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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. 74–100

The effect of real-world knowledge on the L2 acquisition of English inverse scope

 | University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
 | University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
 | University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
English doubly-quantified sentences such as A boy climbed every tree allow both a surface reading (one particular boy climbed every tree) and an inverse reading (every tree was climbed by a (different) boy); the latter reading, by contrast, is not allowed in Mandarin analogues and has repeatedly been found to be unavailable in English to L1-Mandarin learners of English. This study investigated whether stories that — in light of real-world knowledge — support only the inverse reading of doubly-quantified sentences can stimulate acquisition of that reading. We found no evidence for acquisition: While L1-Mandarin learners of English accepted the inverse reading when it was the only plausible interpretation, they did not extend this acceptance to sentences in contexts supporting both surface and inverse readings.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background
    • 2.1English quantifier scope
    • 2.2Mandarin quantifier scope
    • 2.3Quantifier scope in L1-Mandarin L2ers of English
    • 2.4The influence of real-world knowledge on scope interpretation
  • 3.Research questions
  • 4.Method
    • 4.1Participants
    • 4.2Design
    • 4.3Materials
  • 5.Results
    • 5.1Filler item accuracy
    • 5.2L1 results
      • 5.2.1Descriptive results
      • 5.2.2Statistical analyses
    • 5.3L2 results
      • 5.3.1Descriptive results
      • 5.3.2Statistical analyses
  • 6.Discussion and follow-up study
    • 6.1L2 results
    • 6.2L1 results
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • References
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