Using event-related potentials to track morphosyntactic development in second language learners: The processing of number and gender agreement in Spanish.

ABSTRACT: We used event-related potentials to investigate morphosyntactic development in 78 adult English-speaking learners of Spanish as a second language (L2) across the proficiency spectrum. We examined how development is modulated by the similarity between the native language (L1) and the L2, by comparing number (a feature present in English) and gender agreement (novel feature). We also investigated how development is impacted by structural distance, manipulating the distance between the agreeing elements by probing both within-phrase (fruta muy jugosa "fruit-FEM-SG very juicy-FEM-SG") and across-phrase agreement (fresa es ácida "strawberry-FEM-SG is tart-FEM-SG"). Regression analyses revealed that the learners' overall proficiency, as measured by a standardized test, predicted their accuracy w

SUBMITTER: Aleman Banon J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6063416 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature