THE “PRO‐DROP” PARAMETER IN ADULT SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

TLDR

Learners may transfer L1 parameters to L2, leading to transfer errors. The study proposes that adults learning a second language struggle when their L1 activates a Universal Grammar parameter absent in the L2. The authors tested Spanish native speakers learning English by having them judge English sentences that exhibit pro‑drop features, comparing their responses to French controls. Spanish learners accepted many pro‑drop‑style English sentences as grammatical, unlike French controls, and their accuracy improved with higher proficiency.

Abstract

In this paper, it is proposed that adults learning second languages have particular problems when their mother tongue has activated a parameter of Universal Grammar which is not operative in the second language. It is suggested that the learner will carry the parameter over from L1 to L2, causing transfer errors. This proposal was tested on adult native speakers of Spanish learning English as a second language. Spanish, unlike English, is a “pro‐drop” language, having the following properties, all thought to be related by the “pro‐drop” parameter: (1) missing subjects, (2) free subject‐verb inversion, (3) that trace effects. Subjects were asked to make grammaticality judgments on a number of English sentences, including some with “pro‐drop” characteristics, which would have been grammatical in Spanish but were ungrammatical in English. It was found that Spanish speakers did accept many such sentences as grammatical, as compared to French‐speaking controls, who did not, and that Spanish speakers showed improvement with increasing levels of proficiency.