Cover not available

Article published In: Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism
Vol. 12:5 (2022) ► pp.687–713

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB
authorization required

Cross-linguistic influence in the second language processing of Korean morphological and syntactic causative constructions

 | Ewha Womans University
ORCiD logo with link | Yonsei University
Published online: 5 February 2021
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.20026.par
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of cross-linguistic influence in Japanese speakers’ integration of morphological and syntactic information during the processing of Korean transitive causative constructions. We examined whether Japanese speakers would process two types of Korean causative constructions as efficiently as native speakers: (a) when one target structure was instantiated differently from learners’ L1 correspondents and (b) when the other type was unique to the L2. Although the learners showed native-like performance during an acceptability judgment task, they had difficulties with the integration of morphological and syntactic information during a self-paced reading task when the target construction gave rise to cross-linguistic competitions with the L1 correspondent, but not when the target construction was unique to the L1. Our findings support the claim that cross-linguistic cue competitions are a major source of difficulties in L2 sentence processing.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Causative constructions in Korean and Japanese
  • 3.Theoretical approaches to effects of cross-linguistic competition in L2 processing
  • 4.Present study and predictions
  • 5.Methods
    • 5.1Participants
    • 5.2Materials and procedure
      • 5.2.1Acceptability judgment task
      • 5.2.2Self-paced reading task
  • 6.Results and discussion
    • 6.1Acceptability judgment task
    • 6.2Self-paced reading task
  • 7.General discussion and conclusion
  • Supplementary materials
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
References (56)
References
Altarriba, J., & Basnight-Brown, D. M. (2009). An overview of semantic processing in bilinguals: Methods and findings. In A. Pavlenko (Ed.), The bilingual mental lexicon: Interdisciplinary approaches (pp. 79–98). Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Baayen, R. H. (2008). Analyzing linguistic data. A practical introduction to statistics using R. Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Barr, D. J., Levy, R., Scheepers, C., & Tily, H. J. (2013). Random effects structure for confirmatory hypothesis testing: Keep it maximal. Journal of Memory and Language, 681, 255–278. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chen, L., Shu, H., Liu, Y., Zhao, J. & Li, P. (2007). ERP signatures of subject-verb agreement in L2 learning. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 101, 161–174. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Choe, J. (2014). Acquisition of the mapping between the causation type and the causative form in Korean. Korean Journal of Linguistics, 391, 641–653. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Christensen, R. H. B. (2015). A Tutorial on Fitting Cumulative Link Models with the Ordinal Package. Retrieved from [URL]
Christensen, R. H. B., & Brockhof, P. B. (2013). Analysis of sensory ratings data with cumulative link models. Journal de la Société Française de Statistique, 1541, 58–79.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Clahsen, H., & Felser, C. (2006). Continuity and shallow structures in language processing. Applied Psycholinguistics, 271, 107–126. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2018). Some notes on the shallow structure hypothesis. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 401, 693–706. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Comrie, B. (1989). Language universals and linguistic typology. University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cunnings, I. (2017). Parsing and working memory in bilingual sentence processing. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 201, 659–678. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dijkstra, T. (2005). Bilingual visual word recognition and lexical access. In J. F. Kroll & A. M. B. De Groot (Eds.), Handbook of bilingualism: Psycholinguistic approaches (pp. 179–201). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dijkstra, T., & Van Heuven, W. J. B. (2002). The architecture of the bilingual word recognition system: From identification to decision. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 51, 175–197. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Drummond, A. (2013). Ibex Farm. Retrieved from [URL]
Dussias, P. E., Kroff, J. R. V., Tamargo, R. E. G., & Gerfen, C. (2013). When gender and looking go hand in hand: Grammatical gender processing in L2 Spanish. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 351, 353–387. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dussias, P. E., & Piñar, P. (2010). Effects of reading span and plausibility in the reanalysis of wh-gaps by Chinese-English second language speakers. Second Language Research, 261, 443–472. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dussias, P. E., & Sagarra, N. (2007). The effect of exposure on syntactic parsing in Spanish–English bilinguals. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 101, 101–116. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ellis, R. (2002). Does form-focused instruction affect the acquisition of implicit knowledge? Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 241, 223–236. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ellis, N. C. (2006). Selective attention and transfer phenomena in L2 acquisition: Contingency, cue competition, salience, interference, overshadowing, blocking, and perceptual learning. Applied Linguistics, 271, 164–194. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ellis, N., & Sagarra, N. (2010). The bounds of adult language acquisition: Blocking and learned attention. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 321, 553–580. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ferreira, F. & Clifton, Jr, C. (1986). The independence of syntactic processing. Journal of Memory and Language, 251, 348–68. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Frenck-Mestre, C. (2002). An on-line look at sentence processing in the second language. In J. Altarriba & R. Herridia (Eds.), Bilingual sentence processing (pp. 218–236). Amsterdam: Elsevier. