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In:New Frontiers and Connections in Second Language Acquisition: Selected Proceedings of the 17th Generative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition (GASLA-17) Conference
Edited by Tania Ionin and Silvina Montrul
[Language Acquisition and Language Disorders 71] 2026
► pp. 51–73

L1 transfer or default local readings for reflexives?

Evidence from Turkish and English

 | York University
 | York University
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
This study explores the subset — superset relation between English and Turkish through the L2 acquisition of reflexives in both languages. The objective is to investigate whether L2 learners can achieve target-like interpretations of reflexives regardless of their L1 structures or whether they exhibit a universal preference for a specific antecedent type. Unlike English reflexives, Turkish reflexives kendi and kendisi allow both local and non-local binding. The study involved two native speaker groups, and two learner groups: 24 English learners of Turkish, and 24 Turkish learners of English. Results from a Truth Value Judgment Task and a Picture Description Task reveal that both learner groups prefer the local antecedent over the nonlocal one, suggesting that the local readings serve as the default option in the L2 acquisition of reflexives.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background
    • 2.1The subset principle
    • 2.2Reflexives in Turkish and English
    • 2.3L2 acquisition of English reflexives
    • 2.4L2 acquisition of LD reflexives in other languages
      • 2.4.1Mandarin Chinese
      • 2.4.2Korean
      • 2.4.3Japanese
    • 2.5Interim summary
  • 3.Research questions and predictions
  • 4.Methods
    • 4.1Participants
    • 4.2Data collection instrument and materials
      • 4.2.1Truth value judgement task
      • 4.2.2Picture description task
  • 5.Results
    • 5.1L2 English experiment
    • 5.2L2 Turkish experiment
  • 6.Discussion and conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
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