Native and Nonnative Speakers’ Preferences for Preposition Pied‐Piping Versus Stranding in English Wh‐Relative Clauses

IF 3.5 1区文学 Q1 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Language Learning Pub Date : 2025-03-30 DOI:10.1111/lang.12712

Henan Duan, Helen Zhao, Jonathon Lum

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The current study investigated from a usage‐based perspective how phrasal frequency and collocational strength of verb–preposition collocations influence preposition placement in wh‐relative clauses. Native English speakers and Chinese learners of English as a second language of the intermediate and advanced English proficiencies completed a sentence completion task and an acceptability judgment task. The results showed that native and nonnative speakers had an overall preference for preposition stranding. Native speakers had a stronger acceptance of preposition pied‐piping than nonnative speakers; advanced learners had a stronger acceptance of pied‐piping than intermediate learners. The collocational strengths of verb–preposition combinations had a significant effect on the productive use and acceptability of preposition placement for both native speakers and advanced learners. Intermediate learners’ preposition placement was more affected by phrasal frequency. Overall, the findings confirm that the distributional properties of verb–preposition collocations influence speakers’ preference for the type of wh‐clause structure, which provides strong support to the usage‐based account of grammar analysis and grammar acquisition.

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本研究从基于用法的角度研究了动词-介词搭配的词组频率和搭配强度如何影响介词在wh-关系从句中的位置。母语为英语的中国人和英语作为第二语言的中高级英语学习者分别完成了一个句子完成任务和一个可接受性判断任务。结果表明，母语为英语的人和非母语为英语的人总体上都偏好介词搁置。与非母语者相比，母语者对介词叠词的接受度更高；与中级学习者相比，高级学习者对介词叠词的接受度更高。对于母语者和高级学习者来说，动词介词组合的搭配优势对介词位置的生产性使用和可接受性有显著影响。中级学习者的介词位置更受词组频率的影响。总之，研究结果证实，动词-介词搭配的分布属性会影响说话者对wh-clause结构类型的偏好，这为语法分析和语法习得中基于用法的观点提供了有力的支持。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Language Learning Multiple-

CiteScore

9.10

自引率

15.90%

发文量

期刊介绍： Language Learning is a scientific journal dedicated to the understanding of language learning broadly defined. It publishes research articles that systematically apply methods of inquiry from disciplines including psychology, linguistics, cognitive science, educational inquiry, neuroscience, ethnography, sociolinguistics, sociology, and anthropology. It is concerned with fundamental theoretical issues in language learning such as child, second, and foreign language acquisition, language education, bilingualism, literacy, language representation in mind and brain, culture, cognition, pragmatics, and intergroup relations. A subscription includes one or two annual supplements, alternating among a volume from the Language Learning Cognitive Neuroscience Series, the Currents in Language Learning Series or the Language Learning Special Issue Series.