On the Transfer of Parametric Values in L2 Development

Lynn Eubank

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EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation Language Development and Disorders

Abstract

White (e.g., 1990/1991; 1992a) argued that grammatical representations in second-language development can be understood in terms of parametric values that are transferred from the learner's native language. Schwartz (1993a; 1993b) and Schwartz and Sprouse (1994) push this view of transfer to its logical limit: The initial state of L2 acquisition is determined in its entirety by the parametric values of the native language. This article presents early-stage learner data that are not compatible with this strong view of parametric transfer. An alternative proposal is made, a weak transfer view in which lexical and functional projections transfer, and the headedness of those projections transfers, but morphology-driven values of features like the strength of agreement do not transfer. This idea is checked against learner data and is also evaluated for the extent to which it follows in a principled fashion from linguistic theory.

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2013Verb Movement, Universal Grammar, and the Structure of IP, 1989 1985Understanding second language acquisition 2014An Introduction to Second Language Acquisition Research 2014A Minimalist Program for Linguistic Theory 1973A First Language 1989Universal Grammar and Second Language Acquisition 1984Parametric Syntax 1973SHOULD WE TEACH CHILDREN SYNTAX?

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