Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-f46jp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-08T19:37:45.222Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The development of shared syntax in second language learning*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 May 2015

ROBERT J. HARTSUIKER  and
SARAH BERNOLET
ROBERT J. HARTSUIKER*
Affiliation:
Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University
SARAH BERNOLET
Affiliation:
Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University
*
Address for correspondence: Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium[email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

According to Hartsuiker et al.'s (2004) shared-syntax account bilinguals share syntactic representations across languages whenever these representations are similar enough. But how does such a system develop in the course of second language (L2) learning? We will review recent work on cross-linguistic structural priming, which considered priming in early second language learners and late second language learners as a function of proficiency. We will then sketch our account of L2 syntactic acquisition. We assume an early phase in which the learner relies on transfer from L1 and imitation, followed by phases in which language- and item-specific syntactic representations are added and in which such representations become increasingly abstract. We argue that structural priming effects in L2 (and between L1 and L2) depend on the structure of this developing network but also on explicit memory processes. We speculate that these memory processes might aid the formation of new representations.

Keywords

second language learninglearning of syntaxstructural primingshared-syntax accountlanguage proficiencyexplicit memory
Type
Review Article
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 20 , Special Issue 2: Cross-linguistic Priming in Bilinguals: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Language Processing, Acquisition and Change , March 2017 , pp. 219 - 234
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

We thank Franklin Chang, Jan Hulstijn, and an anonymous reviewer for their constructive comments on previous versions of this manuscript.

