Hiromasa Ohba, Joetsu University of Education, Japan
Naoki Sugino, Ritsumeikan University, Japan
Kojiro Shojima, The National Center for University Entrance Examinations, Japan
Kenichi Yamakawa, Yasuda Women’s University, Japan
Yuko Shimizu, Ritsumeikan University, Japan
Michiko Nakano, Waseda University, Japan
2nd Combined Conference of the ALAA-ALANZ, December 2, 2011, The Australian
National University, Canberra, Australia.
- One of the interesting topics in second language (L2)
acquisition research has been to account for how
syntactic knowledge develops over time (Hawkins,
2001).
- Why some grammatical properties are acquired earlier
than others and why some grammatical properties
remain difficult even for advanced L2 learners?
This study investigates:
(1) the acquisition of relative clause and wh-question
constructions in English by native speakers of
Japanese.
(2) whether Japanese EFL learners are sensitive to the
constraints on wh-movement which are not
involved in their native language, Japanese, when
they construct relative clauses and wh-questions in
English which are both generated utilising overt
wh-movement.
- One of the biggest problems in the field of L2
acquisition is what kind of test and data analysis can
tell us a real L2 developmental process.
- We analyse the data obtained from a grammaticality
judgement test on how adult Japanese EFL learners
interpret English relative clause and wh-question
constructions, using a new test theory, Latent Rank
Theory (LRT) (Shojima, 2008, 2009).
- Within the syntactic theory (Chomsky, 1995,1998),
overt movement is only allowed when it is motivated
by the presence of a strong formal feature to check.
- In wh-question and relative clause formation, it is
assumed that English and Japanese vary in the
feature specifications of functional category C
(Complementiser) which determine how their
properties are realised.
Relative clause formation
English: the strong feature [+R] in C drives relative-operator
movement, as in (3).
Japanese: an adjunct/predication type relation with no
operator, and no feature-driven movement is
required due to the lack of the operator and the
feature [+R], as in (4) (see Takeda, 1999 for details).
(3) The book [whichi [John bought ti]] was interesting.
(4) [[John-ga
katta]
hon]-wa
omosirokatta
John-Nom
bought book-Top interesting was
‘The book which John bought was interesting.’
Wh-question formation
English: the strong features [+wh, +Q] in C force whoperator movement and subject- auxiliary inversion,
as in (5).
Japanese: a [wh] feature in Japanese is not strong, so that it
does not drive wh-operator movement, as in (6),
although a [Q] feature has the same property as in
English.
(5) [What]i arej [you tj reading ti]?
(6) Anata-wa nani-o
yonde
imasu ka?
You-Top
what-Acc reading are
Q
‘What are you reading?’
Constraints on wh-movement (the Subjacency condition)
(7) The Complex Noun Phrase (NP) Island Constraint (weak island)
*This is the car whichi we heard [the news that Toru bought ti].
*Whati does James believe [the fact that Alison saw ti at work]?
(8) The Embedded Question Island, Wh-island, Constraint (weak island)
*This is the CD whichi Peter knows [where Tom bought ti].
*Whichi book did she ask John [when he read ti]?
(9) The Relative Clause Island Constraint (strong island)
*This is the bicycle whichi the police caught [the man who stole ti].
*Whati does Jane visit [the architect who designed ti for her friend]?
(10) The Subject Island Constraint (strong island)
*This is the ghost whichi [a picture of ti] frightened the children.
*Whoi does the teacher believe [a story by ti] amuses the children?
(11) The Adjunct Island Constraint (strong island)
*This is the homework whichi Ann went to school [before she did ti].
*Whoi did Alison go to work [after she took ti to school]?
62 pts
61pts
Test scores
30pts
Tests do not have sufficient “resolution”
to continuously evaluate human ability
on a continuous scale.
Test scores
Latent
Rank 5
Ability to do X5
Ability to do X4
Latent
Rank 2
Ability to do X3
Latent
Rank 1
Ability to do X2
Ability to do X1
Tests are at best capable of
ranking test takers into 5 to
20 ranks.
