Aspect Hypothesis Research Articles

Prototypical and non-prototypical marking in the advanced learner’s aspectuo-temporal system

This paper investigates the effect of verb semantics on the variable use of aspectuo-temporal morphology by the advanced learner of French. Using the Aspect Hypothesis as a heuristic to test the extent to which the advanced learner overrides the effect of verb semantics in aspectual contexts where the verb assumes a non-prototypical value, the study examines the interaction between lexical aspect and grammatical aspect in order to identify which factor exerts a stronger influence on the learner’s aspectuo-temporal choice. Results suggest that lexical aspect continues to constrain the advanced learner’s aspectuo-temporal system, such that non-prototypical marking poses greater difficulty than prototypical marking.

Recent research on the acquisition of aspect: an embarrassment of riches?

This review article surveys recent research on the first and second language acquisition of temporal and aspectual properties of natural languages.Three recently published books are discussed in the context of the primacy or aspect hypothesis and the prototype, the connectionist and the discourse explanations for the attested acquisition sequences. A potentially misleading terminological issue is highlighted: Deictic tense, grammatical and lexical aspect are often conflated in acquisition studies. Recent research from the (innatist) generative perspective (e.g., Olsen and Weinberg, 1999) is also examined. An alternative explanation of the skewed acquisition sequences in terms of processing costs is proposed. Some important topics for future aspect research are identified.

The Roles of L1 Influence and Lexical Aspect in the Acquisition of Temporal Morphology

Two cross‐sectional studies (N= 70; N= 91) used a replication design to investigate the degree to which adult Francophone ESL learners’ use of tense/aspect markers in past contexts supported the predictions of the aspect hypothesis (Andersen & Shirai, 1994; Bardovi‐Harlig, 1994) and the degree to which it showed L1 influence. Consistent with the aspect hypothesis, the learners were significantly more successful in using simple past with telics, struggled most with statives, and, in their nontarget responses, preferred progressive for activities and present for statives. The Role of the L1 was restricted to the learners’ association of nontarget perfect (a French‐influenced form) with telics. The interpretation of the findings takes into account methodological issues and developmental constraints.

Aspectual distinctions in Spanish as a foreign language: The early stages of oral production

This study investigated the early stages of development in the use of preterit and imperfect forms in the oral production of 15 first-year learners of Spanish as a foreign language. The data was analyzed according to the semantic categorization of verbs typically used in studies designed to test the aspect hypothesis. Each participant produced five oral monologues whose topics were chosen to elicit a variety of personal and impersonal narratives dealing with recent and habitual past events. The results generally support the claims of the aspect hypothesis regarding the gradual spread of perfective and imperfective forms according to the semantic category of the verbs involved. The type of narrative elicited appears to be an important factor in the frequency and accuracy of use of preterit and imperfect forms by the learners.

Interlanguage Development by Two Korean Speakers of English With a Focus on Temporality

This study investigates the acquisition of temporality in English by 2 Korean speakers over a period of 24 months. Temporality is examined from two perspectives: (1) the expression of past‐time events (PTEs) and (2) semantic aspect and verb morphology, that is, the testing of the Aspect Hypothesis. The analysis of the expression of PTEs confirms earlier findings. The learners’ use of discourse devices preceded lexical means, which, in turn, preceded inflectional means. The analysis of the distribution of verb morphology in relation to semantic aspect generally supported the claims of the Aspect Hypothesis. The extension of progressive marking, however, was not observed. Further, contrary to the hypothesis, learners used progressive marking on state verbs.

Tense, Aspect, and Narrative Structure in Spanish as a Second Language

The performance of four immersed L2 Spanish speakers is used to test both the Aspect Hypothesis, initially proposed by Andersen (1986; 1991) and the Discourse Hypothesis (Bardovi-Harlig 1994). Personal narratives in four oral interviews support the interaction between the inherent lexical aspect of verbs and grammatical aspect, in accordance with the Aspect Hypothesis. A closer analysis of the narratives within the framework of foreground versus background information shows significant levels of interaction between past grammatical aspectual distinctions and grounding principles, in favor of the Discourse Hypothesis. Thus, these results reveal the two hypotheses as necessary and complementary frameworks of analysis which should be used to obtain a more complete picture of the interpersonal variation in the aspectual system of contact speakers of Spanish as a second language.

Verb semantics and the acquisition of tense‐aspect in L2 English

Studies on the L2‐acquisition of Tense‐Aspect (TA) have argued that the emergence and development of verb morphology is constrained by semantic‐conceptual prototypes in a way that coincides with the claims of the Aspect Hypothesis (AH) (Andersen & Shirai 1996). This paper presents results from a longitudinal study of the development of TA in L2 English which suggests that the influence of such prototypes is itself constrained by other factors, notably L1‐induced predispositions to mark specific temporal categories, the morphophonemic nature of different grammatical categories, and the nature of the processing mechanisms that operate in the learning of grammatical morphology.

