The Functions of the Nontarget "Be" in the Written Interlanguage of Chinese Learners of English

Autor/in	Yang, Suying
Titel	The Functions of the Nontarget "Be" in the Written Interlanguage of Chinese Learners of English
Quelle	In: Language Acquisition: A Journal of Developmental Linguistics, 21 (2014) 3, S.279-303 (25 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1048-9223
DOI	10.1080/10489223.2014.892942
Schlagwörter	Written Language; Interlanguage; Semantics; Syntax; Chinese; Native Language; Second Language Learning; English (Second Language); Verbs; Language Proficiency; Morphemes; Learning Problems; Morphology (Languages); Foreign Countries; Asians; Elementary School Students; Secondary School Students; Grammar; Coding; Statistical Analysis; Sentences; Task Analysis; Hong Kong + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Geschriebene Sprache; Zielsprache; Semantik; China; Chinesen; Zweitsprachenerwerb; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Language skill; Language skills; Sprachkompetenz; Morphem; Lernproblem; Morphology; Morphologie; Ausland; Asian; Asiat; Asiatin; Asiaten; Asiate; Sekundarschüler; Grammatik; Codierung; Programmierung; Statistische Analyse; Sentence analysis; Satzanalyse; Aufgabenanalyse; Hongkong
Abstract	Through examining all instances of the nontarget "be" before verbs in the written interlanguage of Chinese learners at different proficiency levels, the present study reveals that nontarget "be" performs different functions, and there is a function shift from low to high proficiency levels. At the lowest levels, "be" is used more as a general filler for different functional categories in INFL (inflection). As the proficiency level increases, "be" becomes more specialized in marking tense/voice. Finally at the highest level, "be" only performs the function of marking passive voice of unaccusative verbs. It is argued that the different functions of nontarget "be" derive from different sources: deficient knowledge of surface verbal morphology and learnability problems posed by the marked argument alignment of unaccusative verbs. It is further argued that the function shift is strong proof that wrong instantiation of functional categories will disappear when knowledge of verbal morphology increases, but the learnability problem posed by the unusual semantics-syntax mapping of unaccusative verbs will persist into advanced developmental stages. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10