The interface hypothesis in adult
second language acquisition
Second-language acquisition (SLA), sometimes called second-language learning — otherwise referred to as L2 (language 2) acquisition, is the process by which people learn a second language. Second-language acquisition is also the scientific dis ...
is an attempt to explain non-target-like linguistic behavior that persists even among highly advanced speakers. The hypothesis was first put forward by
Antonella Sorace
Antonella Sorace,FBA, FRSE, FRSA , Professor of Developmental Linguistics, University of Edinburgh, since 2002; Founding Director, Bilingualism Matters, since 2008 , url=http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U294916 , website=Who's ...
.
The hypothesis posits that for adult second language learners, acquiring grammatical properties within a given linguistic area, such as
phonology
Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...
,
syntax
In linguistics, syntax () is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure ( constituency) ...
, or
semantics
Semantics (from grc, σημαντικός ''sēmantikós'', "significant") is the study of reference, meaning, or truth. The term can be used to refer to subfields of several distinct disciplines, including philosophy
Philosophy (f ...
, should not be problematic. Interfacing between those modules, such as communicating between the syntax and semantic systems, should likewise be feasible. However, grammatical operations where the speaker is required to interface between an internal component of the grammar, and an external component, such as
pragmatics
In linguistics and related fields, pragmatics is the study of how context contributes to meaning. The field of study evaluates how human language is utilized in social interactions, as well as the relationship between the interpreter and the int ...
or
discourse information, will prove to be very difficult, and will not be acquired completely by the second language learner, even at very advanced levels.
Examples of phenomena argued to be influenced by the interface hypothesis include use of overt vs.
null subjects
In linguistic typology, a null-subject language is a language whose grammar permits an independent clause to lack an explicit subject; such a clause is then said to have a null subject.
In the principles and parameters framework, the null su ...
, as well as use of subject placement before or after the verb to mark
focus vs. using
prosody, in languages like
Italian by native
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
speakers.
Further reading
* Sorace, A. (2011). Pinning down the concept of “interface” in bilingualism. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 1(1), 1-33
* Sorace, A. and Filiaci, F. (2006). Anaphora resolution in near-native speakers of Italian. Second Language Research: 339-368.
* Tsimpli, I.M. and Sorace, A. (2006). Differentiating Interfaces: L2 performance in syntax-semantics and syntax-discourse phenomena. ''BUCLD Proceedings 30:'' 653-664.
* Sorace, A. (2003). Near-Nativeness. In M. Long and C. Doughty (eds.), ''Handbook of Second Language Acquisition'', 130-152. Oxford: Blackwell.
References
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Second-language acquisition
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