On the L1 Attrition of the Spanish Present Tense

Abstract

This study examines the potential native language (L1) attrition of the ongoing value of the Spanish present tense among long-term Spanish immigrants. Based on the assumption of second-language (L2) transfer and proposals on the permeability of interface-conditioned structures, it is hypothesized that long-term Spanish immigrants will show difficulty with the interpretation and use of the ongoing value of the Spanish simple present due to transfer from divergent semantic values in English (L2). Results from an acceptability judgment task, a truth value judgment task, and an elicited production task show low levels of acceptance and use of present-tense forms with an ongoing meaning by the immigrant group, as well as significantly higher use of the progressive form. It is argued that transfer from English selectional properties has reduced the range of lexical selection of the Spanish present, leading to a convergence toward the most restrictive L2 configuration.

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