Comparing child and adult L2 acquisition of the Greek DP: Effects of age and construction

Abstract

The present paper investigates the acquisition of the definite article and third person direct object clitics by Turkish-speaking L2 learners of Modern Greek (henceforth Greek). Oral production data was elicited using identical methods from child and adult L2 learners who belong to similar proficiency levels. The results show an asymmetrical pattern in the acquisition of the two D-elements, with the acquisition of the clitic being severely delayed. This can partly be explained by theories that assume transfer in L2 acquisition, but pose problems to the ones suggesting lack of attainment due to feature interpretability. The paper discusses additional factors that may account for the acquisition pattern, such as the linguistic structure to be acquired coupled with notions of the age of exposure and the quantity of input received.