SECOND LANGUAGE RESEARCH

Volume 39, Issue 3-4, October 2023

SECOND LANGUAGE RESEARCH（SSCI一区，2022 IF：2.4，排名：40/194）2023年第3-4期共刊文28篇。其中，2023年第3期共发文14篇，其中研究性论文13篇，研究笔记1篇。研究论文涉及输入、预测长期L2用户长期相似性的因素、休眠特征的存在与后果、量词视域下歧义的母语、第二语言加工与处理、翻译歧义词的两种方法、手语图标对外语抽象新单词的积极影响、L2异音变体、跨语言感知等；2023年第4期共发文14篇，其中研究性论文8篇，研究简报3篇，研究评论1篇。研究论文涉及多语研究、二语习得研究、二语教学研究、跨语言影响等方面。主题包括语码转换、手势语、语义偏好、复杂动态系统理论、瓶颈假说等。欢迎转发扩散！（2023年已更完）

往期推荐：

刊讯｜SSCI 期刊《第二语言研究》2023年第1-2期

刊讯｜SSCI 期刊《第二语言研究》2022年第3-4期

刊讯｜SSCI 期刊《第二语言研究》 2022年第2期

刊讯｜SSCI 期刊 《第二语言研究》2022年第1期

目录

ISSUE3

ARTICLES

■ Input and competing grammars in L2 syntax, by Tom Rankin, Pages 581–596.

■ What factors predict perceived nativelikeness in long-term L2 users? by Fanny Forsberg Lundell, Klara Arvidsson, Andreas Jemstedt, Pages 597–622.

■ Development of production skills in the absence of precise phonolexical representations, by Ala Simonchyk, Isabelle Darcy, Pages 623–648.

■ Existence and consequences of dormant features: Evidence from L2 acquisition of Chinese object ellipsis, by Lulu Zhang, Pages 649–666.

■ Production of English lexical stress by Mandarin speakers: Acoustics and kinematics, by Joanne Jingwen Li , Maria I. Grigos, Pages 667–695.

■ Epistemic reasoning in pragmatic inferencing by non-native speakers: The case of scalar implicatures, by Jun Zhang, Yan Wu, Pages 697–729.

■ A lexical semantic approach to the L2 acquisition of Spanish psych verbs, by Becky Gonzalez, Pages 731–758.

■ Acquiring Italian stop consonants: A challenge for Mandarin Chinese-speaking learners, by Qiang Feng, M. Grazia Busà, Pages 759–783.

■ Native and second language processing of quantifier scope ambiguity, by Eun Seon Chung, Jeong-Ah Shin, Pages 785–810.

■Learning the two translations of translation-ambiguous words: Simultaneous vs. consecutive presentation, by Natasha Tokowicz, Caitlin A Rice, Zachary Ekves，Pages 811–832.

■ The combined effects of L1-specific and extralinguistic factors on individual performance in a tone categorization and word identification task by English-L1 and Mandarin-L1 speakers, by Tim Joris Laméris, Brechtje Post, Pages 833–871.

■ Sign iconicity helps learning new words for abstract concepts in a foreign language，by Sara Rodríguez-Cuadrado，Fernando Ojedo，Francisco Vicente-Conesa，Carlos Romero-Rivas，Miguel Ángel Carlos Sampedro，Julio Santiago，Pages 873–898.

■ The acquisition of L2 allophonic variants: The role of phonological distribution and lexical cues，by Shannon L Barrios，Joselyn M Rodriguez，Taylor Anne Barriuso，Pages 899–924.

RESEARCH NOTES

■ Cross-language perception of Japanese consonant length by speakers from Italian- and Mandarin-speaking backgrounds, by Kimiko Tsukada，John Hajek Pages 925–938.

ISSUE 4 

ARTICLES

■Interpretation of Mandarin pronouns and reflexives by L1-Korean and L1-English learners of Mandarin, by Chen, Chung-yu, Ionin, Tania, Pages 941–968.

■ Processing pragmatic inferences in L2 French speakers, by

■ Processing gender agreement in an additional language: The more languages the better? byKamil Długosz, Pages 997–1026.

■ From one language to the other: Examining the role of code-switching on vocabulary learning in adult second-language learners, by Mackensie Blair, Giovanna Morini, Pages 1027–1048.

■ Searching for common phonological space: /s/-stop clusters in L1 Polish and L2 English, by Geoffrey Schwartz, Pages 1049–1076.

■ The effectiveness of embodied prosodic training in L2 accentedness and vowel accuracy, by Peng Li, Florence Baills, Lorraine Baqué, Pilar Prieto, Pages 1077–1105.

■ Phonological cross-linguistic influence at the initial stages of L3 acquisition, by Romana Kopečková, Ulrike Gut, Magdalena Wrembel, Anna Balas, Pages 1107–1131.

■ L2 acquisition and L1 attrition of VOTs of voiceless plosives in highly proficient late bilinguals, by Amirah Saud Alharbi, Anouschka Foltz, Lisa Kornder, Ineke Mennen, Pages 1133–1163.

■ Testing the Competing Systems Hypothesis: Further evidence from aspect in tutored L1-English–L2-Spanish, by Tiffany Judy, Eloi Puig-Mayenco, Adel Chaouch-Orozco, Fernando Martín-Villena, David Miller, Pages 1165-1189.

■ Testing the Bottleneck Hypothesis: Chinese EFL learners’ knowledge of morphology and syntax across proficiency levels, by Shiyu Wu, Dilin Liu, Zan Li, Pages 1191-1217.