Participants: 740 university-level Japanese EFL learners
Materials: grammaticality judgment tests
Relative clause constructions
The boy whom I kicked yesterday broke the window. (wh-operator: 9
items)
The picture that you are looking at was painted by Picasso.
(complementiser that: 4 items)
The friend they lent money to bought a very big house. (null operator:
3 items)
*The woman who that is singing on the stage is my wife. (doubly-filled
complementiser: 4 items)
*The classmate that you don’t like him is very unkind. (resumptive
pronoun: 4 items)
What did your girlfriend want to talk about? (8 items)
*Whose house Sandy’s father is going to build?
(no subject-auxiliary inversion: 8 item)
Relative cluase and wh-question constructions violating the
subjacency condition
(12) Extraction from complex NP
a. *This is the car which we heard the news that Toru bought.
b. *Which car did he believe the claim that John stole?
(13) Extraction from embedded question, wh-island
a. *This is the CD which Peter knows where Tom bought.
b. *Which book did she ask John when he read?
(14) Extraction from relative clause
a. *This is the bicycle which the police caught the man who stole.
b. *What did he interview the teacher who wrote?
(15) Extraction from sentential subject
a. *This is the ghost which a picture of frightened the children.
b. *What did a discussion of occur during the meeting?
(16) Extraction from adjunct
a. *This is the homework which Ann went to school before she
did.
b. *Who did the earthquake occur while you were talking with?
Procedure: judgments made on a 5-point scale (1-5)
converted into 1-4 points
if ungrammatical
Converted score
0 point ←
1 point ←
2 points ←
3 points ←
4 points ←
if grammatical
Raw score
Converted score
5 (definitely possible)
→ 4 points
4 (probably possible)
→ 3 points
3 (not sure)
→ 2 points
2 (probably impossible) → 1 point
1 (definitely impossible) → 0 point
- The learners were categorised into 10 latent ranks.
- With scores above 2.50
Table 1 Results
No
H24
H14
H28
O43
O37
H10
H21
H33
O29
O12
O07
H12
H27
H07
O33
H04
O06
O02
O25
O04
O20
O31
O44
O18
H25
H11
H35
O03
O40
O27
O39
O14
O08
H03
O10
O21
O11
H29
H01
H06
H32
O16
O23
H08
H15
H26
O15
O19
O32
H36
H17
H34
H30
O28
O41
O36
H19
H13
O35
H16
Types of RC or WH
WH (question)
WH (question)
WH (question)
RC (null)
RC (wh-operator)
*WH (sentential subject)
*WH (sub-aux inversion)
*WH (relative clause)
RC (wh-operator)
RC (that)
*RC (relative clause)
WH (question)
RC (wh-operator)
*WH (sub-aux inversion)
RC (wh-operator)
*WH (relative clause)
RC (null)
RC (that)
*RC (resumptive pro)
*RC (doubly-filled comp)
RC (that)
*RC (resumptive pro)
*RC (sentential subject)
*RC (resumptive pro)
*WH (sub-aux inversion)
*WH (sub-aux inversion)
*WH (sub-aux inversion)
*RC (sentential subject)
*RC (adjunct island)
RC (wh-operator)
*RC (doubly-filled comp)
RC (wh-operator)
*RC (doubly-filled comp)
*WH (sub-aux inversion)
RC (wh-operator)
*RC (adjunct island)
*RC (doubly-filled comp)
*WH (sentential subject)
WH (question)
WH (question)
WH (question)
RC (wh-operator)
RC (that)
*WH (embedded question)
*WH (complex NP)
*WH (adjunct island)
*RC (embedded question)
*RC (complex NP)
*RC (embedded question)
*WH (embedded question)
*WH (sub-aux inversion)
*WH (complex NP)
*WH (sub-aux inversion)
*RC (complex NP)
*RC (resumptive pro)
*RC (relative clause)
WH (question)
RC (wh-operator)
RC (null)
*WH (adjunct island)
Sentences used
What did your mother want to talk about?
