交际压力对二语屈折标记使用的影响

The Effects of Communicative Pressure on the Use of Inflectional Markings in L2 English

本文基于表面屈折成分缺失假说,探究交际压力对二语英语屈折标记使用的影响。47名中国大学生参与了一项英语分组讨论活动,随后完成了基于同样话题的写作任务。对受试口、笔语语料中使用英语名词复数、动词过去时和一般现在时第三人称单数标记的分析显示,在口、笔语活动中屈折标记的平均准确率有显著差异,表明交际压力对中国大学生英语屈折标记的使用有影响;此外,交际压力对三种屈折标记的影响程度不同,名词复数标记受交际压力的影响最为显著。根据访谈数据,其间接影响因素可能是当前大学英语教学和测试的侧重点问题。本研究结果可以为表面屈折成分缺失假说提供进一步的实证支持。

This paper explores the effects of communicative pressure on the use of inflectional markings in L2 English under the framework of the Missing Surface Inflection Hypothesis. Forty-seven Chinese college students participated in a group discussion task in English, followed immediately by an individual writing task on the same topics. Their oral and written data were analyzed to see if communicative pressure exerted an effect on their use of markings of English plurals, past tenses and third personal singulars. The results showed a significant difference in the average suggesting an effect of communicative pressure on their accuracy rates between oral and written data, use of inflectional markings. A differential effect was also found on the three inflectional forms under investigation, with the plural form being affected most. The post-task interview data pointed to a mitigating effect resulting from the current instructional focus in Chinese universities. Taken together, these findings seem to provide further empirical support for the Missing Surface Inflection Hypothesis.