Cross-Referentiality of Multilingual Error Learner Corpora of Chinese, English and Japanese for Second Language Acquisition of Chinese Grammar

Abstract

This paper presents an empirical study on the difficulties in learning Chinese as a second language based on learners’ corpora written by native Japanese speakers at CEFR-based A2, B1 and B2 levels. The first part of this paper will discuss the procedures for how to collect learners’ corpora, proofread, establish an error tag system and annotate errors. Next, we will focus on how the linguistic typology of a learner’s L1 affects the acquisition of Chinese grammar. We will focus on three grammatical categories, (1) epistemic modality (realis/irrealis), e.g. an irrealis auxiliary Hui (會), (2) determiner phrase (DP), a determiner “One (一) + Classifier + Noun Phrase”. Our findings are that even advanced Japanese L1 learners at CEFR B2 level tend to lack the irrealis auxliary Hui (會), the resultative complements and the determiner “One (一) + Classifier + Noun Phrase”. On the other hand, English L1 Chinese learner corpus displays an overuse of “One (一) + Classifier”, even in an atelic context like a negative construction or a conditional construction where a “One (一) + Classifier” should not occur. This striking contrast between Japanese L1 and English L1 learners are due to the learner’s L1 typology. In Japanese, the tense system “Past -TA/Nonpast-RU” is grammatically obligatory and more prominent than the epistemic modality “realis/irrealis” and aspect “ perfective/nonperfective” system. In addition, the Japanese Noun Phrase has no determiner “a/an, the”, “this/that/ my/your/~’s”. On the other hand, English L1 learners tend to treat the “One (一) + Classifier” as an article although it does not appear in an atelic event structure.