What did you do for your son last week?
When did he go to London to study English?
The house you can see on the corner was built ten years ago.
The job which I wanted to apply for was very popular.
Who(m) did that she went out with make him sad?
Who your favorite movie stars are?
What did they visit a shop which sold?
The woman who helped me with my homework is Hanae.
The picture that he is looking at was painted by Picasso.
This is the soup which Mari visited a restaurant which served.
Why was the man surprised to read a letter?
The boy who(m) I met yesterday broke the car.
Where your friend got such a great idea?
The man who(m) I employed as my assistant works hard.
What did he interview the teacher who wrote?
The magazine they are always talking about is very useful.
The car that you can see over there caused this accident.
The classmate that you don’t like him is very unkind.
The woman who that is singing on the stage is my aunt.
The student that has written this letter must be crazy.
The friend that I lent the book to her studied very hard.
This is the meeting which that Taro attended shocked his parents.
The town that my mother came from it is far from here.
Whose car your father is going to drive?
Which city you believe that they attacked?
Which medal it is difficult for him to win?
This is the ghost which a picture of frightened the children.
This is the homework which Ann went to school before she did.
The girl for whom I have bought a computer is my sister.
The dogs which that I gave the milk to were very small.
The boy to whom I talked yesterday seemed very nervous
The woman whom that we talked with was our teacher.
Why she was worried about her daughter?
The girl whose handbag was stolen is suffering from shock.
This is the girl who(m) the bell rang while I was thinking of.
The glasses which that Judy broke were very expensive.
What did a discussion of occur during the meeting?
Whose books did you borrow yesterday?
Who came to see your father yesterday?
What books is it necessary for you to read?
The man used a word whose meaning I don’t know at all.
The student that you gave a present to looked very happy.
Which book did she ask John when he read?
Who(m) did they know the fact that David hit?
Who(m) did a fire occur while you were talking with?
This is the house which Peter knows when Tom bought.
This is the boy who(m) Jack described the way that Bill hit.
This is the story which Kyoko wondered who believed.
What did you wonder who would believe?
What you and your son looked at?
Which car did he believe the claim that John stole?
What you and your friend wanted to do?
This is the car which we heard the news that Toru bought.
The building that it stands near the lake is our school.
This is the book which John interviewed the man who criticized
Who(m) does she know that Mary loved?
The girl from whom I received a letter is pretty.
The friend they lent money to bought a very big house.
Which car did they cross the street when John stopped?
Mean
3.288
3.168
3.085
3.128
3.124
2.807
2.767
2.607
3.139
3.018
2.953
2.789
2.664
2.694
3.038
2.712
2.751