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gibson, E. (1998). Linguistic complexity: Locality of syntactic dependencies. Cognition, 681, 1–76. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Grüter, T., Lew-Williams, C., & Fernald, A. (2012). Grammatical gender in L2: A production or a real-time processing problem? Second Language Research, 281, 191–215. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Harada, S. I. (1973). Counter Equi NP deletion. Annual Bulletin, 71, 113–147.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1975). The functional uniqueness principle. Attempts in Linguistics and Literature, 21, 17–24.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jarvis, S. (2010). Comparison-based and detection-based approaches to transfer research. In L. Roberts, M. Howard, M. Ó. Laoire & D. Singleton (Eds.), EUROSLA Yearbook 101 (pp. 169–192). John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jeong, J. (2017). A Study on the L2 Korean Acquisition of Tense, Aspect, and Modality Pre-final Endings by L1 Chinese Learners. Ph.D. dissertation, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jiang, N. (2004). Morphological insensitivity in second language processing. Applied Psycholinguistics, 251, 603–634. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2007). Selective integration of linguistic knowledge in adult second language learning. Language Learning, 571, 1–33. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Just, M. A., Carpenter, P. A., & Woolley, J. D. (1982). Paradigms and processes and in reading comprehension. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 31, 228–238. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kaan, E., Ballantyne, J. C., & Wijnen, F. (2015). Effects of reading speed on second-language sentence processing. Applied Psycholinguistics, 361, 799–830. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, H., & Grüter, T. (2019). Cross-linguistic activation of implicit causality biases in Korean learners of English. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 221, 441–455. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kruschke, J. K., & Blair, N. J. (2000). Blocking and backward blocking involve learned inattention. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 71, 636–645. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lago, S., Mosca, M., & Stutter Garcia, A. (2020). The Role of Crosslinguistic Influence in Multilingual Processing: Lexicon Versus Syntax. Language Learning. Published online by Wiley Periodicals, May 22, 2020. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Le Pelley, M. E., Haselgrove, M., & Esber, G. R. (2012). Modeling attention in associative learning: Two processes or one? Learning & Behavior, 401, 292–304. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Luk, Z. P., & Shirai, Y. (2009). Is the acquisition order of grammatical morphemes impervious to L1 knowledge? Evidence from the acquisition of plural –s, articles and possessive ‘s. Language Learning, 591, 721–754. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Marinis, T., Roberts, L., Felser, C., & Clahsen, H. (2005). Gaps in second language sentence processing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 271, 53–78. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
MacWhinney, B. (1987). The Competition Model. In B. MacWhinney (Ed.), Mechanisms of language acquisition (pp. 249–308). Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2008). A unified model. In P. Robinson & N. C. Ellis (Eds.), Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition (pp. 341–371). Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2013). The logic of the unified model. In S. M. Gass & A. Mackey (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition (pp. 211–227). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Paul, J. Z., & Grüter, T. (2016). Blocking effects in the learning of Chinese classifiers. Language Learning, 661, 972–999. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pritchett, B. L. (1991). Head position and parsing ambiguity. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 201, 251–270. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
R Core Team. (2018). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. URL [URL]
Sanoudaki, E., & Thierry, G. (2015). Language non-selective syntactic activation in early bilinguals: the role of verbal fluency. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 181, 548–560. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Seo, M. (2018). A study on the syntax of Korean double object. Emwunyenkwu, 981, 5–26.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shibatani, M. (1990). The Languages of Japan. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shibatani, M., & Pardeshi, P. (2002). The causative continuum. Typological studies in language, 481, 85–126. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sohn, H. M. (2001). The Korean Language. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tokowicz, N., & MacWhinney. (2005). Implicit and explicit measures of sensitivity to violations in second language grammar. An event-related potential investigation. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 271, 173–204. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tolentino, L. C., & Tokowicz, N. (2011). Across languages, space and time: A review of the role of cross-language similarity in L2 (morpho)syntactic processing as revealed by fMRI and ERP methods. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 331, 91–125. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Trenkic, D., Mirkovic, J., & Altmann, G. T. (2014). Real-time grammar processing by native and non-native speakers: Constructions unique to the second language. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 171, 237–257. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
van Hell, J. G., & Tokowicz, N. (2010). Event-related brain potentials and second language learning: Syntactic processing in late L2 learners at different L2 proficiency levels. Second Language Research, 261, 43–74. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wolff, P., & Song, G. (2003). Models of causation and the semantics of causal verbs. Cognitive Psychology, 471, 276–332. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (11)

