The Interaction between Lexical-Semantics and Morphosyntax: A Study on the Development of Verbal Forms in L1 and L2 Spanish

It is well known that L2 learners differ from L1 learners in the acquisition of the target language. One of the areas of the grammar in which L2 learners exhibit variability is in the production of verbal morphology, in particular, tense and agreement markings are often found to be optional in L2 data. The contrast in attainment between L1 and L2 has led some researchers to propose that the variability found in L2 grammar is the result of some form of impairment in the functional category domain (Hawkins and Chan, 1997; Eubank, 1993; Meisel, 1997; among others). Others have argued that the interlanguage grammar of L2 learners contains abstract functional categories and features, as shown by the manifestation of syntactic operations, such as verb-raising, case-assignment, presence/absence of null subjects that the L2 learners demonstrate (Grondin and White, 1996; Lardier 1998; Prevost and White, 2000; among others). More recently, research in L2 has shown that aspects of grammar that require the integration of two linguistic systems, such as syntax and semantics, and syntax and discourse, are more difficult to acquire than properties of the grammar that are within one linguistic system (Sorace 2004, 2005; Tsimpli & Sorace 2006; among others). The present study continues this line of research by investigating L1 and L2 knowledge of the interaction between lexical-semantics and morphosyntax of Spanish verbal forms using the same methods in both groups of learners. In particular, the study examines the production and comprehension of (telic + preterite), (telic+ imperfect), (atelic + preterite), and (atelic+imperfect). The main research question the study addresses is, to what extent is the development of verbal forms (similar) or different in L2 from L1 when identical methodology is used in both groups? The study shows that linguistic deficiencies found in the comprehension of certain verbal forms in L2 might not be the result of feature values not selected in early childhood since both, child L1 and adults L2 show similar linguistic delay patterns. Instead, it appears that lack of knowledge of how properties interact at the interface between lexical semantics and morphosyntax might be the cause of the comprehension delay. The broader aim of the study is to contribute to theoretical accounts on the interface between lexical-semantics and morphosyntax from an acquisition perspective that includes L1 and L2. The study also suggests the need to compare developmental patterns between L1 and L2 by using the same methodology with both types of learners. This article is divided as follows. Section 2 presents background on Spanish lexical and grammatical aspect. Section 3 introduces a brief summary on previous studies on the production and comprehension of verbal morphology in L1 and L2. The predictions for the current study are introduced in section 4. The study is presented in section 5. Section 6 presents the results, and section 7 discusses the data and concludes the study.