ERIC Number: EJ1235723
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Dec
Pages: 28
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0272-2631
EISSN: N/A
Anaphora Resolution in L2 English: An Analysis of Discourse Complexity and Cross-Linguistic Interference
Contemori, Carla; Asiri, Ohood; Perea Irigoyen, Elva Deida
Studies in Second Language Acquisition, v41 n5 p971-998 Dec 2019
We test the interpretation of pronominal forms in L2 speakers of English whose L1 is Spanish. Previous research on learners of nonnull subject languages has shown conflicting results. The aim of the present study is to reconcile previous evidence and shed light on the factors that determine learners' difficulty to interpret pronominal forms in the L2. In six comprehension experiments, we found that intermediate L2 speakers did not show increased difficulty compared to native speakers in integrating multiple sources of information (syntactic, discourse, pragmatic) to resolve ambiguous pronouns in intrasentential anaphora and cataphora conditions. However, we also found that when two referents with equal prominence are introduced using a conjoined noun phrase in the preceding context, the learner's performance is significantly different than the performance of the native speakers, both in intrasentential and intersentential anaphora. We suggest that L2 speakers may encounter difficulties evaluating the salience of the antecedents during pronoun resolution.
Descriptors: Second Language Learning, Form Classes (Languages), Difficulty Level, Native Speakers, Language Processing, English (Second Language), Native Language, Spanish, Comparative Analysis, Syntax, Pragmatics, Ambiguity (Semantics), Nouns, Phrase Structure, Language Research, Grammar, Interference (Language), Discourse Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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