We test the interpretation of pronominal forms in L2 speakers of English whose L1 is Spanish. Previous research on learners of nonnull subject languages has shown conflicting results. The aim of the present study is to reconcile previous evidence and shed light on the factors that determine learners' difficulty to interpret pronominal forms in the…

This study investigates the degree to which native-English-speaking learners of Spanish can generate expectations for information likely to occur in upcoming portions of an unfolding linguistic signal. We examine Spanish clitic left dislocation, a long-distance dependency between a topicalized object and an agreeing clitic, whose felicity depends…

Although "wh"-words generally stay in situ in Chinese "wh"-questions, they can be topicalized. However, the "wh"-topicalization is determined at the syntax-discourse interface and has to be governed by discourse conditions; only discourse-linked (D-linked) "wh"-words can be topicalized, but non-D-linked ones cannot. This article reports on an…

The present study is concerned with the upper limits of SLA--specifically, mastery of the syntax-discourse interface in successful endstate learners of second-language (L2) French (near-native speakers). Left dislocation (LD) is a syntactic means of structuring spoken French discourse by marking topic. Its use requires speakers to coordinate…

Refutes the assumption on which most second language research is based--that language is intended by its speakers to transfer information to some interlocutor--by responding to Tomlin's paper in the same journal, "The Treatment of Foreground-Background Information in the On-Line Descriptive Discourse of Second Language Learners."

Focuses on the acquisition of linguistic devices used for discourse cohesion in Chinese and French. Particular attention is paid to how two types of learners acquire the linguistic means for marking topics, in particular French "dislocation," and its discourse-pragmatic functions. Data consist of narratives based on picture sequences, produced in…

Focuses on the relevance of principles of information organization in adult second language acquisition. Looks at typological features of information structure that allow speakers to organize and shape the flow of information when carrying out complex tasks and pinpoints factors that lead to the selection of linguistic form. The nature of the…

Describes a study designed to examine variables influencing the way native speakers talk to foreigners and the form native speaker modification may take. Considers five variables: (1) negotiation of meaning, (2) quantity of speech, (3) amount of repair, (4) elaborated responses, and (5) transparent responses. (SED)

Tests competing hypotheses concerning the source of cross-linguistic communication difficulty. Subjects rated four versions of Chinese-produced English discourse for comprehensibility. Results indicated that the effect of discourse miscues on comprehensibility was highly significant, whereas there was no significant effect for order of ideas. (45…

Introduces this thematic issue on the construction of discourse by non-native speakers, reviewing the topics, methodology, and results of the six papers that follow. (contains three references) (MDM)

Introduces the notion of a "discourse world," that is, a set of elements against the background of which a unit of talk makes sense, and claims that several discourse worlds coexist in classroom discourse. The notion is interpreted in terms of frame theory and applied to classroom language learning. (SED)

Looks at systematicity from the perspective of two putative discourse universals related to topic continuity that have been addressed separately in past studies of article acquisition. Examines how these discourse universals account for patterns of article use and nonuse in narratives written by Finnish- and Swedish-speaking learners of English.…

Examines the role of functional approaches to linguistics in understanding second-language acquisition (SLA), focusing on central premises, tenets, and theoretical problems. It is concluded that functional universals are too insufficiently grounded theoretically and empirically to contribute more than heuristic guidance to SLA theory. (141…

Presents the results of a one-year longitudinal analysis of the interlanguage of an adult acquiring English without formal instruction. Observations of the form-function relationships in the early interlanguage are included as well as the ways these relationships change over the 12 months of the study. (SL)

In order to compare the foregrounding strategies of native speakers of English and advanced learners of English as a second language, 15 native speakers and 35 advanced learners produced play-by-play descriptions of the unfolding action in an animated videotape. Results show that the two groups use different strategies of foregrounding. (SED)