Modularity in Adult L2 Acquisition

Modular conceptions of the language faculty assume that linguistic knowledge is encoded in distinct cognitive systems differing in the nature of their representations. Earlier investigations (Schachter & Rutherford, 1979; Rutherford, 1983) have reported that L2 (English) syntactic forms are adapted to L1 (Chinese/Japanese) discourse functions, which suggests evidence for module‐sensitive acquisition. These findings invite a consideration of modular functioning in adult acquisition as a source of interlanguage‐primary language difference. Drawing on these earlier findings and production data from a large written corpus of Japanese‐English interlanguage, the paper shows that discourse‐pragmatic markedness conditions on the subject position combine with central aspects of a configurational syntax in the generation of sentential forms. The modular interaction leads to overrepresentation of NP‐movement and extraposition constructions, a significant number of which violate the Theta‐Criterion. Three positions on modular functioning are identified as possible ways of accounting for interlanguage‐primary language difference: (1) partial loss of the domain‐specific module; (2) penetration of the domain‐specific module by external knowledge representations; and (3) the creation of a module interface distinct from the L1 and the L2. The data strongly support the third position, lend some support to the second, but are difficult to reconcile with the first.