RESEARCH NOTES

■False geminates as an effective transitional strategy for Cantonese learners of Japanese actice, by Albert Lee, Xiaolin Li, Peggy Mok, Pages 1219–1234.

■ The influence of semantic bias on triple non-identical cognates during reading: Evidence from trilinguals’ eye movements， by Agnieszka Lijewska, Pages 1235-1263.

■ Can adult learners sense L2 emotional words automatically? The role of L2 use on the emotional Stroop effect, by Sunyoung Ahn, Nan Jiang, Pages 1265–1278.

Discussion and Commentary

■ SLA as complex, dynamical and predictable: A Processability Theory perspective, by Bronwen Dyson, Pages 1279-1292.

摘要

Input and competing grammars in L2 syntax

Tom Rankin, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria

Abstract Grammar competition has been proposed as a model for second language (L2) acquisition. Variational Learning provides a framework within which to investigate the idea of grammar competition as the model requires a marriage of quantitative properties of the input with Universal Grammar. A diachronic variational model of grammar competition is extended to second language acquisition (L2A) to explore verb-second word order optionality in L2 English. Patterns of L1-German–L2-English word order acquisition are reviewed in light of a study of classroom discourse as input to first language (L1) German speakers. A variational model of word order patterns in the input identifies differences in patterns of word order optionality, which may contribute to the trajectory of acquisition identified for L2 English.

Key words cross-linguistic influence, input, syntax, variational learning, word order

What factors predict perceived nativelikeness in long-term L2 users?

Fanny Forsberg Lundell, Klara Arvidsson, Andreas Jemstedt,  Stockholm University, Sweden

Abstract This study investigated what psychological and social factors predict ‘perceived nativelikeness’ in late second language (L2) learners of French (L1 Swedish) (N = 62) with a minimum length of residence (LOR) of 5 years in France. The included factors were: language aptitude (LLAMA), acculturation (VIA), personality (MPQ), target language engagement and social networks (number of relations in L2). LOR and Length of French studies were also included as extraneous variables. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that positive effects were found for LLAMA D (sound recognition), acculturation (VIA France and VIA Sweden), number of relations in L2 and LOR. A negative effect was found for the personality variable Social initiative. The strongest effects were found for LLAMA D, Social initiative and LOR. All variables together explained 25% (adjusted R²) of the variance in the sample, which represents medium-sized effects in relation to other studies on individual factors. In sum, these findings confirm results from earlier studies on the importance of language aptitude and acculturation in late L2 acquisition. They also add evidence of the importance of personality, social networks, and LOR. On a more general note psychological and social factors combine to explain different outcomes in adult L2 acquisition, although the effects of psychological variables are deemed somewhat stronger.

Key words acculturation, aptitude, individual factors, L2 French, perceived nativelikeness, personality, social networks

Development of production skills in the absence of precise phonolexical representations

Ala Simonchyk, University of Mississippi, USA

Isabelle Darcy，Indiana University, USA

Abstract The study investigates the relationship between lexical encoding and production in order to establish whether learners are able to produce a difficult contrast in words that they merged in their mental lexicon. Forty American English learners of Russian were tested on their production and lexical encoding of familiar and highly-frequent words with the plain/palatalized contrast in second language (L2) Russian. Results suggest that the relationship between phonolexical encoding and production is less straightforward than a simple mirror image and is strongly affected by the prosodic position of the target consonants. In word-final position, learners did not lexically encode the difference between plain and palatalized consonants but they strived to produce it, although not very successfully. In intervocalic position, learners’ ability to encode and produce words with the plain/palatalized contrast was more accurate than in word-final position, which was attributed to the ‘spelling trap’ effect. Since Russian orthography employs vowel graphemes to mark the plain/palatalized status of preceding consonants, it appears that learners relied on these assumed vowel differences to articulate complex palatalization gestures. Thus, the findings of this study suggest that L2 learners can produce a contrast that they have not yet lexically encoded.

Key words L2 Russian, lexical encoding, mental lexicon, orthography, palatalization, production, second language phonology

Existence and consequences of dormant features: Evidence from L2 acquisition of Chinese object ellipsis

Lulu Zhang, Fudan University, China

Abstract The current study investigates second language acquisition of Chinese object ellipsis to probe the development of features transferred from learners’ native language without robust confirming or disconfirming evidence in the second language (L2) input. It is argued that Chinese allows object ellipsis licensed by a verb with a [VCase] feature but not by a verb with a [Vnon-Case] feature. In contrast, Korean allows object ellipsis to be licensed by both types of verbs, whilst English prohibits both. An acceptability judgement task was conducted among first language (L1) English and L1 Korean L2 Chinese learners from elementary to advanced levels, with the results showing that the [Vnon-Case] feature was assembled in the Chinese grammars of English and Korean elementary L2 learners; however, it gradually lost its vigour and licensing power for object ellipsis in intermediate L2 grammars and was successfully removed from licensing object ellipsis in advanced L2 grammars. These findings support predictions by Yuan regarding a feature’s dormant status and modify Yuan’s predictions regarding a dormant feature’s consequences.

