This project investigates the relationship between lexical semantics and causative morphology in the acquisition of causative/inchoative-related verbs in English as a foreign language by Iranian speakers. Results of translation and picture judgment task show although L2 learners have largely acquired the correct lexico-syntactic classification of verbs in English, they were constrained by ...

In this paper, we examine the role of computational complexity versus the role of L1 transfer in a group of adult L2 learners of French based on the results of a written grammaticality judgment task which tested four constructions in French: relative clauses, passives, verb raising, and gender and number agreement on accusative clitics. We chose these constructions based on the varying degrees ...

this project investigates the relationship between lexical semantics and causative morphology in the acquisition of causative/inchoative-related verbs in english as a foreign language by iranian speakers. results of translation and picture judgment task show although l2 learners have largely acquired the correct lexico-syntactic classification of verbs in english, they were constrained by the m...

One of the objectives of investigating child second language acquisition (SLA) is to find out to what extent it is similar to first language (L1) acquisition. Assuming that L1 acquisition is guided by principles of Universal Grammar (UG), it is often thought that second language (L2) acquisition by children is of the same nature, as it seems so easy for young learners to acquire a foreign langu...

This paper investigates to what extent child second language (L2) acquisition is similar to first language (L1) acquisition. The focus is on the nature of root infinitives (RIs) produced by children, namely root declarative clauses whose main verb is either a past participle or an infinitive, whereas a finite form is required in the target language (e.g. papa partir 'daddy leave-INF' instead of...

The acquisition of word classes and their distinctions has long attracted researchers of language, and Ruth Berman’s contribution to this topic has played an important role in first language acquisition literature (Berman 1985, 1986, and particularly 1988).1 This paper examines the knowledge of word classes under incomplete acquisition, a previously uninvestigated area of inquiry. Incomplete ac...

This study examined the role of the native language (L1) transfer in a non-native language (L2) acquisition of the there-insertion construction at the syntax-semantics interface. Specifically, the study investigated if Mandarin EFL learners would make overgeneralization errors in the situation where an L1 argument structure constitutes a superset of its L2 counterpart. Verbs of existence and ap...