Topic-drop vs. pro-drop: Null subjects in Chinese native speakers’ L3 Italian
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Abstract
The present study investigates the acquisition of null subjects by Mandarin Chinese native speakers (hereinafter Chinese NSs), with different levels of L2 English proficiency, at initial stages of L3 Italian acquisition. The aim is to find out if, when acquiring Italian null subjects, Chinese NSs resort to their L1, considering the (at least apparent) similarity shared by the two languages with respect to the availability of some form of null arguments. The study also explores whether, given the typological similarity between L2 English and L3 Italian, the former could represent a viable, although misleading, source of transfer. Four groups of Chinese NSs all at the same stage of L3 acquisition but differing with respect to their L2 English proficiency level, were tested. The results of an acceptability judgment task showed that the group with the lowest L2 proficiency, in two conditions (i.e., declarative and wh-question), was the most accurate in rejecting overt subjects, whereas in the third condition (i.e., expletive), they did not perform as accurately. However, the overall high acceptance of null subjects prevents us from concluding that L2 English acted as the sole source of transfer for learners with a high(er) proficiency: L1 transfer and classroom/textbook input might have contributed to shaping the acquisition of the L3.
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