary who specializes in the acquisition of phonology in first and second languages, briefly outlines the seven chapters noting the increasing amount of research in second language acquisition. Intending this volume as a source allowing researchers to keep current in fields outside their areas of expertise, Archibald also suggests its use for either advanced undergraduate or graduate courses. Each chapter begins with an overview of the major research in the subfield discussed and concludes with an extensive bibliography; both features that support this book's use as a student text. Each chapter addresses the status of second langage acquisition with respect to one or more of the major issues confronting the field: 1. To what extent does the Second Language Learner have access to Universal Grammar (UG)? 2. How does the learner's first language (L1) interact with Second Lanuage Acquisition? 3. How do we account for the variability in attainment of second language proficiency? Although the unifying assumption underlying these chapters is that of the formalist, generative tradition, the research cited is not restricted to that tradition.

    Chapter 1: The Interrelation between speech perception and phonological acquisition from infant to adult by Cynthia Brown (Assistant Professor of Linguistics at the University of Delaware) pp. 4-63.

    After an overview of previous research and an explanation of the theory of feature geometry, Brown looks at the findings from infant speech perception research, suggesting that there is a causal link between the development of the learner's feature geometry and the decline of their perceptual capabilities. This phonological structure acts as a filter between the acoustic signal and the processing system channeling the second language phonemes in the learner's first language phonemic categories. She reports on three experimental studies which investigated the acquisition of particular English contrasts by a particular group (Japanese), cross-linguistically (Japanese, Korean and Mandarian Chinese), and at various levels within a group (Japanese). Each experiment involved tests of perception and phonological competence. Where the first language feature inventory contained the feature involved in the English contrast, the contrast was perceived. Furthermore, it was found that the negative influence of the native grammar's lack of a contrastive feature was absolute, the positive influence was enhanced as the learner progressed. This was the longest of the chapters, in part because of the extensive background discussion and the thorough discussion of the experiments. There were a number of diagrams illustrating the concepts involved as well as charts summarizing the research. This chapter was clearly and well written, readily accessible to advanced undergraduates.

    Chapter 2: Second language syllable structure by Martha Young-Scholten and John Archibald. Young-Scholten is a senior lecturer at the University of Durham.pp.64-101.

    This chapter considers the interaction between segmental features and syllable structure and between syllable structure and prosodic organization. Looking at findings from first language acquisition of consonant clusters in quantity-senstive languages (English, German and Dutch), the authors note that insertion of vowels to break up consonant clusters (epenthesis) is not prominent in child phonologies. Citing research on various first languages (e.g. Korean, Polish, French, Turkish, among others), they suggest that exposure to written texts in the case of adult language learners plays a role in determining the strategies used with syllabification. Adult language learners use more epenthesis, but less deletion of unstressed syllables than children do. Buiding on the findings in Brown's chapter, Young-Scholten and Archibald suggest that it is not merely the canonical CV structure that is transferred from a learner's first language, but the complex interaction of the segmental inventory which determines the feature geometry of a segment that influences what sequences of segments are allowed in the developing second language. With respect to sonority distance, they reanalize the Korean data from Broselow and Finer (1991) and add some additional data from Finnish and find that the ease of acquisition of consonant clusters for the Finnish speaker can be accounted for because Finnish has the liquid contrast while Korean which does not have this contrast requires the Korean speaker to adjust their feature inventory. They propose a model of hierarchical segment structure which treats sonority as a phonological construct thus linking the second language learner's acquisition of segments to the acquisition of the second language phonological inventory. In their introduction, Young-Scholten and Archibald state they plan to give an overview of "a number of issues" related to the acquisition of syllable structure, which resulted in a less thorough treatment of the research background than was seen in Brown. This was also a shorter chapter. The extensive use of tables was helpful in summarizing the material, but a lenthier discussion of the research cited would benefit undergraduates using this book.

    Chapter 3: Mapping features to forms in second language acquisition by Donna Lardiere (Associate Professor of Applied and Theoretical Linguistics at Georgetown University) pp. 102-129.

