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The Basque Auxiliary Verb: Morphosyntactic Analysis and Implications for Second Language Acquisition

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The Basque Auxiliary Verb: Morphosyntactic Analysis and Implications for Second Language Acquisition THE BASQUE AUXILIARY VERB: MORPHOSYNTACTIC ANALYSIS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics By Laura Siebecker, M.S. Washington, DC March 25, 2015 Copyright 2015 by Laura Siebecker All Rights Reserved ii THE BASQUE AUXILIARY VERB: MORPHOSYNTACTIC ANALYSIS AND IMPLCATIONS FOR SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Laura Siebecker, M.S. Thesis Advisor: Ruth T. Kramer, Ph.D. ABSTRACT This dissertation presents a morphosyntactic analysis of the Basque auxiliary verb (AUX) and Case system. Based on this analysis, predictions for the trajectory of acquisition of AUX and Case marking by Spanish-speaking adult learners were generated and tested in a pilot study. Findings provide a solid foundation for future research, particularly into the impact of age of initial exposure to Basque. AUX is a highly complex, multi-morphemic structure that includes clitics doubling the subject, direct object, and indirect object arguments. The distribution of these clitics is claimed to be further restricted by their featural content and the arguments with which they co-occur (Arregi & Nevins, 2012). The patterning of doubled clitics in Basque proves a challenge to many analyses of this phenomenon (e.g., Jaeggli, 1992; Roberts, 2010; Sportiche, 1996; Suñer, 1988; Uriagereka, 1995). Further, current analyses of clitic doubling in Basque (Arregi & Nevins, 2012) are predicated on questionable assumptions about underlying syntactic structure. The analysis here extends the M-merger approach to clitic doubling (Harizanov, 2014; Kramer, 2014) to the Basque data, suggesting further restrictions and modifications to this operation. In the course of providing an account for doubled clitics, this dissertation reviews proposals on multiple aspects of Basque clause structure and Case assignment (e.g., Arregi & Nevins, 2012; Laka, 2006a, 2006b; Preminger, 2011, 2012; Rezac, Albizu, & Etxepare, 2014; Rezac, 2008a, 2008b), iii and synthesizes these accounts to offer a cohesive view of the syntactic and morphological derivation of AUX. The dissertation then turns to the potential for second language (L2) learners to acquire the Basque AUX and Case system, noting that inflectional morphology is a well-known challenge for L2 learners (Hopp, 2009; Lardiere, 2007; White, 2003, among others). A pilot study was conducted with native speakers, speakers who acquired Basque in early childhood, and L2 learners, which provides a strong basis for continued investigation. Issues to be pursued further include the impact of age of first exposure to Basque, whether nativelike performance can be achieved by individual adult L2 learners, and if the challenge in AUX and Case marking production lies in the syntactic domain or in the morphology. iv TO CARL It’s all right when you’re around, rain or shine. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation was far from a solo effort. I would like to thank everyone who helped me from beginning to end, but to say everything to everyone would likely result in another dissertation, so I will try to keep the remarks here brief. Please know that my immense gratitude goes far beyond what I can fit on these few pages. First, to my committee: to my mentor and advisor, Ruth Kramer, your guidance in all matters – academic and otherwise – has been a driving force throughout this process. I could not have come this far without your constant support, be it in detailed comments, analytical discussions, or a well-placed Pirates of Penzance reference. My deepest thanks for helping me maintain my focus while navigating the twists and turns of both academic life and real life. To Donna Lardiere, I could not have begun – and certainly could not have completed! – the second part of this project without your advice and confidence in me. From your seminars to our meetings, I have always appreciated that you heard my ideas out and asked the most thought- provoking questions in response, in the most encouraging way. To Omer Preminger, I sincerely appreciate your willingness to dive into this project after it was already underway. Your well- articulated feedback was hugely beneficial, as was your willingness to then help me hammer out possible solutions. This project was influenced by all of the linguists from whom I have had the privilege of learning in the past years. I feel lucky to have completed a program that offered exposure to so many sub-fields of linguistics, and appreciate the many perspectives on language this has shown me. To my Georgetown professors, Héctor Campos, Jeff Connor-Linton, Elena Herburger, Graham Katz, Natalie Schilling, Shaligram Shukla, Deborah