There is a long overdue need to address the sharp philosophical and methodological divide between formal/generative and functional/discourse perspectives in contemporary theoretical linguistics and L2 acquisition. Language structure in general, and the use of subjects in particular, is dependent upon multiple syntactic, lexico-semantic, and discourse-pragmatic factors. Therefore, the study of L2 acquisition must be equally multi-faceted. This volume examines data from over twenty years of research in the L2 acquisition of Spanish subjects from several theoretical perspectives, including generative approaches, processing theory, discourse-pragmatics and sociolinguistic-variationist models. By so doing, the author seeks to fulfill two principal objectives: the first is to determine the many linguistic and extra-linguistic properties of Spanish subjects that constrain their acquisition and use; and the second is to establish common ground among researchers from varied theoretical persuasions in acquisition studies. The author argues throughout the volume that central to native speaker use and L2 acquisition are universal properties ranging from highly specific syntactic principles to more general characteristics of human cognition and a range of these properties is responsible for language acquisition. An examination of the diverse body of research that considers a wider scope of universal properties of language can thus bring us closer to a unified account of the L2 acquisition of Spanish subject expression.

This is the first book on the acquisition of Spanish that provides a state-of-the-art comprehensive overview of Spanish morphosyntactic development in monolingual and bilingual situations. Its content is organized around key grammatical themes that form the empirical base of research in generative grammar: nominal and verbal inflectional morphology, subject and object pronouns, complex structures involving movement (topicalizations, questions, relative clauses), and aspects of verb meaning that have consequences for syntax. The book argues that Universal Grammar constrains all instances of language acquisition and that there is a fundamental continuity between monolingual, bilingual, child and adult early grammatical systems. While stressing their similarities with respect to linguistic representations and processes, the book also considers important differences between these three acquisition situations with respect to the outcome of acquisition. It is also shown that many linguistic properties of Spanish are acquired earlier than in English and other languages. This book is a must read for those interested in the acquisition of Spanish from different theoretical perspectives as well as those working on the acquisition of other languages in different contexts.

By examining the acquisition of Spanish in combination with languages other than English (Arabic, Basque, Catalan, Chinese, Dutch, Farsi, French, German, Nahuatl, Quechua, Portuguese, Swedish, Turkish), this volume advances novel data pertinent to the field’s understanding of acquisition of Spanish in the XXI century. Its crosslinguistic nature invites us to reconsider major theoretical questions such as the role of L1 transfer, linguistic typology, and onset of acquisition from a fresh perspective, and to question the validity of the traditional parameter (re)setting perspective taken in SLA. Additionally, this volume underscores the necessity of providing accurate descriptions of the language pairings investigated, emphasizing the interconnection between linguistic and SLA theory, and pushing us to a more atomic view of the system in which features and feature bundles mapped onto lexical items comprise the skeleton of language. This volume is of great relevance for researchers and students of SLA alike.

This book is a reference that provides an overview of the major work done in Spanish second language acquisition. It contains a section on the major theoretical approaches (generative, cognitive, and sociocultural), a section on the major elements of language (phonemes, morphemes, tense, syntax, discourse, pragmatics), and a concluding chapter on the effects of different instructional approaches. We are publishing it primarily for its potential course use, but the quality of the contributors will also attract attention from scholars.

This volume offers an introduction to the field of second language acquisition with a particular focus on second language Spanish. It connects key issues in the acquisition of Spanish as a second language to theoretical and empirical issues in the field of second language acquisition more generally by exemplifying central concepts in second language acquisition through the exploration of the most widely researched structures and most recent developments in the field of second language Spanish. It is written for a non-specialist audience, making it suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses and readers, while its treatment of recent empirical developments also makes it of interest to researchers in second language Spanish as well as allied fields.

Bringing together a comprehensive collection of newly-commissioned articles, this Handbook covers the most recent developments across a range of sub-fields relevant to the study of second language Spanish. Provides a unique and much-needed collection of new research in this subject, compiled and written by experts in the field Offers a critical account of the most current, ground-breaking developments across key fields, each of which has seen innovative empirical research in the past decade Covers a broad range of issues including current theoretical approaches, alongside a variety of entries within such areas as the sound system, morphosyntax, individual and social factors, and instructed language learning Presents a variety of methodological approaches spanning the active areas of research in language acquisition

The present volume provides a cross-linguistic perspective on the development of tense-aspect in L2 acquisition. Data-based studies included in this volume deal with the analysis of a wide range of target languages: Chinese, English, Italian, French, Japanese, and Spanish. Theoretical frameworks used to evaluate the nature of the empirical evidence range from generative grammar to functional-typological linguistics. Several studies focus on the development of past tense markers, but other issues such as the acquisition of a future marker are also addressed. An introductory chapter outlines some theoretical and methodological issues that serves as relevant preliminary reading for most of the chapters included in this volume. Additionally, a preliminary chapter offers a substantive review of first language acquisition of tense-aspect morphology. The analysis of the various languages included in this volume significantly advances our understanding of this phenomenon, and will serve as an important basis for future research.