Acquiring Unaccusative Verbs in a Second Language: An L1-Mandarin L2-English Learner Investigation

Abstract

This study investigates English unaccusative verbs, definiteness, and word order in native Mandarin speakers whose second language is English. The goal of the paper is to see how L1 Mandarin influences speakers’ learning of the unaccusative structure in English. I propose two hypotheses. Hypothesis (a) proposes that participants judge raised internal arguments as more acceptable than in-situ internal arguments because both indefinite and definite internal arguments are always allowed to move to a subject position (i.e., raise) in Mandarin. Hypothesis (b) proposes that unaccusative constructions where a definite internal argument remains in situ are less acceptable than those where an indefinite one remains in situ because, in Mandarin, only an indefinite internal argument is allowed to remain in situ. The findings support hypothesis (a) but not (b).