The acceptability of Subject bare nouns and (non-bare) DPs in Italian. An experimental study comparing Italian L1 and Polish L1- Italian L2 speakers

The acceptability of Subject bare nouns and (non-bare) DPs in Italian.
An experimental study comparing Italian L1 and Polish L1- Italian L2 speakers

The role played by determiners and syntactic position in the interpretation of Subjects is a vexed question for linguistic research and a number of works have been dedicated to this issue, from different perspectives (cf. among other, Chierchia, 1998; Longobardi, 1994, 2001, 2003; Renzi et al., 1991). Indeed, not all languages show a one-to-one mapping between form and semantic interpretation of DPs and, in order to correctly understand the intended meaning, one must acquire and combine morpho-syntactic rules and semantic properties.
Expanding on this topic, our study compares the acceptability rates provided by 224 Italian L1 speakers and 19 Polish L1 Italian L2 speakers on Italian non-bare and bare subjects, in preverbal and postverbal position, with six interpretations (generic, existential, specific definite, specific indefinite, non-specific definite and non-specific indefinite). As Polish does not have articles, the comparison with this L2 population may help unravel the role played by syntax and by semantics in the distribution and interpretation of subject DPs.
To this purpose, a Latin square Acceptability Judgment Task (AJT) has been designed containing 216 test-items and 36 fillers. Each item was preceded by a sentence providing a context for the target sentence. The participants were then instructed to rate the acceptability of target sentences (divided in 3 sessions, to avoid tiredness), using a Likert scale from 1 to 7 (an across-subjects experiment).
In order to determine which variable affects the acceptability of the test items, we performed a cross-classified multilevel analysis that took into account the random effects of participants and items. Interactions between variables were also tested and further details of the results were provided by a post-hoc analysis. We first examined the L1 data so as to determine the baseline. We then compared the performance of the two populations with the specific aim of establishing which variables play a major role in the acceptability rates of Subject DPs in Italian L2.
With regard to the L1 data, a significant three-way interaction emerged from the statistical analysis. The effect of the pre-/postverbal position of the subject combined with bare/non-bare form of the subject on acceptability is different according to the verb-type. Post-hoc tests show that for transitive verbs and, to a lesser extent, for unergative verbs there is a significant difference between preverbal and postverbal position, whereas for unaccusatives this is not the case (Fig. 1). Statistics also showed that the variable interpretation does not significantly affect acceptability: there is no difference in acceptability between any of the groups.
Given the results for the L1 population, we turned to the L2’s data. We first established that the effect of the variable interpretation on acceptability for the L2 group is not significant. In this respect, both groups perform similarly. We then focused on the variables bare/non-bare and pre-/postverbal position of the subject in relation to the variable Italian L1 vs. Italian L2. The statistical analysis of these data revealed a significant three-way interaction between these three variables. Post-hoc tests showed that only in the preverbal condition is there a significant difference between bare and non-bare Subjects and that this only holds for the Italian L1 speakers.
The outcomes of this study show that traditional accounts for the syntax and semantics of subject DPs should be reconsidered. From the analysis of these data, it clearly emerges that interpretation does not affect acceptability, neither for the L1 group, nor for the L2 group. In addition, and contrary to expectations (from existing literature), the L1 group rated the acceptability of bare/non-bare in postverbal position significantly lower than the L2 group. For Italian L1’s the unmarked SVO order thus seems to be preferred in all cases, independent of the presence of a determiner. Italian L2’s however, do not make any significant difference between bare/non-bare Subjects in preverbal position. This empirical study thus calls for an explanation concerning (a). the implications for linguistic theory, particularly for the understanding of the interplay between syntax and semantics in DP constructions; and (b) the way these data relate to some previous studies on the L2 acquisition of bare and non-bare DPs in various language combinations.