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SUMMARY:Behaviours of wh-words in English speakers’ L2 Chinese wh-questi
 ons: variability at different L2 interfaces. - Dr Boping Yuan (Oriental St
 udies\, Cambridge)
DTSTART:20070130T160000Z
DTEND:20070130T173000Z
UID:TALK6322@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Teresa Parodi
DESCRIPTION:Behaviours of wh-words in English speakers’ L2 Chinese wh-qu
 estions: variability at different L2 interfaces.\n\nIn recent years\, many
  L2 studies have focused on the relationship between functional categories
  and their morphological/phonological realizations in L2 acquisition\, and
  the relationship between lexical morphology and syntax or between semanti
 cs and syntax has not received much attention. In this talk\, I will demon
 strate that we cannot take it for granted that grammatical aspects at inte
 rface levels can be acquired by L2 learners. I will argue that the lexical
  morphology-syntax interface and the semantics-syntax interface can be loc
 i of variability in L2 acquisition.\n\nChinese is generally treated as a 
 “pure” wh-in-situ language in L2 research\, and few people have done r
 esearch in how different wh-words behave in L2 acquisition of wh-questions
 . In my talk\, I will demonstrate that wh-nominals and wh-adverbs have dif
 ferent behaviours in Chinese and that movement and island effects do exist
  in Chinese wh-questions with wh-adverbs. I will report on an empirical st
 udy examining behaviours of different wh-words in English speakers’ L2 C
 hinese wh-questions.\n\nIt is assumed that C0 in wh-questions is essential
 ly ambiguous and unvalued with respect to specification of force and that 
 unvalued C0 must be valued. The valuation can be carried out by merging a 
 wh-particle into C0\, as in Chinese\, or by moving a wh-phrase to Spec CP\
 , as in English. 106 English speakers of Chinese and 20 native speakers of
  Chinese are involved in the study\, whose aims are to find out: (a) how C
 0 in wh-questions is valued in L2 Chinese grammars at the initial\, interm
 ediate and final stages\; (b) whether the valuation of C0 by the wh-partic
 le ne in L2 Chinese implies the wh-in-situ\; (c) whether wh-adverbs in L2 
 Chinese\, but not wh-nominals\, have an operator feature which has to move
  to Spec CP.\n\nResults of an acceptability judgment test indicate that C0
  of wh-questions in English speakers’ L2 Chinese grammars is valued by t
 he merging of the Chinese wh-particle ne into C0 and that there is no L1 t
 ransfer in this aspect of L2 grammars as no wh-movement is found in Englis
 h speakers’ L2 Chinese. However\, there is evidence that wh-words do not
  develop in a uniform fashion and that different wh-words behave different
 ly at different Chinese proficiency levels. While English speakers’ L2 C
 hinese grammars correctly accept Chinese wh-questions with _shei_ “who
 ” and _shenme_ “what” embedded in islands and reject those with _wei
 shenme_ “why”\, there is variable operator raising in _shenmeshihou_ 
 “when” and _nar_ “where” at beginner and intermediate levels. This
  variable raising disappears at post-intermediate and advanced levels. How
 ever\, the variable operator raising is persistent in _zenme(yang)_ “how
 ” and it is found even at the advanced level. I will provide an account 
 for the variability on the basis of problems at L2 lexical morphology-synt
 ax and semantics-syntax interfaces. 
LOCATION:GR-06/07\, English Faculty Building
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