ERIC Number: EJ1420815
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Apr
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0267-6583
EISSN: EISSN-1477-0326
Interaction between Syntactic and Information Structure in the Second Language Processing of Korean Dative Sentences
Second Language Research, v40 n2 p197-219 2024
It remains an open question whether second language (L2) learners can process linguistic properties at the syntax-discourse interface. This study examines this issue in the context of the L2 processing of Korean dative sentences under different information structure requirements. Given that discourse constraints associated with information structure tend to manifest more strongly in noncanonical than in canonical structures, we tested whether L2 learners of Korean show sensitivity to such constraints during online processing. In a story-continuation task, both native and nonnative speaker groups showed a strong preference for producing canonical dative patterns, indicating their comparable knowledge of the canonical status of Korean dative sentences. In a self-paced reading task, both groups spent longer reading times when the word order of dative sentences did not follow given-new information structure, but only for the noncanonical and not the canonical structure. These results suggest that L2 processing of dative structures at the syntax-discourse interface relies on the same parsing architecture that guides native-speaker processing.
Descriptors: Korean, Second Language Learning, Syntax, Sentence Structure, Sentences, Native Speakers, Word Order, Reading, Language Processing, Adults, College Students, Foreign Countries, Language Skills, Story Telling
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Korea
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A