Processing Wh-dependencies in L2 English by L1 Turkish and Spanish Speakers: Island Constraints and that-trace Effect

Abstract

This study investigates whether advanced L2 speakers exhibit comparable sensitivity to island constraints and the that-trace effect as L1 speakers during real-time processing of long distance grammatical and ungrammatical wh-extractions in English. L1 Spanish, Turkish, and English speakers participated in an online grammaticality judgment task (GJT) featuring five types of wh-extractions with island and that-trace violations, presented in full-sentence and self-paced reading conditions. Findings reveal distinctions between L2 learners and native speakers in accuracy and response times, particularly in subject extractions from non-finite clauses and that-trace violations. However, subject-object asymmetry was consistent across groups, suggesting shared processing patterns. L2 learners showed sensitivity to island constraints, paralleling native speakers. L1 influence varied, with no significant discrepancy between Spanish and Turkish groups. Turkish learners' success in grammatical wh-extractions may stem from overt movement via scrambling and universal grammar availability, whereas Spanish participants displayed nuanced L1 influence on ungrammatical wh-extractions with that-trace violations.