Key words dormant features, L2 Chinese, object ellipsis

Production of English lexical stress by Mandarin speakers: Acoustics and kinematics

Joanne Jingwen Li, Maria I. Grigos， New York University, USA

Abstract This study aims to understand if Mandarin late learners of English can successfully manipulate acoustic and kinematic cues to deliver English stress contrast in production. Mandarin (N = 8) and English (N = 8) speakers were recorded producing English trochaic (initial stress) and iambic (final stress) items during a nonword repetition task. Speakers’ jaw movement for the utterances was tracked and analysed. Acoustic and kinematic cues were measured for each syllable, including acoustic duration, fundamental frequency (F0), and intensity, as well as jaw movement duration, displacement, peak velocity, and stiffness. Stress ratios (syllable 1 / syllable 2) were calculated for each cue and compared between groups. Results showed that English and Mandarin speakers had generally comparable performance in differentiating trochaic from iambic patterns, as well as in the degree of between-syllable contrast within each pattern. Between-group differences were only observed in acoustic duration and jaw movement velocityiffness. These results suggest that the experience with Mandarin stress contributes to Mandarin speakers’ overall successful production of English stress but also results in nonnative use of some acoustic/kinematic cues. 

Key words acoustics, kinematics, L2 production, lexical stress

Epistemic reasoning in pragmatic inferencing by non-native speakers: The case of scalar implicatures

Jun Zhang, Anhui University, China

Yan Wu, University of Massachusetts, USA

Abstract Scalar implicatures involve inferring the use of a less informative term (e.g. some) to mean the negation of a more informative term (e.g. not all). A growing body of recent research on the derivation of scalar implicatures by adult second language (L2) learners shows that while they are successful in acquiring the knowledge of scalar implicatures, a property at the semantics–pragmatics interface, it remains controversial as to which mechanism, default or non-default, could account for L2 learners’ derivation of scalar implicatures. The present study used an online self-paced reading task to address this issue by examining the role of the speaker’s knowledge state in the interpretation of the existential quantifier some by Chinese-speaking learners of English in incremental sentence processing. Results showed that both L2 and native participants demonstrated comparable online sensitivity to the speaker’s knowledge state. Critically, when the scalar implicature was computed in situations where the speaker was more likely to know whether the statement with the stronger alternative was true, it gave rise to measurable reading latency, indicative of increased processing costs. We conclude by arguing that our findings are compatible with the context-driven models within the Gricean tradition.

Key words epistemic reasoning, pragmatic inferencing, scalar implicature, second language acquisition, self-paced reading

A lexical semantic approach to the L2 acquisition of Spanish psych verbs

Becky Gonzalez, University of Iowa, USA

Abstract This study builds on prior research on second language (L2) Spanish psych verbs, which has centered on morphosyntactic properties, by examining their syntactic distribution, which relies on lexical semantic knowledge. The fact that certain forms are licensed for some verbs, but not others, is the result of an underlying lexical semantic difference across verb classes, represented here as a difference in formal feature strength. To fully acquire the relevant grammatical distribution, L2 learners must successfully acquire (i) licensing restrictions on argument structure and (ii) underlying lexical semantic representations of individual verbs. Three groups of L2 learners (n = 66) and a group of native Spanish speakers (n = 19) completed two judgment tasks (one with aural stimuli and one with written stimuli) which presented object experiencer psych verbs in multiple argument structures. Results show that advanced L2 learners are largely sensitive to the distribution tested here; however, while they have acquired relevant licensing restrictions, they may associate fixed feature settings with verbs that allow variable feature settings. These results are consistent with predictions made by the Feature Reassembly Hypothesis and highlight the role of lexical semantic features in second language acquisition.

Key words argument structure, lexical semantics, SLA, syntax, Spanish

Acquiring Italian stop consonants: A challenge for Mandarin Chinese-speaking learners

Qiang Feng, Dalian University of Foreign Languages, Dalian, China；Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy

M. Grazia Busà, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy

Abstract The acquisition of Italian stop consonants by Mandarin Chinese-speaking learners has hardly been investigated. This study was designed to fill this gap. To investigate Chinese learners’ acquisition patterns of Italian voiced and voiceless stops, a perception experiment and a production experiment were conducted. Twenty Mandarin Chinese-speaking undergraduate students majoring in Italian, five native Italian and five native Mandarin speakers served as participants in the perception experiment; and an equal number of participants with the same language backgrounds served as participants in the production experiment. In the perception experiment, the participants had to identify the stimuli in three continua (i.e. bilabial, alveolar and velar) where voice onset time (VOT) values ranged from −50 ms to 90 ms in 10 ms steps. In the production experiment, data were collected from a reading task in which the participants were asked to read the target words with word-initial stops in carrier-sentences; the VOT and closure durations were measured. The results show that, in perception, Chinese learners have difficulty differentiating between Italian voiced and voiceless stops; in production, Italian voiced rather than voiceless stops represent a challenge for Chinese learners. The results are in line with the predictions made by the Perceptual Assimilation Model-L2 (PAM-L2) and the Speech Learning Model (SLM), as well as with most other studies focusing on the acquisition of stops of ‘true-voice languages’ by Chinese learners.

Key words closure duration, Italian, L2 speech acquisition, Mandarin Chinese, stop consonants, voice onset time (VOT)

Native and second language processing of quantifier scope ambiguity

Eun Seon Chung, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, South Korea

Jeong-Ah Shin, Dongguk University, South Korea

Abstract The present study investigates native (L1) and second language (L2) processing of scope ambiguities in English sentences containing the universal quantifier every in subject NP and negation. Previous studies in L1 and L2 processing of scope ambiguities have found speakers to generally employ a ‘minimal effort’ principle that highly prefers the surface scope reading regardless of contextual support because accessing the inverse scope reading incurs significant processing cost. The present study compared L1 and L2 scope judgments and processing strategies of sentences such as Every horse didn’t jump over the fence and examined whether the two groups differ in their speed and manner of analysis. Thirty native English speakers and 42 Korean learners of English participated in a self-paced reading/interpretation task that has context (ambiguous vs. unambiguous) and scope reading (surface vs. inverse) as variables. The results revealed significant differences in scope endorsement rates with L2 learners arriving at the surface scope as the dominant reading and L1 learners’ judgments being highly dependent on contextual ambiguity. Moreover, L1 vs. L2 differences in processing strategies were found: L2 learners exhibited a strong tendency to arrive at the most economical interpretation while L1 speakers consulted detailed syntactic and semantic rules of computation.

