L2 Acquisition of Japanese Case Drop

This study investigates whether a nonparametrized principle of Universal Grammar, namely the Empty Category Principle (ECP), is accessible to adult second language (L2) learners. Kanno (1996, 1998) investigates this issue by looking at the L2 acquisition of Japanese Case drop, which is regulated by the ECP. She claims that adult learners have access to the ECP even at very early stages of L2 acquisition. The present study demonstrates that, contrary to the previous findings, even advanced L2 learners are not sensitive to the syntactic constraints on Case drop (i.e. the ECP) by examining the L2 learners' knowledge of pragmatic constraints as well as those of the ECP. Advanced & intermediate English-speaking learners of Japanese were given a test of naturalness judgments on Japanese Case drop. Test sentences were manipulated in such a way that they would only violate either the pragmatic or the syntactic constraints of Case drop, but not both, as had been the case in previous studies. Tables, References. Adapted from the source document