1Week 14b. Wrapping upCAS LX 400Second Language AcquisitionSome things we know aboutnative languages• Language involves vast amounts of complexknowledge, generally untaught, but shared betweennative speakers of the same language/dialect, anapparently also mostly shared across languages.Universal Principles.• Languages differ in certain details, but at one level,range of variation appears to be highly limited.Parameters. Languages have a “shape”.• “Languages” also have certain cultural aspects,(seemingly) non-universal, taught.Some things we know aboutnative languages• The differences between knowing one language andanother are primarily knowing…– Different vocabulary• Different roots• Different morphology and rules of morphological combination– Different parameter settings (perhaps in the lexicon of the language)• Does the language allow null subjects?• Does the verb move to T?• Does the language allow complex onsets in its syllables?– Different cultural conventions• Standard way to refuse, an invitation, apologize, …• Idiomatic meanings for words and word groups• Cultural literacy for metaphors and allusions• Prescriptive rulesWhat’s the goal of secondlanguage acquisition?• Certainly, no single goal.– To become fluent, near-native (to approximatea native speaker as closely as possible).– To become competent, able to communicate inthe target language.– To satisfy the language requirement in order tograduate and get a high-paying job in youruncle’s Wall Street firm.– To impress potential spouses.–…What’s the best we can hope for?• Focusing on people whose goal is near-nativeness, what should their target be?– Same knowledge in TL as a monolingual speakerof that language has?– Same knowledge of TL and L1 as a simultaneousbilingual of the two languages has?– Are these different?• If not, it doesn’t matter.• If so, we’d guess the latter.Humans are language machines• Kids seem to be built to learn language.– They learn a system which is more complex than thedata they receive.– They learn it quickly.– They appear to expend very little conscious effort inthis pursuit.– They reach a very consistent end-state compared tothat of other learners.– They progress through similar stages within andacross languages.2Humans are language machines• Pidgin/creole results also suggest some kind of“bioprogram” aiding kids in language learning.• Creoles are the result of innovation fromimpoverished input– probably like regular L1 acquisition anyway• Innovations across creoles are very similar– Articles: 3-way distinction (spec.def., spec.indef.,nonspec.). Tense ±Anterior (stative, action distinction),Modality ±Irrealis (future, conditionals), Aspect±Nonpunctual (progressive, iterative, durative). TwoC’s (realized vs. hypothetical).Adult L2A• Measured against either monolingual nativespeakers or simultaneous bilinguals, adultslearning a second language seem to share veryfew of these properties—it seems like adults arenot built to learn languages.– Appears to be arduous– Incomplete success– Fossilization–…Modeling the humancapacity for language• UG provides the parameters and contains thegrammatical system that makes use of them.• LAD sets the parameters based on the PLD.Responsible for getting language to kids.LADPLDUGSubjacencyNPAHL2A• Perhaps the LAD operates in L1A but not in adultL2A, that the language input needs to find its wayinto the interlanguage some other way.LADintakeUGSubjacencyNPAHCritical period• Lenneberg (1967). Critical periods are rampant inthe natural world.– CP for developing binocular vision in macaquemonkeys, cats.– CP for imprinting in birds– Delay in cataract surgery can fail to yield sight.• And in language-related domains too…– Genie, kept from language input until 13;7– Young kids can recover from CNS damage in waysadults seem not able to.Critical period• If exists, best candidate for cause is braindevelopment.– Lateralization? Maybe, but probably finished too early.– Myelinization (limits plasticity)? Maybe, but probablyfinished too late. But maybe.• In the model of acquisition, what goes away?– LAD?– Plasticity in possible language knowledge (locked inplace)?3Critical period• Johnson and Newport. Found negative correlationbetween age of initial exposure to language andeventual performance. Tested subjects’ judgmentsconcerning violations of Subjacency (limits possiblewh-questions, putative universal principle). Rapiddrop-off of performance after initial age around 14.• White and Genesee, Birdsong cite small number of latelearners who do seem to reach a level where they areindistinguishable from native speakers.• So, it seems like there is at least a sensitive period, butcertain people (who work hard, care a lot?) canovercome the obstacle.Natural order• Roughly at least, L2’ers seem to acquire the L2along the same trajectory as one another.– Case and word order before is and are, later would,later have and -en.• There seems to be some kind of “natural order” ofacquisition.• How might we understand this in terms of that UGpicture from before? Any ideas?UG access and transfer• To what extent do second language learnersknow what “languages are like”? (Do theystill know what all the possibilities are?)• To what extent do second language learnersassume that the language they’re learning islike the language they already know?Markedness and what languagesare like• Typological universals reduce the number ofpossible languages.• Marked implies unmarked– having a dual implies having a plural– having purple implies having green– having wh-inversion implies having wh-fronting– having yes-no inversion implies having wh-inversion– being able to form relatives on OPREP implies beingable to form relatives on IOMarkedness and what languagesare like• Eckman, Moravcsik, Wirth (1989).– J/K/T→E. All wh-fronted; some had wh-inversion (wh-inv→wh-fronting). Some yn-inv, ~all had wh-inv.Some other (wh-inv). (yn-inv→wh-inv).• IL seems to obey typological universals—it’s alanguage in the relevant sense.• Markedness Differential Hypothesis (Eckman):Difficulty in learning area of L2 from L1 if theydiffer and L2 version is more marked.• Some evidence that teaching marked structures ishard, but gives you unmarked structures for free.Markedness and what languagesare like• Verb