Key words good-enough (GE) processing, L1 processing, L2 processing, quantifier scope ambiguity, scope interpretation

Learning the two translations of translation-ambiguous words: Simultaneous vs. consecutive presentation

Natasha Tokowicz, Caitlin A Rice, University of Pittsburgh, USA

Zachary Ekves, University of Connecticut, USA

Abstract Some words have more than one translation across languages. Such translation-ambiguous words are harder to learn, recognize, and produce for individuals across the language learning spectrum. Past research demonstrates that learning both translations of translation-ambiguous words on consecutive trials confers an accuracy advantage relative to learning them on separate sessions. We tested the proposal that presenting the two translations of translation-ambiguous words simultaneously on the screen could facilitate the formation of a more integrated mapping, because this would enable learners to make direct comparisons between them, whether implicitly or explicitly. We predicted that this facilitation would especially hold for translation-ambiguous words with related translations. Fifty native English speakers learned 48 German words with one or two translations that varied in the meaning similarity of their translations. Paired associate training took place on a Monday, and a first language (L1) to second language (L2) translation production test took place on Wednesday and Friday. Generally, higher translation similarity facilitated translation speed. In accuracy, training condition interacted with the similarity of the translations; translation accuracy was more affected by translation similarity in the simultaneous condition and went up as similarity increased. Overall, the consecutive condition demonstrated higher accuracy and faster reaction times than the simultaneous training condition, suggesting that learners may have been unable to successfully divide their study time between multiple words on the screen without explicit instruction.

Key words training order, translation ambiguity, translation semantic variability, vocabulary learning

The combined effects of L1-specific and extralinguistic factors on individual performance in a tone categorization and word identification task by English-L1 and Mandarin-L1 speakers

Tim Joris Laméris, Brechtje Post, University of Cambridge, UK

Abstract Adult second language learners often show considerable individual variability in the ease with which lexical tones are learned. It is known that factors pertaining to a learner’s first language (L1; such as L1 tonal status or L1 tone type) as well as extralinguistic factors (such as musical experience and working memory) modulate tone learning facility. However, how such L1-specific and extralinguistic factors affect performance together in dynamic ways is less well understood. Therefore, to unpack the potential interactions between these factors for individual learners, we assessed the combined effects of L1 tonal status, L1 tone type, and musical experience and working memory on second language (L2) tone perception and word learning in a tonal pseudolanguage by English-L1 and Mandarin-L1 adult learners, by using a pre-lexical tone categorization task and a lexical word identification task. We found that L2 tone perception and word learning were primarily facilitated by extralinguistic factors, but that the degree to which learners rely on these factors is modulated by their L1 tonal status, as for instance musical experience facilitated perception and word learning for English, but not for Mandarin participants. We also found clear effects of L1 tone type, as Mandarin participants tended to struggle with categorizing and lexically processing level tone contrasts, which do not occur in Mandarin.

Key words extralinguistic factors, individual variability, lexical tone, L2 speech, musical experience, perception, word learning, working memory

Sign iconicity helps learning new words for abstract concepts in a foreign language

Sara Rodríguez-Cuadrado, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain

Fernando Ojedo, Universidad de Granada, Spain

Francisco Vicente-Conesa, Carlos Romero-Rivas，Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain

Miguel Ángel Carlos Sampedro, Universidad Nebrija, Spain

Julio Santiago, Universidad de Granada, Spain

Abstract Several studies have explored the use of iconic gestures to improve the learning of foreign vocabulary. In this quest, words for abstract concepts have been largely neglected, under the assumption that abstract concepts have poor or non-existent sensory-motor representations. Yet, the Conceptual Metaphor Theory suggests that they are grounded on concrete concepts. Moreover, analyses of signed languages reveal ways in which signs can exploit metonymies and conceptual metaphors to iconically refer to abstract concepts. Here, we explore whether iconic signs from Spanish Sign Language (LSE) can facilitate the learning of foreign words for abstract concepts in hearing participants who do not know any sign language. In two studies, participants were presented with new labels for abstract and concrete concepts in an artificial language (Vimmi). The labels could be accompanied by either a video of an iconic or non-iconic sign taken from the existing vocabulary of LSE, or a static image of the signer. In study 1, participants did not have to enact the signs they were presented with, while in study 2 they did. Both studies showed that iconic signs facilitated the learning of abstract foreign vocabulary, regardless of enactment. The strategies that sign languages use to develop iconic signs for abstract concepts make those signs useful to assist the learning of foreign words by hearing non-signers.

