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Variability in the learning of complex morphophonology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 December 2012

MARC ETTLINGER ,
ANN R. BRADLOW  and
PATRICK C. M. WONG
MARC ETTLINGER
Affiliation:
Northwestern University and Department of Veterans Affairs
ANN R. BRADLOW
Affiliation:
Northwestern University
PATRICK C. M. WONG*
Affiliation:
Chinese University of Hong Kong and Northwestern University
*
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Patrick Wong, Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

This paper explores how theories on the relationship between language and domain-general cognitive capabilities might account for individual variation in second language learning. We investigated the acquisition of a morphophonological grammar paired with standardized tests of memory function. The language learned had simple and complex morphophonological patterns of word formation, which are hypothesized to correlate with standardized measures of procedural and declarative memory, respectively. The results show a significant amount of variation in learning success is accounted for by these measures of memory in accordance with the hypothesis. These findings help explain why some adults are able to learn a second language more easily than others while also advancing a model of second language learning motivated by linguistic theory.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 35 , Issue 4 , July 2014 , pp. 807 - 831
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

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