Discusses two hypotheses on the distribution of emergent tense-aspect morphology in second language acquisition: aspect hypothesis and discourse hypothesis. Analyzes narrative structure and lexical aspectual class in a single corpus comprising narratives produced by adult learners of English as a Second Language at various proficiency levels.…

Examines the work of two scholars who have made the greatest contributions to the variabilist perspective on second-language acquisition, and discusses the acquisition models that each of these scholars has proposed. (50 references) (Author/VWL)

Examined two phenomena in the acquisition of second-language syllable structure among Japanese students of English as a foreign language: (1) a preference for open syllables, as manifest in paragoge; and (2) a developmental process of final segment apocopation. Results suggest that paragogic epenthesis is conditioned by a syllable structure…

Reports on grammaticality judgments by early learners of a second language (Italian). The data, contrary to what might be assumed, point to no relationship between intuition and performance for L2 Learners. Data concerning advanced learners may prove to be more valid. (34 references) (LET)

Investigates whether intermediate Turkish-speaking and English-speaking learners of Spanish know which unaccusative verbs alternate in transitivity and which ones do not, and whether they find causative errors natural with intransitive verbs. Results confirm similar findings to those reported in English interlanguage and first-language acquisition…

Longitudinally investigated the development of interlanguage by two Korean speakers of English to better understand the second-language acquisition process. In particular it tested the aspect hypothesis that asserts that verb inflections in early interlanguage systems function primarily as markers of lexical aspect. (Author/VWL)

Presenting four types of evidence, this article argues that grammatical competence should not be a subcomponent of communicative competence in second-language instruction, but have a separate status. Focuses on the critical role of grammatical competence in the overall development of target-language proficiency. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the simplification of forms ending in obstruents by native speakers of Mandarin, in particular two effects that are not obviously motivated by either the native- or the target-language grammars: a tendency to devoice final voiced obstruents and a tendency to maximize the number of bisyllabic forms in the output. (Author/JL)

From the perspective of Fodor's (1983) theory of mental organization and Chomsky's (1995) Minimalist theory of grammar, considers constraints on the interpretation of French-type and English-type cardinality interrogatives in the task of sentence comprehension, as a function of a universal parsing algorithm and hypotheses embodied in a French-type…

Addresses the issue of second language (L2) epistemology assuming Chomsky's (1995) discussion of the place of universal grammar in mental design. Discusses interaction of adjectival restriction in interrogative expressions, contrasts plausibility of nativist and non-nativist approaches to the etiology of such grammatical knowledge, an reports…

Responds to a previous article that suggests the second-language-acquisition acquisition field has failed to realize academic respectability. Offers an overview of some of the more positive advances in the discipline. Concludes by calling for a whole systems approach to the study of second language acquisition. (Author/JL)

This study documents the sensitivity of English-French interlanguage to the process-result distinction with respect to the licensing of multiple postnominal genitives, despite a lack of direct positive or negative evidence for this distinction in the input. Documentation argues that the Universal Grammar-governed map between syntactic structures…

Studies the possible influence of Spanish on native speakers of that language during their assessment of marked iconicity in English. Looks at discrimination by Spanish learners of English of information focus as signaled by placement of nuclear tones in sentence initial and medial positions. (Author/VWL)

Examines the perception of within-category allophonic differences in phonemes by both native speakers of English and Spanish learners of English as a Second language. Tries to show how representative different examples of a given phoneme category like /i/ are perceived by subjects in both groups. (Author/VWL)

Suggests that second language research could provide answers to questions concerning the structure of first language grammars that cannot be answered by only examining first language data and intuitions. Examines homophony in phonology and morphology. (Author/VWL)