Doctoral Dissertation Research: On L2 Morphological Suppliance: Is Syntax or Phonology to Blame?

虽然儿童成功地学习了他们所处环境的语言，但成人学习者在习得第二语言(L2)方面却没有表现出同样的成功。说第二语言的人可能会说“她昨天通过了考试”，而在动词“通过”中省略了-ed过去式标记；这句话虽然可以理解，但并不符合英语语法。在以中国为母语的中国人成年后学习英语的过程中，这种类型的错误已经被观察到，即使他们已经在英语国家生活了很长时间，并且能够有效地进行交流。本论文考察了二语英语中一般过去式标记和复数标记的产生，考虑了影响高级语言习得水平的因素：(A)句法缺陷(如Hawkins和Lizka 2003)；(B)第一语言(L1)语音系统的迁移效应(Goad和White 2006)。在这个项目中，三个不同的英语学习者群体根据他们的母语进行了比较：普通话，日语和西班牙语。每组学生将进行实验任务，以诱导简单过去式和复数标记的使用，包括口头和书面形式。这三种语言不同的句法和语音特性将使研究者能够比较句法和语音对英语一般过去时和复数标记使用的影响。本研究的结果将为支持或反对(A)句法缺陷和(B)母语语音的迁移效应提供强有力的证据。如果这个项目表明L1语音系统是L2过去和复数产生的一个重要因素，那么重点训练不属于L1的L2语音特性的发音是有必要的。因此，这项研究的结果可能会在多个层面上对二语心理表征对课程发展的认知研究产生影响。

While children successfully learn the language of their environment, adult learners do not show the same degree of success in acquiring a second language (L2). An L2 speaker of English might say "she pass the exam yesterday," omitting the -ed past marker in the verb "passed"; the sentence, while understandable, does not conform to English grammar. This type of error has been observed in Chinese native speakers of Chinese acquiring English as adults, even when they have lived in an English-speaking country for a long time and can communicate effectively. This dissertation project examines the production of simple past and plural marking in L2 English, considering factors that have been argued - separately - to affect L2 acquisition at advanced levels of language acquisition: (a) syntactic deficits (e.g. Hawkins and Liszka 2003); and (b) transfer effects of the first language (L1) phonological system (Goad and White 2006). In this project, three different groups of learners of English are compared according to their L1: Mandarin, Japanese and Spanish. Each group of learners will perform experimental tasks designed to elicit the use of simple past and plural marking, in both oral and written form. The different syntactic and phonological properties of these three languages will allow investigators to compare how syntax and phonology weigh on the use of English simple past and plural marking.The results of this study will provide robust evidence for or against (a) syntactic deficits and (b) transfer effects of the L1 phonology. If this project shows that the L1 phonological system is an important factor for L2 past and plural production, then focused training on pronunciation of L2 phonological properties that are not part of the L1 is warranted. Thus, the results of this study may have an impact beyond the cognitive study of L2 mental representation for curricular development at many levels.