Beyond morphological use: what semantic knowledge tells us about aspect in L2 portuguese (Além do uso morfológico: o que o conhecimento semântico nos diz sobre o aspecto em português como L2)

Jason Rothman; Mike Iverson

doi:10.22481/el.v7i2.1097

Autores/as

Jason Rothman University of Iowa (USA)
Mike Iverson University of Iowa (USA)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22481/el.v7i2.1097

Palabras clave:

L2 acquisition, Aspect in L2 portuguese, Theories of adult UG-continuity

Resumen

This study investigates the acquisition of [±perfective] aspect in L2 Portuguese via knowledge of the [± accidental] distinction that obtains between the Preterit and Imperfect in adverbially quantified sentences (LENCI; BERTINETTO, 2000; MENÉNDEZ-BENITO, 2002). Crucially, we show that intermediate L2 learners demonstrate phrasal semantic knowledge that we argue is accessed via the acquisition of new L2 features. As a result, we contend that the data support theories of adult UG-continuity (DUFFIELD; WHITE, 1999; SCHWARTZ; SPROUSE, 1996) and provide evidence in contra so-called Failed Features accounts of SLA (BECK, 1998; HAWKINS; CHAN, 1997). Furthermore, we discuss these data in light of probabilistic approaches to SLA, which interpret errors in morphological use at this level as evidence of underlying deficits in L2 mental representations. With others, we argue that morphological performance alone is neither a direct nor an exact measure of linguistic competence (PRÉVOST; WHITE, 2000; LARDIERE, 1998, 2006).

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Biografía del autor/a

Jason Rothman, University of Iowa (USA)

Jason Rothman is an assistant professor of Hispanic linguistics and language acquisition at the University of Iowa (USA). His main areas of research span adult L2 acquisition, bilingualism, child L1 acquisition, adult L3/Ln acquisition and comparative acquisition epistemology. From the generative paradigm, his work has mainly examined the acquisition of complex syntax and its semantic entailments as well as syntactic properties that require integration with discourse pragmatics. Recent articles have appeared or are to appear in Applied Linguistics, International Journal of Bilingualism, International Review of Applied Linguistics, Language Acquisition, Second Language Research, Studies in Second Language Acquisition including other major journals in the field.

Mike Iverson, University of Iowa (USA)

Michel Iverson is a second-year doctoral candidate in the t he Spanish and Portuguese Department at the University of Iowa (USA) specializing in Hispanic linguistics and adult language acquisition. His research focuses on adult second language acquisition, the newly emerging field of L3/Ln acquisition and heritage language acquisition from the generative linguistic paradigm, looking at both Spanish and Portuguese acquisition. His dissertation will focus on how the age of acquisition of a second language affects the acquisition of a third language. He plans to graduate in 2012. In addition to chapters in peer reviewed volumes, recent work has appeared in International Review of Applied Linguistics, Language Acquisition, EuroSLA yearbook, Hispania and the Journal of Portuguese Linguistics.

Citas

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