The Second Language Acquisition of Spanish DPS: the Status of Grammatical Features

Abstract

Current research on the nature of interlanguage (IL) representation focuses on properties of functional categories (Det, Comp, Infl, etc.), investigating the extent to which IL grammars diverge from the second language (L2). There are a number of claims that IL grammars are in some sense defective in the functional domain. Included in this category are proposals that learners are restricted to Li categories, features or feature values (Hawkins 1998a, b; Hawkins and Chan 1997; Liceras et al. 1997; Smith and Tsimpli 1995; Tsimpli and Roussou 1991), such that certain L2 functional properties are not attainable beyond the critical period. Even stronger are claims that IL representations are permanently impaired at least as far as certain properties of functional categories are concerned (Beck 1998; Eubank et al. 1997; Eubank and Grace 1998). Such claims for impaired IL grammars contrast with proposals that IL grammars are not defective, with L2 functional categories, features and feature values being in principle attainable (e.g. Duffield and White 1999; Epstein, Flynn and Martohardjono 1996; Schwartz and Sprouse 1994, 1996; White 1996). Previous proposals have concentrated largely on properties of clausal projections (IP and CP). In this paper, we examine the L2 acquisition of Spanish DPs, arguing against the position that representation of functional categories, features or feature values is restricted to LI properties or is otherwise defective. At the same time, we will show that there are indeed some problems associated with acquiring gender. We will suggest that these problems cannot be attributed to presence or absence of gender in the L1 and that they are not necessarily indicative of a representational deficit.