Cover not available
Part of
Current Perspectives on Generative SLA - Processing, Influence, and Interfaces: Selected proceedings of the 16th Generative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition Conference
Edited by Marta Velnić, Anne Dahl and Kjersti Faldet Listhaug
[Language Acquisition and Language Disorders 70] 2024
► pp. 111–133

Chapter 5
Revisiting plurality in SLA

Evidence from comprehension and production

 | 1University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
 | 1University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
 | 1University of Washington
 | 1University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
 | 3National Chung Cheng University
This paper reports on the production and comprehension of English singular and plural NPs by L2-English learners whose L1, Mandarin Chinese, does not have obligatory plural marking. This study has the following objectives: (1) To systematically investigate both production and comprehension of plural marking with this population; (2) to examine whether learners can become target-like in their production and comprehension of English plural marking with increased proficiency; and (3) to examine whether learners’ performance depends on the available cues to plurality. The results paint a nuanced picture: while overall less accurate than native speakers, learners do show evidence of the English plural marker being integrated into their grammar, and also exhibit improvement with proficiency.
Keywords: plural marking, noun phrases, Mandarin Chinese, English
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Prior literature on plural marking in the L2-English of L1-Mandarin speakers
    • 2.1Plural marking in L2-English production
    • 2.2Sensitivity to missing plural marking in L2-English
    • 2.3Plural marking in L2 comprehension
    • 2.4Study motivation and research questions
  • 3.Methodology
    • 3.1Participants
    • 3.2Production task
    • 3.3Comprehension task
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Production task results
    • 4.2Comprehension task results
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion and suggestions for future research
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 17 October 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lald.70.05ion
References (35)
References
Bailey, N., Madden, C., & Krashen, S. (1974). Is there a “natural sequence” in adult second language learning? Language Learning, 24, 235–243. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Barr, D. J., Levy, R., Scheepers, C., & Tily, H. (2013). Random-effects structure for confirmatory hypothesis testing: Keep it maximal. Journal of Memory and Language, 68, 255–278. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cheng, L. L.-S., & Sybesma, R. (1999). Bare and not-so-bare nouns and the structure of NP. Linguistic Inquiry, 30, 509–542. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Choi, S. H., & Ionin, T. (2021). Plural marking in the second language: Atomicity, definiteness, and transfer. Applied Psycholinguistics, 42(3), 549–578. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dulay, H., & Burt, M. (1974). Natural sequences in child second language acquisition Language Learning, 24, 37–53. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Goad, H., & White, L. (2006). Ultimate attainment in interlanguage grammars: A prosodic approach. Second Language Research, 22, 243–267. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2008). Prosodic structure and the representation of L2 functional morphology: A nativist approach. Lingua, 118, 577–594. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Heim, I. (1991). Artikel und Definitheit (Articles and definiteness). In A. von Stechow & D. Wunderlich (Eds.), Semantics: An international handbook of contemporary research (pp. 487–535). Walter de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Iljic, R. (1994). Quantification in Mandarin Chinese: Two markers of plurality. Linguistics, 32, 91–116. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ionin, T. (2003). Article semantics in second language acquisition (Doctoral dissertation). MIT. Retrieved on 16 May 2024 from [URL]
Ionin, T., Atiles, A., Choi, S. H., Lee, C. E., & Wu, M.-J. (2023). Online vs. offline sensitivity to missing plural marking in L2 English. In P. Gappmayr & J. Kellogg (Eds.), Proceedings of the 47th annual Boston University Conference on Language Development (pp. 366–379). Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar
Ionin, T., Ko, H., & Wexler, K. (2004). Article semantics in L2 acquisition: The role of specificity. Language Acquisition, 12(1), 3–69. [URL]. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ionin, T., & Matushansky, O. (2018). Cardinals: The syntax and semantics of cardinal-containing expressions. The MIT Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ionin, T., & Montrul, S. (2010). The role of L1-transfer in the interpretation of articles with definite plurals in L2-English. Language Learning, 60(4), 877–925. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ionin, T., & Wexler, K. (2002). Why is ‘is’ easier than ‘−s’? Acquisition of tense/agreement morphology by child second language learners of English. Second Language Research, 18, 95–136. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jia, G. (2003). The acquisition of the English plural morpheme by native Mandarin Chinese-speaking children. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, 46, 1297–1311. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jiang, N. (2007). Selective integration of linguistic knowledge in adult second language learning. Language Learning, 51(1), 1–33. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jiang, N., Hu, G., Chrabaszcz, A., & Ye, L. (2017). The activation of grammaticalized meaning in L2 processing: Toward an explanation of the morphological congruency effect. International Journal of Bilingualism, 21(1), 81–98. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Johnson, J., & Newport, E. (1989). Critical period effects in second language learning: The influence of maturational state on the acquisition of English as a second language. Cognitive Psychology, 21, 60–99. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lardiere, D. (1998). Dissociating syntax from morphology in a divergent end-state grammar. Second Language Research, 14, 359–375. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(1999). Suppletive agreement in second language acquisition. In A. Greenhill, H. Littlefield, & C. Tano (Eds.), Proceedings of the 23rd annual Boston University Conference on Language Development (pp. 368–396). Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar
(2003). Second language knowledge of [+ /-past] vs. [+ /-finite]. In J. Liceras, H. Goodluck, & H. Zobl (Eds.), Proceedings of the 6th Generative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition Conference (GASLA 2002) (pp. 176–189). Cascadilla Proceedings Project.Google Scholar
(2007). Ultimate attainment in second language acquisition: A case study. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
(2009). Some thoughts on the contrastive analysis of features in second language acquisition. Second Language Research, 25(2), 173–227. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lenth, R. (2020). emmeans: Estimated marginal means, aka least-squares means, aka least-squares means. R Package (version 1.4.4). [URL]
Li, Y.-H. A. (1999). Plurality in a classifier language. Journal of East Asian Linguistics, 8, 75–99. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Powell, M. (2009). The BOBYQA algorithm for bound constrained optimization without derivatives. Technical Report, Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.
R_Core_Team. (2022). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing [URL]
Rusk, B., Paradis, J., & Järvikivi, J. (2020). Comprehension of English plural-singular marking by Mandarin-L1, early L2-immersion learners. Applied Psycholinguistics, 41, 547–577. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Slabakova, R. (2008). Meaning in the second language. Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Song, Y. (2015). L2 Processing of plural inflection in English. Language Learning, 65(2), 233–267. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wen, Z., Miyao, M., Takeda, A., Chu, W., & Schwartz, B. (2010). Proficiency effects and distance effects in nonnative processing of English number agreement. In K. Franich, K. M. Iserman, & L. L. Keil (Eds.), Proceedings of the 34th annual Boston University Conference on Language Development (pp. 445–456). Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar
White, L. (2003). Fossilization in steady-state L2 grammars: Persistent problems with inflectional morphology. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 6, 129–141. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Zehr, J., & Schwarz, F. (2018). PennController for Internet Based Experiments (IBEX). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Zobl, H., & Liceras, J. (1994). Functional categories and acquisition orders. Language Learning, 44, 159–180. DOI logoGoogle Scholar