2.692
2.688
2.685
2.587
2.694
2.739
2.618
2.491
2.561
2.456
2.458
2.411
2.339
2.449
2.272
2.420
2.298
2.317
2.321
2.308
2.241
2.456
2.363
2.123
2.229
2.151
2.248
2.085
2.173
2.155
2.238
2.321
2.063
2.090
2.035
2.008
2.058
1.944
1.818
1.774
1.296
1.663
1.501
SD
1.184
1.254
1.337
1.313
1.227
1.137
1.431
1.231
1.357
1.388
1.230
1.420
1.576
1.411
1.288
1.224
1.543
1.477
1.506
1.558
1.523
1.474
1.243
1.465
1.398
1.347
1.441
1.481
1.438
1.594
1.469
1.600
1.538
1.648
1.568
1.436
1.521
1.279
1.515
1.604
1.422
1.550
1.635
1.409
1.390
1.283
1.424
1.336
1.476
1.421
1.595
1.320
1.552
1.494
1.672
1.471
1.435
1.359
1.633
1.373
Rank 1
3.022
2.922
2.888
2.685
2.664
2.522
2.600
2.576
2.457
2.498
2.499
2.477
2.479
2.474
2.462
2.466
2.023
2.262
2.179
2.268
2.157
2.120
2.359
2.171
2.334
2.325
2.172
1.902
2.060
1.812
2.242
1.791
2.276
2.091
2.016
2.067
2.273
2.080
2.396
2.331
2.140
2.042
2.033
2.291
2.040
2.106
2.184
2.141
2.312
1.989
1.809
1.991
1.861
1.994
1.625
1.747
1.785
1.406
1.412
1.499
Rank 2
3.109
2.972
2.940
2.751
2.722
2.566
2.626
2.592
2.554
2.606
2.540
2.531
2.525
2.513
2.496
2.485
2.096
2.305
2.237
2.304
2.185
2.163
2.363
2.188
2.344
2.349
2.202
1.958
2.043
1.863
2.217
1.847
2.257
2.071
2.039
2.092
2.239
2.104
2.414
2.343
2.135
2.071
2.097
2.278
2.063
2.084
2.183
2.137
2.312
1.997
1.826
1.990
1.862
1.956
1.607
1.736
1.783
1.388
1.475
1.505
Rank 3
3.228
3.053
2.999
2.857
2.822
2.617
2.683
2.605
2.722
2.760
2.609
2.625
2.572
2.594
2.595
2.525
2.267
2.394
2.336
2.364
2.256
2.237
2.369
2.229
2.367
2.376
2.262
2.072
2.037
1.953
2.200
1.940
2.240
2.062
2.092
2.123
2.170
2.124
2.446
2.359
2.126
2.109
2.173
2.236
2.086
2.076
2.180
2.134
2.286
2.004
1.885
1.991
1.873
1.905
1.608
1.712
1.787
1.372
1.562
1.504
Item Reference Profile (IRP)
Rank 4 Rank 5 Rank 6 Rank 7
3.333
3.385
3.387
3.377
3.141
3.202
3.228
3.244
3.051
3.089
3.121
3.161
2.996
3.143
3.267
3.349
2.953
3.088
3.211
3.319
2.665
2.706
2.761
2.858
2.756
2.812
2.833
2.829
2.606
2.590
2.570
2.566
2.944
3.172
3.352
3.467
2.920
3.049
3.144
3.218
2.713
2.845
2.988
3.131
2.736
2.825
2.875
2.912
2.607
2.628
2.654
2.714
2.692
2.760
2.775
2.761
2.766
2.970
3.164
3.325
2.581
2.643
2.714
2.797
2.531
2.812
3.027
3.149
2.523
2.660
2.774
2.865
2.461
2.581
2.695
2.829
2.457
2.561
2.655
2.763
2.369
2.507
2.659
2.803
2.345
2.488
2.671
2.890
2.392
2.466
2.619
2.840
2.299
2.391
2.517
2.699
2.411
2.469
2.529
2.586
2.406
2.447
2.514
2.620
2.349
2.438
2.513
2.584
2.226
2.372
2.489
2.607
2.066
2.159
2.318
2.515
2.068
2.183
2.309
2.476
2.211
2.254
2.325
2.431
2.049
2.147
2.255
2.406
2.248
2.288
2.351
2.438
2.080
2.136
2.239
2.381
2.182
2.290
2.392
2.469
2.164
2.221
2.297
2.389
2.085
2.025
2.034
2.139
2.136
2.147
2.177
2.243
2.491
2.534
2.550
2.529
2.363
2.340
2.315
2.327
2.113
2.105
2.113
2.129
2.153
2.196
2.232
2.269
2.243
2.296
2.321
2.291
2.176
2.136
2.152
2.220
2.098
2.099
2.099
2.108
2.092
2.121
2.146
2.174
2.166
2.136
2.096
2.063
2.134
2.150
2.186
2.236
2.258
2.265
2.303
2.335
2.009
2.018
2.034
2.063
1.977
2.066
2.141
2.220
1.988
1.980
1.979
2.006
1.909
1.976
2.057
2.126
1.855
1.829
1.853
1.949
1.642
1.708
1.810
1.964
1.683
1.667
1.689
