CLUNL

A new article by Joana Teixeira, Alexandra Fiéis, and Ana Madeira, researchers from NOVA CLUNL’s LiFE group, has just been published.

Entitled “Are non-native speakers sensitive to microvariation in anaphora resolution? The case of Italian and Spanish learners of L2 European Portuguese”, this article, published in the journal Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism by John Benjamins Publishing Company, reports on the researchers’ study of anaphora resolution in European Portuguese by native speakers of Italian and Spanish.

Abstract: This study investigates anaphora resolution in L2 European Portuguese by Italian and Spanish native speakers to examine whether learners are sensitive to microvariation among these null subject Romance languages. Participants were 25 adult L1 EP speakers, 69 L1 Italian, and 42 L1 Spanish adult learners of EP at three levels: upper–intermediate, advanced, and near-native. They completed an untimed and a speeded multiple-choice task crossing the variables animacy of the matrix object and type of embedded subject. Results indicate that sensitivity to microvariation develops as L2 proficiency increases. However, learners’ performance remains permanently unstable in the areas where the L1 and the L2 differ, which is only visible in the speeded task. Our findings challenge the idea that the L1 plays a minor role in anaphora resolution and have implications for the Interface Hypothesis.

The article is available at: https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.23041.tei

• Teixeira, Joana; Fiéis, Alexandra; Madeira, Ana (2024). Are non-native speakers sensitive to microvariation in anaphora resolution? The case of Italian and Spanish learners of L2 European Portuguese. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism [online first]. ISSN 1879-9264; E-ISSN 1879-9272. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.23041.tei