Chapter Four: The Aspect Hypothesis

The Aspect Hypothesis, p.192In Primary Language Acquisition, p.193In Second Language Acquisition, p.195Grammatical and Lexical Aspect, p.205Investigations of the Aspect Hypothesis in Second Language Acquisition, p.227The Spread of Perfective Past, p.228The Spread of Imperfective Past, p.234The Spread of Progressive, p.237Overgeneralization of Progressive in States, p.238Sample Study: The Distribution of Verbal Morphology in Learner Narratives, p.239Assessing the Influence of Lexical Aspect, p.251Challenges to the Aspect Hypothesis, p.265Chapter Summary, p.272

NARRATIVE STRUCTURE AND LEXICAL ASPECT

Two hypotheses regarding the distribution of emergent tense-aspect morphology in SLA have been proposed: the aspect hypothesis, which claims the distribution of interlanguage verbal morphology is determined by lexical aspectual class, and the discourse hypothesis, which claims it is determined by narrative structure. Recent studies have tested and supported both hypotheses individually. This study expands the investigation to include an analysis of both narrative structure and lexical aspectual class in a single corpus comprising 74 narratives (37 oral and written pairs) produced by adult learners of English as a second language at various proficiency levels. The results suggest that both hypotheses are necessary to account for the distribution of verbal morphology in interlanguage.

The emergence of tense-aspect morphology in Japanese: universal predisposition?

This study investigates the emergence and later development of three tense-aspect markers in Japanese - -ta (past), -te i- (durative), and -ru (non-past) - in the data of three Japanese children. It was found that the emergence of tense-aspect morphology in Japanese does not necessarily follow the prediction of the Aspect Hypothesis (Shirai & Andersen 1995), but is mediated by typological facts of Japanese, and that there is individual variation in the acquisition of morphology. The results of the study suggest that predictions concerning early verb morphology should not be taken so strongly, and that various factors should be considered as determinants of the emergence of tense-aspect morphology.

The Acquisition of Tense‐Aspect Marking in Japanese as a Second Language

Researchers have argued that the developmental sequence of tense‐aspect morphology in second language (L2) acquisition follows a universal pattern (the Aspect Hypothesis; e.g., Robison, 1995). Although such a tendency fits the acquisition of typologically similar languages (English, French and Spanish), the universal claim requires testing against non‐Indo European languages. This study tested the Aspect Hypothesis using L2 Japanese (JSL) data. Experiment 1 showed that in oral production data, 3 learners of JSL showed stronger association of achievement verbs and past marking (‐ta), and of activity verbs and progressive/durative marking (‐te i‐), than native speakers. Experiment 2 showed that in an acceptability judgment test of tense‐aspect forms, 17 learners of JSL had more difficulty correctly judging the acceptability of the progressive/durative marker (‐te i‐) with achievement verbs than with activity verbs. The results extend the applicability of the Aspect Hypothesis to a non‐Indo‐European language.

The aspect hypothesis and the emergence of tense distinctions in naturalistic L2 acquisition

L'hypothese de l'aspect stipule que la flexion verbale dans l'acquisition precoce d'une L2 marque essentiellement l'aspect lexical propre au verbe en negligeant les distinctions de temps. En examinant l'acquisition de l'anglais par deux enfants allemands, l'A. montre que la flexion verbale est bien liee a l'aspect lexical, mais que, contrairement aux predictions, la flexion -ING n'est pas associee principalement aux verbes d'activite mais aussi a des verbes d'achevement. Ceci s'explique par le fait que les enfants utilisent la forme progressive pour se referer au futur. Ainsi, bien que l'aspect lexical semble permettre l'apprentissage de la flexion verbale dans l'acquisition precoce de la L2, le temps n'est pas defectif

The Aspect Hypothesis Revisited: A Cross-Sectional Study of Tense and Aspect Marking in Interlanguage1

This paper examines the aspect hypothesis, which asserts that verb inflections in early interlanguage systems function primarily as markers of lexical aspect independent of the target language It clarifies how developing inflections, particularly tense markers, align with aspect categories and how this association varies across proficiency level The study analyzed English interviews with twenty-six Puerto Rican college students grouped into four proficiency levels Nine operational tests were applied to 3,649 predicates to assess three dimensions of lexical aspect, which interact to form six aspectual categories Chi-square tests indicate significant interdependence of morphology and aspect at each proficiency level, Ss link, -s with states, -ing with activities, and PAST with punctual events, the latter spreading to all punctual or telic predicates among the highest-level learners The association of inflections with tense increases with proficiency level, lower-level Ss associate -s and PAST primarily with lexical aspect, higher-level Ss Primarily with tense

Discourse Motivations for Some Cognitive Acquisition Principles

This paper offers an alternative interpretation for what has been called the defective tense hypothesis, the primacy of aspect hypothesis, or simply the aspect hypothesis in the literature on first and second language acquisition of tense and aspect. The aspect hypothesis states that first and second language learners will initially be influenced by the inherent semantic aspect of verbs or predicates in the acquisition of tense and aspect markers associated with or affixed to these verbs. Our account focuses on the observation that adult native speakers also appear to adhere to this primacy of inherent semantic aspect in the relative quantitative distribution of tense-aspect markers in their speech. We argue that a small set of cognitive operating principles and the notion of prototypicality account for this behavior in learners. Moreover, we argue that these principles are a consequence of how learners and native speakers alike organize information and their perspectives on it in ongoing discourse.