中国学习者习得英语非宾格性与非作格性的研究

An Investigation of Chinese Learners' Acquisition of the Distinction between English Unaccusative and Unergative Verbs

"非宾格假设"认为,不及物动词是非同质的,分为非宾格动词和非作格动词。在英语二语习得中,这种差异有时构成"刺激匮乏",引发可习得性问题。本研究尝试使用多视角、多方法的研究范式来调查中国学习者习得英语非宾格性与非作格性的问题。研究发现:英语非宾格动词和非作格动词在中国学习者的心理语法中具有不同的表征;中国学习者低水平时就能够习得英语的非宾格性与非作格性,习得的原因是中国学习者能够通达普遍语法。

According to the Unaccusative Hypothesis,intransitive verbs can be divided into unaccusative and unergative verbs.In second language acquisition,this distinction sometimes constitutes a case of poverty of stimulus and an issue of learnability.This study attempts to adopt a multi-dimensional and multi-methodological approach to investigate how Chinese learners acquire the distinction between unaccusative and unergative verbs.It found that English unaccusative and unergative verbs were represented differently in the learners' mental grammar,and that the Chinese learners could acquire the distinction between the two types of verbs even when their proficiency was low.We conclude that it is the Universal Grammar that makes this acquisition possible.