1.757
1.799
1.810
1.813
1.799
1.354
1.321
1.268
1.218
1.655
1.748
1.831
1.875
1.489
1.472
1.478
1.511
Rank 8
3.383
3.286
3.206
3.398
3.409
3.003
2.828
2.593
3.535
3.286
3.269
2.959
2.800
2.762
3.444
2.891
3.204
2.949
2.989
2.917
2.907
3.114
3.076
2.929
2.633
2.755
2.657
2.761
2.715
2.683
2.588
2.583
2.545
2.533
2.519
2.496
2.336
2.351
2.481
2.383
2.136
2.317
2.199
2.300
2.118
2.224
2.067
2.295
2.348
2.108
2.304
2.064
2.163
2.117
2.169
1.868
1.766
1.189
1.850
1.539
Rank 9
3.406
3.344
3.244
3.430
3.484
3.156
2.850
2.642
3.591
3.355
3.389
3.015
2.871
2.795
3.524
2.982
3.233
3.032
3.149
3.099
2.971
3.304
3.272
3.156
2.660
2.884
2.718
2.939
2.893
2.879
2.774
2.744
2.650
2.652
2.554
2.600
2.572
2.468
2.429
2.437
2.125
2.376
2.086
2.346
2.114
2.290
2.120
2.368
2.363
2.166
2.368
2.131
2.171
2.311
2.389
1.998
1.728
1.179
1.774
1.538
Rank 10
3.428
3.387
3.269
3.458
3.545
3.263
2.886
2.688
3.647
3.418
3.476
3.061
2.902
2.844
3.578
3.054
3.259
3.101
3.279
3.257
3.017
3.437
3.405
3.329
2.668
2.972
2.756
3.090
3.026
3.015
2.931
2.859
2.729
2.725
2.589
2.678
2.769
2.557
2.388
2.456
2.107
2.439
2.010
2.348
2.097
2.342
2.197
2.446
2.387
2.218
2.399
2.180
2.166
2.468
2.567
2.103
1.702
1.176
1.693
1.513
Table 2 Sentence types learners in each rank can respond correctly
[R43] RC (null): The house you can see on the corner was built ten years ago.
[R37] RC (wh-operator): The job which I wanted to apply for was very popular.
[W14] WH (question): What did you do for your son last week?
[W24] WH (question): What did your mother want to talk about?
Rank 1 [W28] WH (question): When did he go to London to study English?
[W21]*WH (sub-aux inversion): Who your favorite movie stars are?
[W10]*WH (sentential subject): Who(m) did that she went out with make him sad?
[W33]*WH (relative clause): What did they visit a shop which sold?
[R12] RC (that): The picture that he is looking at was painted by Picasso.
[R29] RC (wh-operator): The woman who helped me with my homework is Hanae.
[W27] RC (wh-operator): The boy who(m) I met yesterday broke the car.
Rank 2 [W12] WH (question): Why was the man surprised to read a letter?
[W07]*WH (sub-aux inversion): Where your friend got such a great idea?
[R07]*RC (relative clause): This is the soup which Mari visited a restaurant which served.
[R33] RC (wh-operator): The man who(m) I employed as my assistant works hard.
Rank 3
[W04]*WH (relative clause): What did he interview the teacher who wrote?
[R02] RC (that): The car that you can see over there caused this accident.
Rank 4 [R06] RC (null): The magazine they are always talking about is very useful.
[R20] RC (that): The student that has written this letter must be crazy.
Rank 5 [R25]*RC (resumptive pro): The classmate that you don’t like him is very unkind.
[R04]*RC (doubly-filled comp): The woman who that is singing on the stage is my aunt.
[R18]*RC (resumptive pro): The town that my mother came from it is far from here.
[R31]*RC (resumptive pro): The friend that I lent the book to her studied very hard.
[R44]*RC (sentential subject): This is the meeting which that Taro attended shocked his parents.