Cited by 11 other publications

Domazetoska, Ivana & Helen Zhao
2025. Distributional Cues in Construction Acquisition: A Comparative Study of Native and Nonnative English Speakers Using the As‐Predicative Construction. Language Learning DOI logo
Jung, Boo Kyung, Gyu-Ho Shin & Chanyoung Lee
2025. Interactive roles of L1 properties and L2 textbook input for constructing L2 knowledge. ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics DOI logo
Kim, Hyunwoo & Sun Hee Park
2025. Second language acquisition of morphosyntactic and discourse functions of case markers in Korean. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism 15:5 ► pp. 662 ff. DOI logo
McManus, Kevin, Kelly Bayas, Katherine Kerschen, Yulia Khoruzhaya, Jingyuan Zhuang & Alex Magnuson
2025. Revisiting Blocking Effects in Second Language Learning: A Close Replication of Ellis and Sagarra (2010b). Language Learning DOI logo
Park, Sun Hee & Hyunwoo Kim
2025. Interface challenges in online processing: the role of crosslinguistic influence in L2 sentence comprehension. Language and Cognition 17 DOI logo
Shin, Gyu-Ho, Boo Kyung Jung & Minseok Yang
2025. Learning Environment and Learning Outcome: Evidence from Korean Subject–Predicate Honorific Agreement. Languages 10:8 ► pp. 180 ff. DOI logo
Aldosari, Saad & Lauren Covey
2024.  That-trace effects in Najdi Arabic L2 learners of English. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism 14:6 ► pp. 915 ff. DOI logo
Jung, Boo Kyung & Gyu-Ho Shin
2024. L2 textbook input and L2 written production: a case of Korean locative postposition–verb construction. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching 62:2 ► pp. 539 ff. DOI logo
Lee, Chanyoung, Gyu-Ho Shin & Boo Kyung Jung
2024. How ‘good-enough’ is second language comprehension? Morphological causative and suffixal passive constructions in Korean. Applied Linguistics Review 15:6 ► pp. 2685 ff. DOI logo
Shin, Gyu-Ho
2024. Good-enough processing, home language proficiency, cognitive skills, and task effects for Korean heritage speakers’ sentence comprehension. Frontiers in Psychology 15 DOI logo
Hao, Yuxin, Xun Duan & Qiuyue Yan
2022. Processing Aspectual Agreement in a Language with Limited Morphological Inflection by Second Language Learners: An ERP Study of Mandarin Chinese. Brain Sciences 12:5 ► pp. 524 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 24 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue