Effects of syntactic role on L1 & L2 processing of pronoun resolution

Abstract

Abstract This study examined how syntactic roles influence pronoun resolution in L1-Chinese L2-English learners and English natives, testing predictions from the Shallow Structure Hypothesis (SSH). Using a self-paced reading task and acceptability judgments, the study analyzed interpretations of ambiguous pronouns when NP2 varied as a direct or prepositional object. Results showed that natives and advanced learners preferentially resolved pronouns toward NP1 when NP2 was a prepositional object, reflecting reliance on syntactic prominence. Offline judgments confirmed this preference across groups, but online processing diverged: natives exhibited slower resolution for direct objects, indicating deeper syntactic engagement, while L2 learners showed uniform reading times, suggesting weaker structure-building. Intermediate learners lacked sensitivity to syntactic roles; advanced learners approached native-like biases but retained non-native processing patterns, supporting the weak SSH view of L2 deficits as quantitative rather than qualitative. The study advances a refined interface account between syntax and incremental processing.