Rank 6
[W11]*WH (sub-aux inversion): Which city you believe that they attacked?
[W25]*WH (sub-aux inversion): Whose car your father is going to drive?
[W35]*WH (sub-aux inversion): Which medal it is difficult for him to win?
[R03]*RC (sentential subject): This is the ghost which a picture of frightened the children.
Rank 7
[R40]*RC (adjunct island): This is the homework which Ann went to school before she did.
[R10] RC (wh-operator): The girl whose handbag was stolen is suffering from shock.
[R14] RC (wh-operator): The boy to whom I talked yesterday seemed very nervous.
[R27] RC (wh-operator): The girl for whom I have bought a computer is my sister.
Rank 8 [R08]*RC (doubly-filled comp): The woman whom that we talked with was our teacher.
[R39]*RC (doubly-filled comp): The dogs which that I gave the milk to were very small.
[W03]*WH (sub-aux inversion): Why she was worried about her daughter?
[R11]*RC (doubly-filled comp): The glasses which that Judy broke were very expensive.
Rank 9 [R21]*RC (adjunct island): This is the girl who(m) the bell rang while I was thinking of.
Rank 10 [W29]*WH (sentential subject): What did a discussion of occur during the meeting?
Below
2.500
[R23] RC (that): The student that you gave a present to looked very happy.
[R35] RC (null): The friend they lent money to bought a very big house.
[W13] RC (wh-operator): The girl from whom I received a letter is pretty.
[R16] RC (wh-operator): The man used a word whose meaning I don’t know at all.
[W01] WH (question): Whose books did you borrow yesterday?
[W06] WH (question): Who came to see your father yesterday?
[W19] WH (question): Who(m) does she know that Mary loved?
[W32] WH (question): What books is it necessary for you to read?
[R41]*RC (resumptive pro): The building that it stands near the lake is our school.
[W17]*WH (sub-aux inversion): What you and your son looked at?
[W30]*WH (sub-aux inversion): What you and your friend wanted to do?
[R36]*RC (relative clause): This is the book which John interviewed the man who criticized.
[W16]*WH (adjunct island): Which car did they cross the street when John stopped?
[W26]*WH (adjunct island): Who(m) did a fire occur while you were talking with?
[R19]*RC (complex NP): This is the boy who(m) Jack described the way that Bill hit.
[R28]*RC (complex NP): This is the car which we heard the news that Toru bought.
[W15]*WH (complex NP): Who(m) did they know the fact that David hit?
[W34]*WH (complex NP): Which car did he believe the claim that John stole?
[R15]*RC (embedded question): This is the house which Peter knows when Tom bought.
[R32]*RC (embedded question): This is the story which Kyoko wondered who believed.
[W08]*WH (embedded question): Which book did she ask John when he read?
[W36]*WH (embedded question): What did you wonder who would believe?
R02
1.0
1.0
0.8
0.8
0.6
0.6
0
1
2
3
0.4
PROBABILITY
PROBABILITY
R43
0
1
2
3
0.4
4
4
0.2
0.2
0.0
0.0
1
2
3
4
5
6
LATENT RANK
7
8
9
10
1
2
3
4
5
6
LATENT RANK
7
8
9
10
W13
1.0
1.0
0.8
0.8
0.6
0.6
0
1
2
3
0.4
PROBABILITY
PROBABILITY
W36
0
1
2
3
0.4
4
4
0.2
0.2
0.0
0.0
1
2
3
4
5
6
LATENT RANK
7
8
9
10
1
2
3
4
5
6
LATENT RANK
7
8
9
10
- A learner in a higher rank judged correctly in more test
items.
- There were several items in which, as the learners’ ranks
went up, parallel increase was observed in the probabilities
of both correct and incorrect responses. This implies that
even for advanced-level L2 learners, acquisition of some
types of relative clause and wh-question constructions
poses unique difficulty.
- Japanese advanced-level EFL learners might have different
processing strategies of relative clauses and wh-question
formation from native speakers of English (non-UG).