The Availability of Universal Grammar to Second Language Learners: A Case of Wh-movement

Autor:	Ghasem Tayyebi
Rok vydání:	2012
Předmět:	Computer science Subjacency Universal grammar language Empty category principle Categorical variable Competence (human resources) Linguistics language.human_language Wh-movement Persian Likert scale
Zdroj:	International Journal of English Linguistics. 2
ISSN:	1923-8703 1923-869X
Popis:	In this experimental study, the researcher examined the accessibility of Universal Grammar to adult Persian learners of English with respect to the Empty Category Principle and the Subjacency. These principles are not operative in Persian as it is a Wh-in situ language. A 5-point Likert scale acceptability judgment task, which included both grammatical and ungrammatical extractions, was given to a group of 35 advanced Iranian EFL learners. The control group consisted of 30 adult native speakers of English. Their responses provided the baseline against which we measured the performance of non-native speakers. The categorical performance of natives and non-natives on both types of grammatical and ungrammatical extractions was revealed through within-group comparisons. Similarly, between-group comparisons displayed that the performance of Iranian EFL learners did not differ significantly from that of the natives in the ungrammatical constructions. In general, the findings of this study led the researcher to conclude that Universal Grammar constrains adult EFL learners’ competence.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz:	https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_________::c9869815c9d64f9ef97ce5e4030a43c3 https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v2n3p34 Zobrazit plný text záznamu