The L2 Acquisition of French Interrogatives: Pragmatic Inferences in Clefted wh-Questions

Autor: Emilie Destruel, Bryan Donaldson
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Languages, Vol 6, Iss 4, p 165 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2226-471X
DOI: 10.3390/languages6040165
Popis: The present study aims to elaborate on the understanding of the second language (L2) acquisition of French interrogatives by focusing on clefted (subject) wh-questions, structures that are largely absent in prior L2 literature. Our research question addresses how L2 learners of French understand two specific properties associated with these interrogatives: existence and exhaustivity. Using two rating tasks, we examined whether a total of 48 L2 learners converge towards the native norm for these properties, which occur at the syntax-discourse interface and may therefore be vulnerable to incomplete acquisition, following the Interface Hypothesis. Our findings suggest that L2 learners at the intermediate level acquire an understanding of the existential inference before an understanding of exhaustivity.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals