The L2 Acquisition of English Parasitic Gaps

Abstract

This study examined L2 poverty-of-the-stimulus problem, namely, the L2 acquisition of “parasitic gap constructions” in English by adult native speakers of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. First, the counterparts of the parasitic gap phenomena in the L2 learners’ native language are typologically different from those of English; thus, the acquisition of English parasitic gaps cannot be accounted for by L1 knowledge. In addition, the phenomena are not the focus of instruction in English language classes; thus, they are not available from explicit positive or negative evidence, either. Finally, possible English parasitic gap constructions are very rare in the input and impossible ones are absent in the input. Taken together, English parasitic gaps constitute a poverty-of-the-stimulus problem to native speakers of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean learning English as a second language. The study focuses on whether, and if so, how, L2 learners (come to) have knowledge of English parasitic gap constructions.