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

当儿童成功地学习他们所处环境的语言时，成人学习者在获得第二语言（L2）方面没有显示出同样程度的成功。说第二语言的人可能会说“she pass the exam yesterday ”，省略动词“passed”中的-ed过去标记；这个句子虽然可以理解，但不符合英语语法。这种错误在以中国为母语的人成年后学习英语时也会出现，即使他们已经在说英语的国家生活了很长时间，并且能够有效地交流。本论文项目考察了二语英语中简单过去式和复数标记的产生，并考虑了在高级语言习得水平上影响二语习得的因素：(a)句法缺陷（例如Hawkins and Liszka 2003）；(b)第一语言（L1）语音系统的迁移效应（Goad and White 2006）。在这个项目中，三组不同的英语学习者根据他们的母语进行比较：普通话，日语和西班牙语。每组学习者将完成实验任务，旨在引出口头和书面形式的简单过去式和复数标记的使用。这三种语言的不同句法和音系特性将使研究者能够比较语法和音系如何影响英语一般过去时和复数标记的使用。本研究的结果将为支持或反对(a)句法缺陷和(b)母语语音迁移效应提供有力的证据。如果这个项目表明，L1语音系统是L2过去式和复数产生的一个重要因素，那么重点训练L2语音属性的发音是有必要的，而这些语音属性不是L1的一部分。因此，本研究的结果可能会对第二语言心理表征的认知研究之外的许多层面的课程发展产生影响。

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.