Second Language Acquisition and Linguistic Theory (review)

The seven essays in this volume represent the application of contemporary linguistic theories to second language acquisition. Cynthia Brown’s ‘The interrelation between speech perception and phonological acquisition from infant to adult’ describes child (L1) and adult (L2) phonological development in an effort to understand the difficulty in acquiring a fully native L2 phonology. Using a model of feature geometry, and incorporating experimental data from Chinese, Korean, and Japanese speakers’ acquisition of English, Brown demonstrates that children rapidly acquire phonological structures that resist subsequent incorporation of nonnative contrasts. These early-acquired L1 restrictions persist and affect phonological perception during adult L2 acquisition, thereby limiting full acquisition of certain new phonological contrasts.

Martha Young-Scholten and John Archibald study ‘Second language syllable structure’ using a hierarchical model of syllable organization, sonority scales, and feature geometry. Early child phonological acquisition routinely produces CV syllables through truncation while adult L2 phonology may employ epenthesis and substitutions to achieve patterns compatible with the L1. At times the acquisition of certain segments and contrasts (e.g. /1/ vs /r/) must occur before new phonological patterns (e.g. onset clusters) can emerge.

‘Mapping features to forms in second language acquisition’ by Donna Lardiere takes a minimalist approach to the development of L2 syntax. Assuming the minimalist view that syntactic patterns derive from morpholexical feature specifications, L queries whether L2 learners must acquire enough of the target language’s morphology in order to project the relevant functional categories or whether they approach the task with a preexisting set of possibilities. Unlike L1 and early L2 acquisition, in which morphological endings may be omitted but are rarely used incorrectly when present, adult L2 language shows a much higher frequency of morphological mismatches. Lardiere argues that—at least in the L2 case—there is no direct correlation between the acquisition of specific morphological paradigms and the development of relevant syntactic patterns.

‘Second language acquisition: From initial to final state’ by Lydia White examines various notions about the roles of UG vs. the L1 in the acquisition of a second language. After reviewing several possible configurations, White questions the need to dwell on dichotomies, seeking instead to establish common ground among competing theories when dealing with data which are subject to multiple interpretations. Another survey of formal models applied to L2 acquisition is ‘When syntactic theories evolve: Consequences for L2 acquisition research’ by Bonnie Schwartz and Rex Sprouse. The authors review several proposals regarding the role of UG in constraining possible interlanguage grammars and the issue of poverty of the stimulus and end with a call to temper an ever-changing formal syntax with closer attention to actual interlanguage data.

Alan Juffs examines the semantic-syntactic interface in adult L2 acquisition in ‘An overview of the second language acquisition of links between verb semantics and morphosyntax’. Juffs reviews theories that map semantic patterns onto particular classes of verbs and the relationships that might exist between L2 acquisition and theories of universal grammar. There is a growing body of evidence that universal semantic notions shape the morphosyntax of verb classes during L2 acquisition. Juffs concludes that both L1 transfer and universal syntactic/semantic configurations come into play in forming emergent L2 grammars.

The final essay is Gary Libben’s ‘Representation and processing in the second language lexicon: The homogeneity hypothesis’. Libben offers evidence that there is a single lexicon for all monolingual and bilingual speakers, including adult L2 learners. When the bilingual lexicon is activated, all items linked by meaning or form are simultaneously available. The choice of languages is not a function of the lexicon (although lexical items are tagged for language) but rather lies outside of the lexical processing domain. Bilingual interactions, including code-switching, arise when the use of lexical items tagged for both languages lowers activation thresholds. In adult L2 speakers, cross-language equivalences are stronger than same-language synonyms since in the...