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Boping Yuan and Esuna Dugarova
162-170 (complete pdf)
The wh-word in Chinese wh-questions can be topicalized, moving from the base-generated position to the sentence initial position. However, Chinese wh-topicalization involves an external interface between syntax and discourse, and only D(iscourse)-linked wh-words can undergo topicalization in Chinese. An empirical study was conducted to investigate whether English speakers are able to make a distinction in their L2 Chinese grammars between D-linked wh-words and non-D-linked wh-words by allowing only the former, but not the latter, to be topicalized. The results of an acceptability judgment test indicate that English speakers are, in general, able to topicalize D-linked wh-arguments in their L2 Chinese wh-questions and reject ungrammatical Chinese wh-questions where non-D-linked wh-arguments are incorrectly topicalized. This provides us with evidence that external interfaces are acquirable in L2. However, the group's success in establishing the syntax-discourse interface in their L2 Chinese wh-topicalization is not across the board, and English speakers' L2 grammars generally do not accept the topicalization of D-linked SHEI 'who' in Chinese wh-questions. It is argued in the paper that L2 interfaces should not be looked at in a holistic manner and must be examined in a more fine-tuned way as different variables are likely to be involved in L2 interfaces.
Published in:
Proceedings of the 11th Generative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition Conference (GASLA 2011)
edited by Julia Herschensohn and Darren Tanner
Table of contents
ISBN 978-1-57473-445-4 library binding
v+170 pages
publication date: 2011
published by Cascadilla Proceedings Project, Somerville, MA, USA