Acknowledgements

This book has benefitted from the generous assistance of many people, who I gratefully acknowledge.

By his creative approach to Linguistics, Manfred Pienemann sparked my interest in variation in second language acquisition and Processability Theory as a lens for studying variation. By their intellectual guidance, Stuart Campbell and Jane Simpson gave that interest an initial voice in my doctorate and Louise Jansen encouraged me to start communicating my ideas. By sharing her deep knowledge of second language acquisition and by believing in my capacity to elucidate variation, Gisela Håkansson gave me the courage to continue that journey and write this book. By their collegiality, Susan Thomas and Benjamin Miller encouraged me to keep weaving the thread of second language acquisition research through my work. By contributing towards the editing, The Department of Writing Studies helped me create a monograph. By her/his thorough review, an anonymous reviewer helped me lift the book theoretically and methodologically. By very carefully and capably editing the text and tables, Alison Lyssa and Antonina Petrolito considerably improved the book’s quality. My family, particularly Camilla and Patrizia, were my inspiration.

My family, particularly Camilla and Patrizia, were my inspiration and a source of great support.

To all these people, I am very thankful.