Integrating Second Language Empirical Evidence in Theory Construction: Unaccusativity as a Dichotomy versus a Continuum
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The goal of this study is to investigate the value of second language empirical evidence with respect to the understanding of theoretical linguistic constructs. For this, I revisit unaccusativity (i.e., the presence of two types of intransitive verbs in mental representations) with respect to two competing theories of unaccusativity (i.e., dichotomy versus continuum). The first (L1) / the second (L2) knowledge of derivational morphology (particularly, word formation), a rarely tested empirical domain, is examined for empirical falsification of the two theories. 104 participants from three populations (two L2 English groups with different levels of English proficiency and an L1 English group) evaluated the acceptability of decontextualized words containing the –er suffix in English. Correlational analyses revealed that, in the –er suffixation, both L1 and L2 evidence supports the idea of characterizing unaccusativity as a continuum, not as a dichotomy. L2 empirical evidence is valuable not only for language development but also for theory construction.
Abstract
The goal of this study is to investigate the value of second language empirical evidence with respect to the understanding of theoretical linguistic constructs. For this, I revisit unaccusativity (i.e., the presence of two types of intransitive verbs in mental representations) with respect to two competing theories of unaccusativity (i.e., dichotomy versus continuum). The first (L1) / the second (L2) knowledge of derivational morphology (particularly, word formation), a rarely tested empirical domain, is examined for empirical falsification of the two theories. 104 participants from three populations (two L2 English groups with different levels of English proficiency and an L1 English group) evaluated the acceptability of decontextualized words containing the –er suffix in English. Correlational analyses revealed that, in the –er suffixation, both L1 and L2 evidence supports the idea of characterizing unaccusativity as a continuum, not as a dichotomy. L2 empirical evidence is valuable not only for language development but also for theory construction.
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