    Lardiere discusses morphological form and verb-raising looking at recent attempts to define the notion of feature strength. Proposals by Rohrbacher (1994), Vikner (1995) and Pollock (1997) all require extensive paradigmatic knowledge of morphological form to determine a strong/weak distinction that triggers verb-raising which is unknown to young children despite their knowledge of the verb-raising status of their language. Research on child language acquistion suggestd that morphological deficits in early first language production do not reflect syntactic deficits. Using data from a longitundinal study of a native-Chinese speaker, Lardiere finds evidence that indicates a sharp dissociation of syntactic knowledge from verbal morphology marking in second language learning. Her Chinese subject shows evidence of tense and morphological case, agreement and optional verb-raising as well as evidence for a CP projection. She concludes that the problem for second language learners is a "mapping" problem - how and whether to "spell-out" morphologically the categories that they already have syntactically. In considering the acquisition of morphological markings, a distinction is drawn between features that are fundamental to the derivational computation such as case as opposed to those which are basically morphological in nature, such as gender. She speculates that it is with these less fundamental categories that fossilization and critical period effects occur. This chapter provides a thorough discussion of the Rohrbacher, Vikner and Pollock proposals as well as the research in first language acquisition. Its only serious shortcoming is the scarcity of second language acquisition data in support of her proposal. A number of studies cited gave admittedly mixed or contradictory results. It will be interesting to see whether her proposal is upheld crosslinguistically and if age of acquisittion is a contributing factor as suggested by Pr�vost and White. This chapter would be readily accessible to undergraduate students.

    Chapter 4: Second Language Acquisition: from initial to final state by Lydia White (Professor of Linguistics at McGill University) pp. 130-155.

    This chapter begins with an overview of perspectives on the initial state of a second language with respect to access to UG and transfer of first language. White raises the question of what should count as data for evidence for this initial state. This question entails several problems. First is the use of "absence of evidence as evidence of absence," Secondly is the relation between accuracy and acquisition. This is tied to the third problem. How many occurrences are necessary for a form to be considered acquired? Finally, is the first data obtained really data pertaining to the initial state if we assume a "silent period." White compares claims that each position makes for the initial state of a second language grammar, the subsequent developing grammars and the final state of the second language grammar. She suggests that problems exist with full versus partial transfer of the first language as well as with full versus partial access to universal grammar. A better approach she claims is to treat the UG question in terms of unimpaired versus impaired operations. While a relatively short chapter, a number of interesting issues are raised that should provoke lively discussions at even a lower division acquisition course. Proponents of each perspective on the initial state of second language grammars are discussed. There are diagrams for each perspective as well as a summary table.

    Chapter 5: When Syntactic Theories Evolve: Consequences for L2 acquisition research by Bonnie D. Schwartz (Reader in the Department of Linguistics and Englsh Language at the University of Durham) and Rex A. Sprouse (Associate Professor of Germanic Studies at Indiana University) pp.156-186

    Schwartz and Sprouse discuss how revisions in linguistic theory can affect the conclusions drawn in second language acquisition research and suggest that this problem can be avoided. They advocate the examination of interlanguage data for evidence of UG-derived poverty of stimulus phenomena and comparative interlanguage research to determine the role of first language transfer. Citing their own longitundinal study of the acquisition of German word order by adult native speakers of Turkish, their data shows an asymmetry between pronominal and nonpronominal subjects with respect to inversion. This asymmetry is found in neither German or Turkish; however, it is found in French suggesting that their subjects' interlanguage reflects linguistic knowledge arising in the absence of direct experience. They cite other studies based on principles, such as the Empty Category Principle (EPC), which have been superseded by other principles. The data in these studies still demonstrates that the development of a second language grammar is constrained by UG. They suggest that transfer effects can be observed by comparing the interlanguage developed by typologically distinct first languages. This chapter also provides food for thought and discussion. Schwartz and Sprouse provide not only discussions of the research, but the underlying theory involved and how the changes in theory - their "shifting tides of syntactic formalism" (p. 182) - effect the conclusions drawn. It is their clear discussioin of the theory that would enable undergraduates to follow this chapter.

    Chapter 6: An overview of the Second Language Acquisition of Links between Verb Semantics and Morpho-Syntax by Alan Juffs (Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Pittsburgh) pp. 187-227.

    Modifying Pinker's (1989) framework for verb classes which describes verbs as belonging to verb classes that are defined by a common decompositional structure which determines the number and position of arguments in the clause, Juffs sets limits on both the types of meaning units and the rules combining them. From this position, he examines research on psych verbs and on the alternation found within the verb phrase (VP) as found in dative and locative constructions. Apparently rejecting the VP-internal hypothesis for subjects, he considers causative/inchoative alternations and split intransitivity as alternation in VP internal direct object position and external subject position. He concludes that adult learners are able to develop a native-like grammar in a second language but not directly. This development is mediated by universal principles and interference from the first language morpho-syntax. Throughout the chapter he calls for further research because of the difficulty in comparing studies employing different methodologies. He states that more cross-linguistic data is needed to account for the relationship between semantic structure and morphology as well as the relationship between input and acquisition. Juffs uses a number of tables summarizing the research he discusses. He also has numerous examples illustrating the constructions involved. The background research he addresses and the framework he adopts are well presented, making the chapter accessible by undergraduates.

    Chapter 7: Representation and Processing in the Second Language Lexicon: the Homogeneity Hypothesis by Gary Libben (Professor of Linguistics at the University of Alberta, Canada) pp. 228-248.

    In this final chapter, Libben revises proposals of how languages are stored and how words are linked to concepts. He argues that monolingual and bilingual lexical processing data are not separate. He claims that both monolinguals and bilinguals have the same kinds of lexical representations and employ the same processes in activating words in the mental lexicon. While he argues for a single lexicon and identical priming effects, he does not claim the the priming effects are equivalent in strength. Using data from homograph priming effects reported by Dijkstra et al (1998), he demonstrates his proposed Homogeneity Hypothesis. He argues that the true bilingual, contra the compound-coordinate dichotomy model, has fully integrated all lexical knowledge and has the same connections for their second language representations as monolingual ones have. The mental lexicon stores lexical representations and involves the automatic processes that act on this representations. He further claims that all volitional aspects of language use including translation and code-switching involve cognitive processes that occur outside the mental lexicon. Libben's proposal deals with organizational homogeneity and at the end of the chapter he raises the question as to whether this proposal could be extended to representational and morphological homogeneity. Libben proposes an interesting hypotesis; however, data from aphasia studies is not addressed. How would this hypothesis account for the loss of only one language in a bilingual aphasic? This chapter raises some interesting questions with respect to representations of "words" considering language-specific morphology and cultural semantic conceptual variation. There are a number of diagrams to illustrate the concepts discussed which would help undergraduates follow his discussion.

    Despite having two chapters focused on phonology, this volume does provide an overview of several subfields in second language research, including morphology, syntax, and semantics. Since the underlying framework is generative formalism, there is understandably no discussion of pragmatics or sociolinguistic themes; whether this is viewed as a limitation depends on the reader's perspective. I would use this as a readings text for a course on second language acquisition. The issues raised, the research cited and the discussions would be beneficial both for the linguist and the linguistics student. Works cited: Broselow, E. and Finer, D. (1991) Parameter setting in second language phonology and syntax, Second Language Research 7: 35-59. Dijkstra, T., Van Jaarsveld, H. and Brinke, S. (1998) Interlingual homophone recognition: Effects of task demands and language intermixing. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 1:51-66. Pinker, S. (1989) Learnability and Cognition: The Acquisition of Argument Structure. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Pollock, J.-Y. (1997) Notes on clause structure in L. Haegeman (ed.) Elements of Grammar, pp.237-79. Dordrecht: Kluwer. Pr�vost, P. and White, L. (in press) Truncation and missing inflection in second language acquisitionn. To appear in M.A. Friedmann and L. Rizzi, (eds.), The Acquisition of Syntax. Longman. Rohrbacher, B. (1994) The Germanic VO Languages and the Full Paradigm. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Vikner, S. (1995) V-I movement and inflection for person in all tenses. Working Papers in Scandinavian Syntax 55:1-27.

    Nancy Mae Antrim, Ph.D. is an assistant professor at the University of Texas at EL Paso where she teaches language acquisition and second language teaching methodology. Her research interests reflect both her training in formal theoretical linguistics and her experience in teaching. These interests include the acquistion of rhetorical style in second language writing, attitudes toward language use, and possessive constructions in Romance languages.