中国学习者英语反身代词约束特性的习得研究

The Acquisition of the Binding Properties of English Reflexives by Chinese-speaking Learners

文章运用E-Prime编程对英语反身代词约束特性的习得进行实证研究。结果发现L2学习者在单子句中和母语者几乎没有差异,拒绝宾语约束反身代词,表现出很强的主语倾向性;但在双子句中,L2学习者与母语者存在显著差异。随着英语水平的提高,学习者在单子句中允许主语约束、在限定性双子句中拒绝远程先行语约束和在非限定性双子句中接受近位主语约束的准确率都有显著提高。部分学习者在非限定性双子句中,受远程主语的显著性地位影响,接受远程约束;部分学习者认为英语和汉语一样,显著性可以压倒局部性,所以在拒绝接受远程约束时表现出不定性和易变性。

This paper reports on an empirical study programed with E-prime on the acquisition of the binding properties of the English reflexives by Chinese-speaking learners. The results showed that L2 learners, like the native speakers, disallowed the object antecedent and exhibited strong subject orientation in the mono-clausal sentences. However, there were statistical differences between them and the native speakers in all the biclausal sentences. With the increase of proficiency, they made significant improvement in licensing subject antecedents , rejecting the long-distance antecedent in the biclausal sentences with finite embedded clauses and allowing the local antecedent in the biclausal sentences with nonfinite embedded clauses. Some learners trans-ferred to the target language the characteristics of their native language that prominence overrides locality. Thus, they bound the reflexives embedded in the nonfinite clause to the subject in the matrix clause, an ante-cedent outside the local domain. Furthermore, the competition between prominence and locality gave rise to optionality, variability and indeterminacy when L2 learners rejected the long-distance binding.