Korean EFL Learners' Sensitivity to Scrambling Effect in Using English Wh-arguments and Wh-adjuncts

Abstract

This study will try to investigate how much Korean EFL learners recognize English wh-arguments and wh-adjuncts and how they use the two types of wh-words. To account for the two questions, this study will adopt the notions of scope bearing elements and scrambling effects. Although both wh-phrases play roles as interrogatives, it is considered that wh-adjuncts are distinct from the English wh-arguments with regard to the level of movement and the way for operation. To verify the discrepancy between both, this study will explore the use of English wh-arguments and wh-adjuncts by the Korean EFL learners through two types of grammaticality judgement tests. On the bases of the results, this study will show the followings; Korean EFL learners are insensitive to the scope bearing elements when they use wh-arguments and wh-adjuncts of English and even Korean, in particular, in using wh-adjuncts. Along with this finding, we suggest that their insensitivity to the scope bearing elements is resulted from the fact that their L1 adopts scrambling instead of considering subjacency effects or intervention effects, while constructing wh-questions. What is more significantly considered on the bases of these results is that the other EFL learners who have wh-in-situ languages might also be predicted to have the same results as in those of the Korean EFL learners.