L2 Acquisition Order of the PD and the DOD Structures in English

L2 Acquisition Order of the PD and the DOD Structures in English

  The goal of this study is to explore the L2 acquisition order of dative structures in English and thereby suggest the order of introduction of prepositional dative (PO) and double object dative (DOD) structures to Korean learners of English. Based on the markedness theory and the previous L I and L2 studies on the acquisition of dative constructions, a preference task was devised and administered to about 500 Korean students learning English and to some English native speakers. The dative verbs were divided into two types: Type A verbs were alternating (PD or DOD) verbs and Type B verbs were non-alternating (PD-only) verbs. The results showed that Korean students strongly preferred the PD structures for both type of verbs, whereas the native speakers preferred the DOD counterpart. This result may lead to a prediction that development will proceed in order from the PD (unmarked) to the DOD (marked) structure. That is, the PD structure will be acquired earlier than the DOD in L2 acquisition of dative constructions. This acquisition data provides support for both UG-based and typological markedness theory. The study also analyzed the distribution of PD/DOD structures in English text books. The analysis suggests that more dative verbs be introduced earlier and the PD structure be introduced before the DOD.