Key words abstract words, Conceptual Metaphor Theory, enactment, iconicity, sign language, vocabulary learning

The acquisition of L2 allophonic variants: The role of phonological distribution and lexical cues

Shannon L Barrios, University of Utah, USA

Joselyn M Rodriguez, University of Maryland, USA

Taylor Anne Barriuso, Iowa State University, USA

Abstract Adult learners acquire second language (L2) allophones with experience. We examine two mechanisms which may support the acquisition of allophonic variants in second language acquisition. One of the mechanisms is based on the distribution of phones with respect to their phonological context (i.e. phonological distribution). The other is based on the role the phones play in contrasting words (i.e. lexical contrast). Experiment 1 established adult native English speakers’ baseline sensitivity to the novel [b]–[β] auditory contrast. In Experiment 2 we examined whether adult native English speakers infer the phonological status of [b] and [β] in an artificial language based only on their distributions to phonological contexts. We observed no evidence that these participants were able to do so. In Experiment 3 we investigated whether learners infer the phonological status of [b] and [β] from the role they play in lexical contrast and observed both perceptual and lexical processing evidence to suggest that adults may use meaning-based cues to the lack of contrast to learn that two phones are allophones of the same phoneme. Together our findings suggest that adult L2 learners may prioritize information about function (in this case, lexical contrast) over the phonological distribution of phones as they determine the phonological status of L2 sounds.

Key words allophones, L2 phonology, lexical cues, lexical processing, perception, phonological distribution

Cross-language perception of Japanese consonant length by speakers from Italian- and Mandarin-speaking backgrounds

Kimiko Tsukada, Macquarie University; The University of Melbourne, Australia

John Hajek, The University of Melbourne, Australia

Abstract This study compared individuals from two first language (L1) backgrounds (Italian, Mandarin) to determine how they may differ in their perception of Japanese consonant length (i.e. singleton vs. geminate) according to the phonemic status of length in L1 and experience with Japanese. The participants included two groups of non-native learners of Japanese: 14 native Italian speakers (NI + Japanese), 18 native Mandarin speakers (NM + Japanese) and two control groups: 14 native Italian (NI – Japanese) speakers naïve to Japanese, 10 native Japanese (NJ) speakers. The participants’ length perception accuracy was examined in a forced-choice identification task. The NJ listeners hardly misperceived any tokens, but the non-native listeners were generally accurate (> 85%) in identifying the Japanese length category. The NI – Japanese group was slightly (albeit non-significantly) more accurate than the NM + Japanese group, suggesting the possibility that the use of phonemic length in L1 was facilitative. The direction of misperception (i.e. singleton as geminate or geminate as singleton) differed according to different group. Non-native learners’ results also provided evidence for plasticity in cross-linguistic perception in adulthood.

Key words consonant length, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, singleton/geminate

Interpretation of Mandarin pronouns and reflexives by L1-Korean and L1-English learners of Mandarin

Abstract This study investigates (1) whether second language learners (L2ers) acquire the Mandarin system of pronouns and reflexives despite differences from their first languages (L1s) and (2) whether L1-English and L1-Korean L2ers differ due to L1-transfer. Unlike English, Mandarin and Korean allow long-distance (LD) reflexives. While himself/herself and the Mandarin equivalent taziji both require local readings, Mandarin ziji 'self' allows both local and LD readings. In Korean, caki and casin allow LD readings while caki-casin requires local readings. For pronouns, English him/her and Mandarin ta both disallow local readings while Korean ku/kunye allows them. These cross-linguistic differences lead to different transfer-based predictions for L1-Korean and L1-English L2-Mandarin learners. Sixty-two Mandarin native speakers, 42 L1-Korean L2ers, and 32 L1-English L2ers completed a picture-based Truth Value Judgment Task and a Mandarin proficiency test. Results show that proficiency-matched L2ers from both L1s predominantly allowed only local readings of ziji, suggesting that the local reading is the default option, and that Korean speakers do not transfer the properties of Korean simplex reflexives onto ziji, possibly because LD ziji is logophoric, while caki is not. Regarding ta, L1-Korean L2ers under-accepted LD readings and over-accepted local readings, a result that can be attributed to transfer, per Kim's analysis that Rule I, posited by Grodzinsky and Reinhart, that regulates the distribution of pronouns is weak or absent in Korean.

Key words binding; Korean; Mandarin; pronouns; reflexives

Emilie Destruel, University of Iowa

Abstract A large amount of literature exists on how native speakers derive and process pragmatic inferences, yet few studies have examined the issue in second language learners, despite a controversial debate of second language (L2) ultimate attainment of phenomena situated at external interfaces. This study contributes to the debate on the integration of external interfaces in highly proficient end-state adult L2 grammars. In an effort to bridge the empirical gap in the past literature, this article reports on two sentence-picture verification tasks designed to test the processing cost of the exhaustive inference associated with cleft sentences in the L2 French of English learners with different proficiency levels. Truth-value judgments and reaction times were recorded in contexts that violated or supported the exhaustive inference. Overall, results show that L2 learners diverge from the natives in their online processing of the exhaustive inference only and that proficiency plays an important role in predicting their behavior. Nevertheless, what post-hoc observations of the data reveal that L2 length of exposure to native input might be an even better predictor, since only those L2 speakers who have had more exposure to native French input compute the exhaustive inference in clefts as fast as French natives.

Key words clefts; exhaustivity; French; inferences; processing; proficiency

Processing gender agreement in an additional language: The more languages the better?

