Testing the null subject parameter in adult second language acquisition: A study of Vietnamese and Spanish speakers learning English
Platt, Elizabeth Jane
This item is only available for download by members of the University of Illinois community. Students, faculty, and staff at the U of I may log in with your NetID and password to view the item. If you are trying to access an Illinois-restricted dissertation or thesis, you can request a copy through your library's Inter-Library Loan office or purchase a copy directly from ProQuest.
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/21808
Description
Title
Testing the null subject parameter in adult second language acquisition: A study of Vietnamese and Spanish speakers learning English
Author(s)
Platt, Elizabeth Jane
Issue Date
1989
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
McClure, Erica F.
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Language and Literature
Language, Linguistics
Education, Educational Psychology
Language
eng
Abstract
This study of adult second language acquisition (SLA) tests a hypothesis proposed for first language acquisition (FLA) within the Government and Binding framework of Chomsky's Extended Standard Theory (1981,1986). A grammatical judgment task was used to elicit data about late learners' mental representations of two aspects of English grammar. The two features of English are claimed to be related by means of a parameter, a dimension along which languages may vary, and which relates several covarying features. First, learners speaking languages (L1s) which allow referential and expletive subjects to be null in tensed clauses must learn that English requires an obligatory subject. Second, they must learn certain properties of the English auxiliary system, namely the environments in which they are required and their position with respect to other sentence elements. In this study these two features were operationalized by means of grammatical judgment task. Two groups were tested, speakers of Spanish for whom referential subjects may be null because agreement features on the verb identify them, and speakers of Vietnamese for whom subjects may be null because of discourse deletion.
Consistent with the parameter-setting claim of Hyams (1986) and the supporting evidence of Hilles (1986), the results demonstrate a relationship for the Spanish L1 group between the obligatory subject and the English auxiliary system. However, the relationship is not in the direction Hyams (1986) proposed, but instead in the opposite direction. A plausible explanation for these data overall lies within the parameter-setting framework. Spanish speakers experience a delay in the resetting of the parameter because they falsely assume English to have the properties of an agreement language. It is argued that the Vietnamese results demonstrate an independent mastery of each of the two main variables types. Although neither transfer nor developmental theories satisfactorily account for the overall pattern of results, each helps explain the findings on some specific variables.
Use this login method if you
don't
have an
@illinois.edu
email address.
(Oops, I do have one)
IDEALS migrated to a new platform on June 23, 2022. If you created
your account prior to this date, you will have to reset your password
using the forgot-password link below.
