The Syntax-Discourse Interface in L2 Learners
Speaker: Frances Wilson
Institution: University of Edinburgh
Abstract:
Recent research (e.g. Sorace & Filiaci, 2006) has suggested that the syntax-discourse interface is problematic for adult learners of a second language, in that even L2 learners who otherwise seem to behave in a nativelike, or near-nativelike manner are different from native speakers at this interface. However, thus far, little research has investigated online processing at the syntax-discourse interface in L2 learners. Here I present one area of the syntax-discourse interface: antecedent preferences for pronouns and demonstratives in German, and discuss plans for work investigating the acquisition of this phenomena in L2 learners of German.