Kamil Długosz, Adam Mickiewicz University

Abstract Although previous research has observed a facilitative influence of the first language (L1) on the acquisition and processing of gender agreement in a second language (L2), particularly in language pairs with similar gender agreement marking, the question of whether knowledge of two languages with gender can confer an additional advantage for L3/Ln (third or additional language) learners has not yet been addressed. The present study aimed to fill this research gap by examining the processing of gender agreement in intermediate and advanced L3/Ln Swedish among two groups of Polish native speakers: 30 L2 English / L3 Swedish learners, and 30 L2 English / L3 German / L4 Swedish learners. Participants were tested by means of a speeded grammaticality judgment task, in which they judged the correctness of indefinite noun phrases that either agreed or did not agree in gender. They also completed an untimed gender assignment task to control for their lexical knowledge of gender. Accuracy and response time data were submitted to Generalized Linear Models. The analysis shows that L4 Swedish learners process noun phrases faster than L3 Swedish learners, but only at the intermediate proficiency level; however, the groups do not differ in their judgment accuracy. This advantage is interpreted in terms of a surface transfer of similar gender agreement marking, which helps the learners automatize gender agreement processes earlier, but does not increase their sensitivity to gender-agreement violations. Moreover, the results accord with previous L2 studies in showing that learners of Swedish as L3/Ln develop sensitivity to ungrammaticality with advancing proficiency and benefit substantially from their gender assignment knowledge in processing gender agreement. Crucially, the present study provides preliminary evidence of a multilingual advantage in processing morphosyntactic features in L3/Ln.

Key words additional language; facilitative transfer; gender agreement processing; multilingualism; Swedish

From one language to the other: Examining the role of code-switching on vocabulary learning in adult second-language learners

Mackensie Blair, University of Delaware

Giovanna Morini, University of Delaware IRCCS Burlo Garofolo

Abstract The present work examines the impact of code-switching (CS) on novel word learning in adult second language (L2) learners of Spanish. Participants completed two sessions (1-3 days apart). In the first session, they were taught 32 nonwords corresponding to novel creatures. Training occurred across 4 conditions: (1) a sentence in English only, (2) a sentence in Spanish only (the L2), (3) a sentence that contained CS from Spanish-to-English, (4) a sentence that contained CS from English-to-Spanish. Immediately after training, participants were tested on their ability to identify the newly trained words using a looking-while-listening paradigm in which videos of participants' looking patterns were collected remotely via Zoom. In the second session, re-testing of the trained words was completed. In the first session, training in the English-only condition led to better initial learning compared to the other conditions. In the second session, the English-only condition still had the highest accuracy, but performance in the two CS conditions was significantly better compared to the Spanish-only condition. These findings suggest that CS during vocabulary training may aid the retention of newly acquired word-object relations in the L2, compared to when training occurs entirely in the L2. This work has important implications for theories of L2 acquisition and can inform instruction practices in L2 classrooms.

Key words adults; code-switching; eye-gaze measures; remote testing; second language learning

Searching for common phonological space: /s/-stop clusters in L1 Polish and L2 English

Geoffrey Schwartz, Adam Mickiewicz University

Abstract Two acoustic studies of voice onset time (VOT) in sibilant-stop (ST) consonant clusters, produced by first language (L1) speakers of Polish, are presented. In the first, a baseline study of L1 Polish comparing ST clusters with initial singleton stops, a small degree of VOT shortening after /s/ was found for /p/, but not /t/. The second study compared ST productions by L1 Polish speakers of second language (L2) English across two levels of proficiency, speaking in both L1 and L2. Rather than shortening post-/s/ VOT, as is common in L1 English, speakers from both proficiency groups exhibited longer VOT in their L2 than in their L1. These results are consistent with the claim that Polish learners of English mistakenly apply the long VOT of L2 English singleton fortis stops in the post-/s/ position. A phonological interpretation of the results within the Onset Prominence framework is provided.

Key words consonant clusters; English; Onset Prominence; Phonological representation; Polish; second language speech

The effectiveness of embodied prosodic training in L2 accentedness and vowel accuracy

Peng Li, Pompeu Fabra University

Florence Baills, University of Cologne Pompeu Fabra University

Lorraine Baqué, Autonomous University of Barcelona

Pilar Prieto, Zurich University of Applied Sciences

Abstract This study explores the effects of embodied prosodic training on the production of non-native French front rounded vowels (i.e. /y, o, oe/) and the overall pronunciation proficiency. Fifty-seven Catalan learners of French practiced pronunciation in one of two conditions: one group observed hand gestures embodying prosodic features of the sentences they were listening to, while the other group did not see any such gestures. The learning outcome was assessed in a pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest through a dialogue-reading task and a sentence imitation task in terms of accentedness, comprehensibility and fluency scores, and through formant analysis of participant-produced target vowels. The results showed that compared to non-embodied training, embodied prosodic training yielded continuous improvement in accentedness in both tasks and improved the F2 values of French front rounded vowels (more fronted). As for comprehensibility and fluency scores, both groups showed similar levels of significant improvement. This study highlights the interaction between prosodic and segmental features of speech by showing that training with embodied prosodic features benefitted accentedness and the production accuracy of non-native vowels.

Key words accentedness; hand gestures; prosody; second language pronunciation; vowel

Romana Kopečková, University of Munster

Ulrike Gut, University of Munster

Magdalena Wrembel, Adam Mickiewicz University

Anna Balas, Adam Mickiewicz University

Abstract This study investigates sources of phonological cross-linguistic influence (CLI) at the initial stages of third language (L3) acquisition in light of the predictions of the second language (L2) Status Factor Model, the Typological Primacy Model, the Cumulative Enhancement Model, the Linguistic Proximity Model and the Scalpel Model. The productions of L3 rhotic sounds, /w/ and final obstruent devoicing, elicited in a delayed repetition task, were analysed auditorily in two groups of adolescent instructed learners with L1-German-L2-English-L3-Polish and L1-Polish-L2-English-L3-German language backgrounds. The results showed that dominant articulatory routines from the L1 play an important role in determining the source(s) of phonological CLI in the initial stages of L3 acquisition, at least in a learning constellation when L2 articulations have not been mastered yet in a consistently target-like manner. Based on loglinear and multiple correspondence analyses, the sources of phonological CLI were found in this study to vary feature-by-feature, thus giving some support to the Linguistic Proximity Model and the Scalpel Model. However, the high inter- and intra-individual variation that was found is so far not accounted for by any of the existing models.

