The Emergence of Agreement in Arabic as an L2: A Feature-Based Approach
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1601.26Keywords:
acquisition, agreement, Arabic, emergence, processability theoryAbstract
This study presents cross-sectional data on phrasal and inter-phrasal agreement in second language (L2) learners of Arabic. Fifteen learners at different proficiency levels participated. The study examined the order of emergence of phrasal agreement (represented by noun-adjective agreement) and inter-phrasal agreement (represented by subject-verb agreement). It also looked into whether complex form-function relations delayed the emergence of plural masculine and feminine forms compared to other forms with one-to-one form-function relations. The results showed that phrasal agreement emerged far ahead of inter-phrasal agreement, and complexity in form-function relation led to a delay in the emergence of the plural masculine and feminine forms in phrasal agreement. When learners could not supply target language forms of adjectives and verbs, the default form was employed.
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