English and Spanish speakers’ interpretations of L2 Chinese applicative double object constructions

Abstract

Abstract This article reports an empirical study investigating whether English and Spanish speakers can reconstruct thematic structures in their second language (L2) grammars of Chinese Double Object Constructions. Data collected from an acceptability judgement task and an animation matching task suggest that learners are able to reconstruct L2 grammars to accommodate new target properties. However, it is also found that learners have difficulty removing thematic relations transferred from their first language (L1), implying that adult L2 grammars might permanently deviate from grammars of native speakers. The difficulty is accounted for on the basis of Yuan's (2014) Dormant-Feature Hypothesis, which assumes Full Transfer and that if the input provides no evidence confirming or disconfirming the transferred property, the property will lose its vigour and become dormant. This dormant status leads to random behaviours in L2 judgements and interpretations. This is confirmed in this study, in which English speakers are found to transfer one interpretation of indirect objects from their L1 and Spanish speakers are found to transfer two interpretations from their L1 that are not instantiated in the target language Chinese. Due to the misleading evidence in the Chinese input that shares surface similarity with the transferred property, English speakers are hindered from restructuring their L2 grammars, and the transferred interpretation remains active. On the other hand, the absence of informative evidence in the Chinese input leaves the two transferred interpretations to a dormant status in Spanish speakers’ L2 Chinese grammars.