Tannen, and Lisa Zsiga, thank you vi for teaching me to consider data in so many different ways, and for opening up so many areas of linguistic inquiry. A special thank you goes to Alison Mackey, whose passion for SLA research is contagious, and whose guidance on methodology is without equal. The fieldwork with learners in the Basque country could not have happened without your facilitation – and for that opportunity I am forever appreciative. I am also grateful to Emily Manetta, my first linguistics professor at the University of Vermont; your enthusiasm for theoretical linguistics is what made this whole journey seem possible in the first place, and thank you for giving me every opportunity to get started. Finally, to the guest speakers in the Department of Linguistics’ Speaker Series, particularly Karlos Arregi and Ellen Woolford, who graciously met with me to discuss my work. Thanks are also due to many wonderful Basque linguists and speakers, particularly to Pilar Garcia-Mayo and Maria-José Ezeizabarrena, who welcomed me to at their university and went above and beyond to make sure that my time there was productive and successful. I am grateful to all of my participants, who enthusiastically shared their knowledge of Basque with me in completing the pilot experiment, and my DC Basque teacher, Igan Erostarbe, for his continued coaching. Special thanks also go to my native speaker informants for their fascinating judgments, and to my wonderful coders, without whom analysis of the writing task data would have been impossible. Finally, to Itxaso Rodríguez-Ordóñez: you generously donated so much of your time and knowledge to this project. From initial discussion of theoretical issues, to development of experimental materials, to recruiting, and through data analysis, I am so thankful for your willingness to answer my millions of questions and look through anything I sent you. Thank you vii for quick responses to middle-of-the-night emails, thank you for your guidance for my trip to the Basque country, and thank you for your friendship. I am forever in your debt. Much of what I learned in this process was from my wonderful peers. From crash-course introductions into new topics to practical advice on how to get things done, this would not have been possible without the friendly support of those also in the trenches. To the sustaining members of the Agreement Reading Group - Colleen Diamond, Morgan Rood, Brett Sutton, and Katie Vadella – thank you for indulging me in all things Basque, listening to all of my half-baked ideas, and offering great feedback. And to the many others who have been there along the way: Luke Amoroso, Goeun Chae, Yanyan Cui, Daniel Ginsberg, Jessi Grieser, Hilary Harner, Dana Hunter, Sun Hee Hwang, Jimin Kim, Julie Lake, Eunji Lee, Jinsok Lee, Narges Mahpeykar, Lauren Park, Mackenzie Price, Kate Riestenberg, Rebecca Sachs, Sheena Shah, Yoonsang Song, Kaitlyn Tagarelli, Amelia Tseng, Nicole Ziegler, and so many more. My family has been a grounding force during the entire graduate school process. They have always been so encouraging and so proud of the work I do, and are a source of constant love and motivation. To my mother, father, sister, and brother, thank you for doing everything you can to help me succeed, and for respecting my need to work even during the little time that we all have to share together. In the past six years, my mother has read and proofread every single page that I have written – she told me to spell out the number six just then instead of using the numeral; this is just one example a way in which my family has gone above and beyond for me in this endeavor. Thank you, too, to my amazing in-laws, for welcoming me so warmly into your loving family, and for accepting me so readily as one of your own – how lucky I am to have found a whole family who loves words as much as I do! To my own growing family: I cannot viii begin to quantify the love and gratitude I feel. To Carl, my husband and very best friend, thank you for letting me share this wonderful life you. Thank you for all you have done to get me to this point – helping me to work through weekends, nights, and early mornings, always saying yes when I ask you if you “wanna know something cool” about linguistics, and offering me a respite whenever I need one, even if I don’t know it myself. Thank you, too, for being a true partner in parenthood with me, as we both figure out what that means. I am so lucky to have you as my foundation. To Maximus, my sweet boy, you have given me the best gift in life. It is an honor to watch you grow and learn, and I never cease to be amazed by you. And to my little girl, meeting you will be the greatest reward. Finally, I appreciate to the institutional support I received from Georgetown University, particularly from Linguistics Department staff, Manela Diez, Erin Esch, and Jennie Brusstar.
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