There are various ways speakers use language to refer to things and people. Depending on context, a person named JOHN can be referred to as "he," "the guy," "John," etc. English native speakers tend to use a pronoun (e.g., "he") when its referent is salient in their mind, such as when it is the discourse topic; when saliency decreases, they tend to use a more explicit form, such as a repeated proper name (e.g., "John"). In comparison to English, Chinese and Japanese have an additional option: omission, i.e., the "null pronoun." When the referent is highly salient, native Chinese speakers use overt pronouns, but they can also use the null pronoun. By contrast, native Japanese speakers rarely use overt pronouns but frequently use the null pronoun.
This project investigates how intermediate-to-advanced second language learners of English, whose native language is Chinese or Japanese, as well as native speakers of these three languages, refer to people embedded in various discourse contexts. The participants' preferences for referential expressions are examined in real-time comprehension and production tasks. The research project investigates whether preferences are influenced by differences of saliency manipulated in contexts and/or by cognitive load; greater processing demand (e.g., production) should decrease saliency of referents, which should in turn increase the preference of a more explicit form. The project also investigates whether Chinese learners use more overt pronouns in English than Japanese learners do, reflecting their use of pronouns in their native language.
This is the first study to systematically examine the preferences in both comprehension and production tasks by learners of English and the three groups of native speakers. Unlike previous second-language studies that used complex tasks and found problems coordinating discourse and syntax even in near-native learners, this project uses simple sentences and procedures to see learners? true processing behavior. Since foreign-language classrooms rarely cover use of referential expressions in discourse, the research results should provide language educators with much-needed insights into their acquisition and use. This project also enhances the training of a promising graduate student.
