B02

Negative Concord in adult L2 acquisition

Project Overview

The syntactic status of negative concord (NC) is still debated: some accounts tie NC to a high structural position of negation; others link it to the internal syntax of Negative Concord Items (NCIs). A key open issue is whether NCIs in NC systems behave like negative quantifiers (e.g., German niemand) or like Negative Polarity Items (NPIs, e.g., English anybody). This project addresses this issue in a multilingual perspective by studying how NC in Italian is acquired as a second language.

Research Questions & Theoretical Framework

We investigate how cross-linguistic influence from different L1s affects NC acquisition in L2 Italian, focusing on L1 English (a non-NC system with NPIs and negative quantifiers), and L1 German (a non-NC system with negative quantifiers). We expect structural differences between Italian and these L1s to shape both the learning paths and the outcomes of L2 acquisition. In particular, learning paths are observed and examined in consideration of (1) the order of acquisition of Italian high negation and NCIs and (2) the role of featural arrays (e.g., presence/absence of lexical restrictions) in the emergence of NCIs.

Methodologies & Data

Data collection comprises a variety of methodologies testing both productive and receptive skills, including e.g. self-paced reading and picture descriptions tasks. Data from speakers’ L1s and L2 will inform together the structural analysis of NCIs and their syntactic derivation.