Key words cross-linguistic influence; final obstruent (de)voicingl individual variation; labial velar approximant; phonetics and phonolog; yrhotic sounds; third language acquisition

L2 acquisition and L1 attrition of VOTs of voiceless plosives in highly proficient late bilinguals

Amirah Saud Alharbi, Umm Al Qura University

Anouschka Foltz, Multilingual Secondary Sch Austria, University of Graz

Lisa Kornder, University of Graz

Ineke Mennen, University of Graz

Abstract While much research has examined second language (L2) phonetic acquisition, less research has examined first language (L1) attrition in terms of the voice onset time (VOT) of voiceless stops. The current study examined L2 acquisition and L1 attrition in the VOT of word-initial voiceless stops among late English-Arabic and Arabic-English bilinguals in order to explore the role of phonetic similarity in L2 acquisition and L1 attrition of speech. The study included 60 participants: 15 monolingual Arabic speakers, 15 monolingual English speakers, 15 English-Arabic bilinguals and 15 Arabic-English bilinguals. The bilinguals had been living in their L2 environment for more than 15 years. The participants narrated two cartoons in Arabic and/or three in English. The monolingual groups' results revealed clear cross-language differences in the VOT of voiceless plosives between the two languages. Phonetic similarity affected L2 acquisition in that those L2 sounds that were close in phonetic space to L1 sounds (i.e. /t/ and /k/) were more difficult to acquire than those that were dissimilar to L1 sounds (i.e. /p/). However, L1 attrition showed an asymmetric pattern, occurring only in the English-Arabic bilinguals' productions of the English /k/. We suggest that markedness might contribute to explaining this asymmetry.

Key words bilinguals; first language attrition; markedness; phonetic similarity; second language acquisition; voice onset time

Testing the Competing Systems Hypothesis: Further evidence from aspect in tutored L1-English–L2-Spanish

Tiffany Judy, Wake Forest University

Eloi Puig-Mayenco, King's College London

Adel Chaouch-Orozco, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Fernando Martín-Villena, University of Granada

David Miller, Imperial College London

Abstract This study tests the Competing Systems Hypothesis (CSH) as applied to adult second language acquisition of aspect in Spanish. The CSH purports that differences among tutored and untutored learners result from competition between one system of underlying grammatical knowledge and another of learned metalinguistic knowledge in tutored learners (TLs). Twenty-nine first language (L1) English and second language (L2) Spanish (L1-English-L2-Spanish) TLs and 29 native Spanish speakers completed three tasks examining knowledge of Spanish aspect. A Cloze Task targeted typical use of preterit and imperfect morphology, while a Semantic Entailments Task assessed acquired knowledge of entailments falling out from convergence on the aspectual system. Finally, a Binary-Choice Task targeted three pedagogical simplifications common to L1-English-L2-Spanish textbooks: adverbials that 'go with' the preterit or imperfect, 'meaning-changing' verbs in preterit, and the lower frequency of stative verbs in preterit. Results align with the CSH in that TLs performed above 80% accuracy on preterit and imperfect items in the Cloze Task, indicating acquisition of Spanish aspectual morphology. The Semantic Entailments Task further shows TLs converge on underlying knowledge of grammatical aspect by making a significant distinction between logical and illogical entailments. Finally, competition between the underlying grammatical system and learned metalinguistic knowledge is evidenced in the Binary-Choice Task where TLs are less accurate with preterit; specifically, TLs demonstrate effects from pedagogical simplifications regarding adverbials and 'meaning-changing' verbs.

Key words aspect; Competing Systems Hypothesis; semantic entailments; Spanish; tutored learners

Testing the Bottleneck Hypothesis: Chinese EFL learners’ knowledge of morphology and syntax across proficiency levels

Shiyu Wu, Peking Union Medical College Hospital

Dilin Liu, Dalian University of Foreign Languages

Zan Li, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Abstract This study tests the Bottleneck Hypothesis (BH) that functional morphology presents the greatest difficulty in second language acquisition by examining Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' knowledge of both functional morphological properties and core syntactic properties across three language proficiency levels. Specifically, this study compares Chinese EFL learners' grasp of subject-verb agreement (a functional morphological property) vs. their grasp of the syntactic formation rules (properties) of WH-questions including WH-movement, WH-do-insertion (i.e. the insertion of the auxiliary do), and WH-do-inversion (subject-auxiliary inversion): three core syntactic transformation rules. Analyses of the experimental results using generalized mixed-effects models yield complex results that generally support the BH. While subject-verb agreement was found to be persistently more difficult than WH-movement and WH-do-inversion, it was shown to pose essentially the same level of difficulty as WH-do-insertion due to the fact that the latter also involves the application of the functional features of SV-agreement and tense, i.e. the high level of difficulty of WH-do-insertion likely lies in its accompanying application of functional features. Possible explanations for the complex results and their implications are discussed.

Key words Bottleneck Hypothesis; core syntax; functional morphology; learning difficulty; SLA

False geminates as an effective transitional strategy for Cantonese learners of Japanese

Albert Lee, Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK)

Xiaolin Li, Guangzhou University

Peggy Mok, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Abstract This article revisits Lee and Mok (2018) and examines how the Cantonese learners in the study produced second language (L2) Japanese short vs. long consonants which are absent in their first language (L1). Specifically, our goal is to find out whether these learners were substituting real geminates (i.e. long consonants) with the improvised strategy of an unreleased stop coda + homorganic initial consonant sequence (like in the phrase cat tail), which would not have been detectable with the durational ratios in the original study. We analysed the mean intensity of the words sassa, sesse, and sosso, to investigate whether the learners were producing a [t.]+/s/ cluster, presumably drawn from their L1. The results showed that the beginner group were indeed using this strategy, whereas the advanced learners were largely producing a genuinely geminated /s/ akin to the native speakers. The use of this transitional strategy was also speechrate dependent, with more cases of /t/-insertion in slower speech for both learner groups. We conclude that (1) although having L1 false geminates does not enable beginners to readily acquire genuine L2 geminates, the latter can be learned after enough exposure, and (2) during this transition, Cantonese learners can draw on L1 phonotactic knowledge to improvise creative and effective strategies to attain L2 durational targets.

Key words Cantonese; consonant quantity; Japanese

The influence of semantic bias on triple non-identical cognates during reading: Evidence from trilinguals’ eye movements

Agnieszka Lijewska, Department of Psycholinguistic Studies, Faculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland

Abstract The current study investigated how the processing of triple cognates (words sharing form and meaning across three languages) is modulated by the semantic bias of sentence context in a reading task. In the study, Polish–German–English trilinguals read English sentences while their eye movements were monitored. The sentences were either semantically biased (high-context) or neutral (low-context) towards target words. The targets were either Polish–German–English cognates whose cross-language form overlap was incomplete (e.g. DIAMENT–DIAMANT–DIAMOND) or English-only controls (e.g. KURCZAK–HÄHNCHEN–CHICKEN). The results revealed a significant effect of context in gaze durations and in total reading time. Importantly, no cognate facilitation effect was identified in any reading measure. The gaze duration data additionally revealed that English-only controls were read slower in low-context sentences than in high-context sentences but gaze durations for cognates were not affected by the sentence context. Thus, prior bilingual findings were only partially replicated in the current study with trilinguals. This suggests that bilingual models of language processing should be carefully adapted to trilinguals. The current data may also mean that non-identical cognates (even those shared across three languages) induce relatively small effects and large samples of participants and items may be needed to detect such effects across reading measures.

Key words eye movements；non-identical cognates；reading；semantic bias；sentence context；trilingual

Can adult learners sense L2 emotional words automatically? The role of L2 use on the emotional Stroop effect

Sunyoung Ahn, University of Manitoba, Canada

Abstract The present study investigated whether adult learners of second language (L2) can automatically activate emotional connotation during emotional word recognition as compared native (L1) users and whether L2 use plays a significant role in it. The automaticity of activation was measured through the emotional Stroop task. In this task, emotional words and neutral words were displayed in two different colors, and the participants were asked to indicate the color by button press. Results showed a delay in L2 learners’ response to emotional words (the emotional Stroop effect) without significant differences from L1 users’ response, indicating comparable automaticity in activating emotional connotation in performing the task. Further analyses on the effect of L2 use revealed its significant role in increasing the emotional Stroop effect. Specifically, L2 learners with higher amount of L2 use in daily life produced a significant emotion Stroop effect comparable to L1 users, while L2 learners with lower L2 use did not. We discuss the importance of L2 use in actual context in automatic processing of L2 emotional words, especially among adult learners who began L2 learning in adulthood in a case of underrepresented languages as L2.

SLA as complex, dynamical and predictable: A Processability Theory perspective

Bronwen Dyson, The University of Sydney, Australia

Abstract This article enters the debate about the complex and dynamical nature of second language acquisition (SLA) by discussing and commenting on Pallotti’s critique of Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST). Pallotti’s critique brings to the fore the argument that, due to its anti-reductionist stance, CDST research fails to observe three fundamental research criteria, namely that research should (1) construct models, (2) make generalizations and falsifiable predictions and (3) adopt clear empirical approaches. While Pallotti does not explore research already moving SLA beyond anti-reductionist approaches to complexity and dynamism, the debate can be advanced by examining research doing exactly this. This article aims to evaluate the extent to which Processability Theory (PT) – a theory of second language (L2) processing that advocates reductionism for the sake of theory construction – meets Pallotti’s criteria for researching L2 complexity and dynamics. By discussing Pallotti’s – and PT’s – criticisms of CDST, the article outlines the implied research criteria and delineates how PT meets these criteria by (1) its bidimensional design, (2) its generalizations and falsifiable predictions for development and variation, and (3) its operationalization of constructs. Findings from a longitudinal study of L2 English are presented. These findings elucidate that, by meeting the criteria, PT can reveal the predictable, implicational development of processing complexity in eight learners and the patterned, dynamical interaction between development and variation in the trajectories of two of these learners. The article concludes that PT fulfils Pallotti’s (2022) criteria and, by a reductionist approach which models SLA as multidimensional, it can generate what CDST cannot; dynamical and complex L2 systems which progress in predictable stages, with well-defined constraints on variation, including DST-defined constraints. The article closes by discussing the implications of PT’s approach for future research on L2 complexity and dynamics.

Key words adolescent learners; Complex Dynamic Systems Theory; complexity; dynamical systems; L2

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