The Role of aspect in the acquisition of ser and estar in locative contexts by English-speaking learners of Spanish

This study proposes an explanatory account for the developmental stages of the acquisition of ser and estar in locative constructions. We propose that this copular distribution is regulated by two aspectual features, dynamicity and temporal boundedness. These features are crucial for the interpretat...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Perpiñán, Sílvia, Marín, Rafael, Moreno Villamar, Itziri
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:España
Recursos:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Repositorio:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
OAI Identifier:oai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/46833
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/10230/46833
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10489223.2019.1610408
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Locative constructions
L2 Spanish
Copular verbs
Ser
Estar
Events
Objects
Temporal boundedness
Dynamicity
Descrição
Resumo:This study proposes an explanatory account for the developmental stages of the acquisition of ser and estar in locative constructions. We propose that this copular distribution is regulated by two aspectual features, dynamicity and temporal boundedness. These features are crucial for the interpretation of nominals such as dinner, which refers to the physical food [–dynamic] with estar and to the event of having a meal [+dynamic] with ser. In a Picture Matching Task and an Elicited Production Task, English-speaking learners of Spanish had to comprehend, locate, and distinguish objects from events by employing the two Spanish copulas. We questioned whether L2 learners would be sensitive to the aspectual nature of subjects and copulas in locative constructions. We found that participants had difficulties interpreting the feature [+dynamic] in nominal subjects and propose that this is the last feature acquired, offering a revised developmental path of the acquisition of ser/estar.