De Gruyter Mouton Meaning in the Second Language: 34 (Studies on Language Acquisition [SOLA], 34)

This book reviews recent research on the second language acquisition of meaning with a view of establishing whether there is a critical period for the acquisition of compositional semantics. A modular approach to language architecture is assumed. The book addresses the Critical Period Hypothesis by examining the positive side of language development: it demonstrates which modules of the grammar are easy to acquire and are not subject to age effects. The Bottleneck Hypothesis is proposed, which argues that inflectional morphology and its features present the most formidable challenge, while syntax and phrasal semantics pose less difficulty to learners. Findings from the neurofunctional imaging (PET, fMRI) and electrophysiology (ERPs) of L2 comprehension are reviewed and critically examined. Since it is argued that experimental tasks in those studies are mostly in need of linguistic refinement, evidence from behavioral studies of L2 acquisition of semantics are brought to bear on comprehension modeling. Learning situations are divided into two types: those presenting learners with complex syntax, but simple semantics; and those offering complex semantic mismatches in simple syntactic contexts. The numerous studies of both types reviewed in the book indicate that there is no barrier to ultimate success in the acquisition of phrasal semantics. Review The valuable contribution of this monograph to the acquisition of meaning in a second language is timely after initial experimental studies have probed both complex semantics (e.g. Montrul and Slabakova, 2003) and simple semantics (e.g.Dekydtspotter, 2001). Slabakova's critical review and proposal of the Bottleneck Hypothesis will allow researchers to take stock of current developments in the field. This is a valuable contribution to the field of language acquisition and will be of significant interest to researchers and graduate students.Kevin McManus in: Linguist List 20.2378 About the Author Roumyana Slabakova, University of Iowa, USA.