Second Language Acquisition: Introduction Paola Escudero Optimality Theory and Phonological Acquisition Seminar, Utrecht Institute of Linguistics OTS March 1, 2002

Basic questions What is so special (and/or different) about L2 acquisition as compared to L1 acquisition? Specifically, in terms of the way(s) in which it could challenge phonological theory

Main differences Initial state. Maturational/age factor. Metalinguistic awareness Input: impoverished? Settings: Formal vs. Naturalistic and the input Psycho-social factors: motivation, attention, identity, etc? Great variation in development: almost every learner manifests a different pattern Final state: does learning occur? What about fossilisation?

Initial state Questions: – What is the nature of the initial L2 system and why? – Are L1 and L2 one or two separate systems?

Initial state Nature of the L2 perception system –P–Phonology: Full Transfer/Full Access (Schwartz & Sprouse 1996) –S–Speech perception research: Linguistic experience One or two separate systems? –P–Phonology: implicitly two systems –S–Speech perception: explicitly one system

L2 phonology & the initial state Full Transfer/Full Access in Production – Davidson 1997, Hancin-Bhatt 2000 Full Transfer & Full Access to UG and CDA Their account works for most of their production data – Broselow et al 1998 Can’t be Full Transfer, Full Access to UG (universal markedness) Their account works for their production data – Hayes 2000 Full Transfer, Full Access to UG and the CDA Account based on the specific theoretical framework does not account for the production data Full Transfer/Full Access in Perception – Hayes 2001ab Full Transfer, Full Access to (UG?) the GLA Perception grammars for the first time in L2. Simple case but works!

L2 speech perception research & the initial state Foreign/L2 speech perception models – Perceptual Assimilation Model (Best 1995, 2001) Generalisations about Foreign language perception Data attest the generalisations – Speech Learning Model (Flege 1995, 2001) Generalisations about experience L2 learners Access to the same L1 mechanisms for L2 learning Data attests generalisations

L2 categorization within phonology Hayes 2001ab – Full Transfer, Full Access to the GLA – Implicitly two systems – No ref. to L2 speech perception models – Accounts for a simple L2 categorization case Escudero & Boersma (2002) – Full transfer: grammar copying (explicitly two grammars) – Full Access to the GLA and language universal strategies – More challenging case