References

Bencini, G. M. L., & Valian, V. V. (2008). Abstract sentence representations in 3-year-olds: Evidence from language production and comprehension. Journal of Memory and Language, 59, 97–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bernolet, S., Hartsuiker, R. J., & Pickering, M. J. (2007). Shared syntactic representations in bilinguals: Evidence for the role of word-order repetition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 33, 931–949.Google ScholarPubMed
Bernolet, S., Hartsuiker, R. J., & Pickering, M. J. (2009). Persistence of emphasis in language production: A cross-linguistic approach. Cognition, 112, 300–317.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bernolet, S., Hartsuiker, R. J., & Pickering, M. J. (2012). Effects of phonological feedback on the selection of syntax: Evidence from between-language syntactic priming. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 15, 503–516.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bernolet, S., Hartsuiker, R. J., & Pickering, M. J. (2013). From language-specific to shared syntactic representations: The influence of second language proficiency on syntactic sharing in bilinguals. Cognition, 127, 287–306.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bock, K. (1986). Syntactic persistence in language production. Cognitive Psychology, 18, 355–387.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bock, K. (1989). Closed-class immanence in sentence production. Cognition, 31, 163–186.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bock, K., Dell, G. S., Chang, F., & Onishi, K. H. (2007). Persistent structural priming from language comprehension to language production. Cognition, 104, 437–458.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bock, K., & Griffin, Z. M. (2000). The persistence of structural priming: Transient activation or implicit learning? Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 129, 177–192.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bock, K., & Loebell, H. (1990). Framing sentences. Cognition, 35, 1–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Branigan, H.P., Pickering, M.J., & McLean, J.F. (2005). Priming prepositional-phrase attachment during language comprehension. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 31, 468–481.Google Scholar
Cai, Z. G., Pickering, M. J., Yan, H., & Branigan, H. P. (2011). Lexical and syntactic representations in closely related languages: Evidence from Cantonese-Mandarin bilinguals. Journal of Memory and Language, 65, 431–445.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chang, F., Baumann, M., Pappert, S., & Fitz, H. (2014). Do lemmas speak German? A verb position effect in German structural priming. Cognitive Science, 39, 1–18.Google Scholar
Chang, F., Dell, G. S., & Bock, K. (2006). Becoming Syntactic. Psychological Review, 113, 234–272.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chang, F., Janciauskas, M., & Fitz, H.(2012). Language adaptation and learning: Getting explicit about implicit learning. Language and Linguistics Compass, 6, 259–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cleland, A. A., & Pickering, M. J. (2003). The use of lexical and syntactic information in language production: Evidence from the priming of noun-phrase structure. Journal of Memory and Language, 49, 214–230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Desmet, T., & Declercq, M. (2006). Cross-linguistic priming of syntactic hierarchical configuration information. Journal of Memory and Language, 54, 610–632.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferreira, V. S., Bock, K., Wilson, M. P., & Cohen, N. J. (2008). Memory for syntax despite amnesia. Psychological Science, 19, 940–946.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gámez, P. B., Shimpi, P. M., Waterfall, H. R., & Huttenlocher, J. (2009). Priming a perspective in Spanish monolingial children: The use of syntactic alternatives. Journal of Child Language, 36, 269–290.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gámez, P. B., & Vasilyeva, M. (2015). Increasing Second Language Learners’ Production and Comprehension of Developmentally Advanced Syntactic Forms. Language Learning and Development. Language Learning and Development, 11, 128–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gries, S. T. (2005). Syntactic priming: A corpus-based approach. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 34, 365–399.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hartsuiker, R. J., Bernolet, S., Schoonbaert, S., Speybroeck, S., & Vanderelst, D. (2008). Syntactic priming persists but the lexical boost decays: Evidence from written and spoken dialogue. Journal of Memory and Language, 58, 214–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartsuiker, R. J., & Kolk, H. H. J. (1998a). Syntactic facilitation in agrammatic sentence production. Brain and Language, 62, 221–254.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hartsuiker, R. J. & Kolk, H. H. J. (1998b). Syntactic persistence in Dutch. Language and Speech, 41, 143–184.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hartsuiker, R. J., & Pickering, M. J. (2008). Language integration in bilingual sentence production. Acta Psychologica, 128, 479–489.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hartsuiker, R. J., Pickering, M. J., & Veltkamp, E. (2004). Is syntax separate or shared between languages? Cross-linguistic syntactic priming in Spanish-English bilinguals. Psychological Science, 15, 409–414.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hartsuiker, R. J., & Westenberg, C. (2000). Word order priming in written and spoken sentence production. Cognition, 75, B27–B39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Huttenlocher, J., Vasilyeva, M., & Shimpi, P (2004). Syntactic priming in young children. Journal of Memory and Language, 50, 182–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kantola, L., & Van Gompel, R. G. P. (2011). Between- and within-language priming is the same: Evidence for shared bilingual syntactic representations. Memory & Cognition, 39, 276–290.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaschak, M. P. (2006). What this construction needs is generalized. Memory & Cognition, 34, 368–379.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kemp, N., Lieven, E., & Tomasello, M. (2005). Young children's knowledge of the “determiner” and “adjective” categories. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 48, 592–609.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kim, Y., & McDonough, K. (2008). Learners’ production of passives during syntactic priming activities. Applied Linguistics, 29, 149–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lemhöfer, K., & Broersma, M. (2012). Introducing LexTALE: A quick and valid Lexical Test for Advanced Learners of English. Behavior Research Methods, 44, 325–343.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Loebell, H. & Bock, K., (2003). Structural priming across languages. Linguistics, 41, 791–824.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacKay, D. G. (1990). Perception, action, and awareness: A three-body problem. In Neumann, O., & Prinz, W. (Eds.), Relationships between Perception and Action (pp. 269–303). Berlin: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDonough, K. (2006). Interaction and syntactic priming: English L2 speakers' production of dative constructions. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 28, 179–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDonough, K., & Kim, Y. (2009). Syntactic priming, type frequency, and EFL learners' production of Wh-questions. The Modern Language Journal, 93, 386–398.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meijer, P. J. A., & Fox Tree, J. E. (2003). Building syntactic structures in speaking: A bilingual exploration. Experimental Psychology, 50, 184–195.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Melinger, A., & Dobel, C. (2005). Lexically-driven syntactic priming. Cognition, 98, B11–B20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Messenger, K., Branigan, H. P., & McLean, J. (2011). Evidence for (shared) abstract structure underlying children's short and full passives. Cognition, 121, 268–274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Messenger, K., Branigan, H. P., McLean, J. F., & Sorace, A. (2012). Is young children's passive syntax semantically constrained? Evidence from syntactic priming. Journal of Memory and Language, 66, 568–587.Google Scholar
O’Grady, W., Kwak, H. Y., Lee, O. S., & Lee, M. (2011). An emergentist perspective on heritage language acquisition. Studies in second language acquisition, 33, 223–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pienemann, M. (1998). Language processing and second language development: Processability Theory. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pickering, M. J., & Branigan, H. P. (1998). The representation of verbs: Evidence from syntactic priming in language production. Journal of Memory and Language, 39, 633–651.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pickering, M. J., & Ferreira, V. S. (2008). Structural priming: A critical review. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 427–459.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Potter, M. C., & Lombardi, L. (1998). Syntactic priming in immediate recall of sentences. Journal of Memory and Language, 38, 265–282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roelofs, A. (1992). A spreading-activation theory of lemma retrieval in speaking. Cognition, 42, 107–142.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rowland, C. F., Chang, F., Ambridge, B., Pine, J. M., & Lieven, E. V. M. (2012). The development of abstract syntax: Evidence from structural priming and the lexical boost. Cognition, 125, 49–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Runnqvist, E., Gollan, T. H., Costa, A., & Ferreira, V. S. (2013). A disadvantage in bilingual sentence production modulated by syntactic frequency and similarity across languages. Cognition, 129, 256–263.Google Scholar
Salamoura, A., & Williams, J. N. (2006). Lexical activation of cross-language syntactic priming. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 9, 299–307.Google Scholar
Salamoura, A., & Williams, J. N. (2007). Processing verb argument structure across languages: Evidence for shared representations in the bilingual lexicon. Applied Psycholinguistics, 28, 627–660.Google Scholar
Savage, C., Lieven, E.V., Theakston, A.L., & Tomasello, M. (2003). Testing the abstractness of young children's linguistic representations: Lexical and structural priming of syntactic constructions? Developmental Science, 6, 557–567.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scheepers, C. (2003). Syntactic priming of relative clause attachments: Persistence of structural configuration in sentence production. Cognition, 89, 179–205.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Segaert, K., Kempen, G., Petersson, K. M., & Hagoort, P. (2013). Syntactic priming and the lexical boost effect during sentence production and sentence comprehension: An fMRI study. Brain and Language, 124, 174–183.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shimpi, P., Gámez, P., Huttenlocher, J., & Vasilyeva, M. (2007). Using syntactic priming to track emerging linguistic representations of transitive and dative constructions. Developmental Psychology, 43, 1334–1346.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shin, J. A., & Christianson, K. (2009). Structural Priming and Second Language Learning. Language Learning, 62, 931–964.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shin, J. A., & Christianson, K. (2012). Syntactic processing in Korean-English. Cognition, 112, 175–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schoonbaert, S., Hartsuiker, R. J., & Pickering, M. J. (2007). The representation of lexical and syntactic information in bilinguals: Evidence from syntactic priming. Journal of Memory and Language, 56, 153–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vasilyeva, M., Waterfall, H., Gámez, P. B., Gómez, L. E., Bowers, E., & Shimpi, P. (2010). Cross-linguistic syntactic priming in bilingual children. Journal of Child Language, 37, 1047–1064.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Whitehurst, G. J., Ironsmith, M., & Goldfein, M. (1974). Selective imitation of the passive construction through modeling. Journal Of Experimental Child Psychology, 17, 288–902.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitehurst, G. J., & Vasta, R. (1975). Is language acquired through imitation? Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 4, 37–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar