Parameter Setting in Language Acquisition

225 Pages·2005·11.6 MB·English

by  Dalila Ayoun

Paremeter Setting in Language Acquistion
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Parameter Setting in Language Acquisition
DALILA AYOUN
continuum
Continuum
The Tower Building, 11 York Road, London, SE1 7NX
15 East 26th Street, New York, NY 10010
First published 2003
Reprinted 2005
© Dalila Ayoun 2003
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 0-8264-7607-4 (hardback),
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ayoun, Dalila, 1963–
Parameter setting in language acquisition/Dalila Ayoun.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 0-8264-7607-4(hb)
1. Language acquisition. 2. Principles and parameters (Linguistics) I. Title.
P118 .A95 2003
418-dc21
2002067749
Typeset by YHT Ltd, London
Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Digital Solutions, Bodmin, Cornwall
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
1 Introduction 1
2 Background 5
2.1 Introduction 5
2.2 A historical perspective 5
2.3 From micro-parameters to macro-parameters 8
2.3.1 Introduction 8
2.3.2 Micro-parameters 9
2.3.3 Macro-parameters 10
2.4 Parameters and language change 12
2.5 Parameters and pidgin/creole languages 14
2.6 Computational perspective 16
2.7 Neurolinguistic perspective 18
2.8 Challenges to parameter-setting theory 20
2.8.1 Universal Grammar and cognition 21
2.8.2 The Critical Period Hypothesis 22
2.8.3 Non-parametric accounts 26
2.9 Concluding remarks 26
Notes 27
3 Parameter-(re)setting theory 29
3.1 Introduction 29
3.1.1 The Maturation Hypothesis 30
3.1.2 The Continuity Hypothesis 34
3.1.3 Reconciling the Maturation Hypothesis and the
Continuity Hypothesis 37
3.1.4 Relevance to parameter setting 39
3.2 Is there a triggering problem? 41
3.3 What is a trigger? 43
3.3.1 Unanswered questions 43
3.3.2 Degrees of learnability and exposure 44
3.3.3 Hints from Creole languages and language change 45
3.3.4 Triggers as cues 46
vi CONTENTS
3.3.5 Triggers as structures 48
3.4 Setting parameters in first language acquisition 50
3.4.1 Positive evidence versus negative evidence 50
3.4.2 The Subset Principle 53
3.4.3 Initial setting 55
3.4.4 How early are parameters set? 59
3.4.5 Parameter ordering 61
3.5 (Re)setting parameters in adult second language acquisition 62
3.6 A non-parametric approach to adult second language acquisition 66
3.7 Concluding remarks 68
Notes 69
4 Parameters of Universal Grammar 71
4.1 Introduction 71
4.2 Defining a parameter 71
4.3 Phonological parameters 73
4.4 Lexical parameters 76
4.4.1 Webelhuth (1992) 76
4.4.2 Juffs (1993) 77
4.5 Morphological parameters 78
4.6 Syntactic parameters 78
4.7 Null subject parameter 80
4.7.1 Optional subject pronouns 85
4.7.2 Nominal subject inversion 85
4.7.3 Expletives 85
4.7.4 That-trace effect 86
4.7.5 French as a null subject language 86
4.8 Verb movement parameter 87
4.8.1 Negation placement 88
4.8.2 Adverb placement 89
4.8.3 Floating quantifiers 90
4.8.4 Inverted questions 90
4.8.5 Theoretical issues 91
4.8.6 What triggers verb movement? 92
4.9 Learnability implications 94
4.10 Concluding remarks 95
Notes 96
5 Experimental studies in first and second language acquisition 99
5.1 Introduction 99
5.1.1 Language data and syntactic theory 100
5.1.2 Methodological concerns 101
5.2 Null subject parameter 104
5.2.1 First language acquisition studies 104
5.2.2 Second language acquisition studies 104
5.3 Verb movement parameter 107
5.3.1 First language acquisition studies 107
CONTENTS vii
5.3.2 Second language acquisition studies 109
5.3.3 Studies related to verb movement 117
5.4 Concluding remarks 119
Notes 120
6 Revisiting traditional assumptions 123
6.1 Introduction 123
6.2 Binarity and parameters 124
6.2.1 Examples of binary parameters 125
6.2.2 Examples of multi-valued parameters 128
6.3 "Mixed language" phenomenon 130
6.3.1 Phonological parameters 130
6.3.2 Verb movement phenomena 131
6.3.3 Binding theory 136
6.3.4 Null subject phenomena 137
6.3.5 Summary 143
6.4 Learnability considerations in first language acquisition 143
6.4.1 Theoretical considerations 143
6.4.2 Empirical evidence 145
6.5 Learnability considerations in second language acquisition 148
6.5.1 Theoretical considerations 148
6.5.2 Empirical evidence 151
6.6 Concluding remarks 153
Notes 157
7 Conclusion 159
Note 162
Appendix Languages exhibiting null subjects/arguments 163
Bibliography 165
Subject index 205
Name index 208
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Acknowledgments
The completion of any book undoubtedly owes much to many people over
several years and I am delighted to have this opportunity to acknowledge and
thank them.
After David Birdsong sparked my initial interest in second language
acquisition and taught me the importance of rigorous research methodology
as one of his graduate students in Florida, I was fortunate enough to meet and
interact with a plethora of professors and visiting scholars in Hawai'i and
Arizona. I have the utmost respect for all of them.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to four col-
leagues and friends in particular: Robert Bley-Vroman, Kazue Kanno, Gabi
Kasper, and last by alphabetical order but not importance, William O'Grady.
All four have been a tremendously positive influence in my personal and
professional life as colleagues, mentors, and friends. I greatly benefitted from
their wisdom and experience, which they shared with patience, under-
standing, and humor. I enjoyed countless fruitful and insightful discussions on
earlier drafts of this book, and many other projects, with each one of them.
Their constant support and encouragement along with their honesty truly
symbolize the aloha spirit.
In addition to anonymous reviewers, I would like to thank the following
colleagues who took the time to read and provide insightful comments and
suggestions, each from a unique perspective: Robert Bley-Vroman, Andrew
Carnie, Kevin Gregg, Mike Hammond, Kazue Kanno, Gabi Kasper, Jürgen
Meisel, Mario Montalbetti, William O'Grady, Antxon Olarrea. Their support
and encouragement was greatly appreciated. The manuscript was also read
and commented on by the graduate students in an advanced syntax class
taught by Andrew Carnie, as well as by Corey Cagne and Jeremy Hildebrand.
I am equally grateful to Chris Johnson and Adam Dudsic for their technical
assistance on the computer-based elicitation tasks; to Pat Jones for her con-
stant support and willingness to share her tremendous knowledge of statistical
analyses; to John Ulreich and George Gutsche for reading and commenting
not only on this manuscript but also on numerous others in an effort to
improve my non-native English. Special thanks go to George for putting on
many different hats: as a colleague, a mentor, and a friend, and always with a
wonderful generosity, honesty, and sense of humor.