Second Language Acquisition of English Unaccusative Verbs: A Theoretical Critique and Prospects for Future Studies

Abstract

Unaccusative verbs are a focus of second language acquisition research. Taking the second language acquisition of English unaccusative verbs as an example, this study first reviews the Unaccusative Hierarchy Hypothesis, the Unaccusative Trap Hypothesis and the Semantic Verb Class Hypothesis, which are exclusively concerned with the acquisition of unaccusative verbs. Then it examines the Entrenchment Hypothesis and the Interface Hypothesis, which address language acquisition in general, but shed light on the second language acquisition of English unaccusative verbs. This study maintains that these five hypothesis help to provide a panoramic view of second language acquisition of English unaccusative verbs. But it also points out that these hypotheses need to be further tested. It advises future studies to take a usage-based theoretical approach. It also calls for more attention to the possible between-verb variations, the possible influence of L1 transfer and the online processing of English unaccusative verbs