This monograph by Franceschina presents an empirical study of what is known as Orwell's problem: a learnability problem manifested as lack of learning in spite of exposure to abundant and unambiguous positive input evidence. The study is premised on three main assumptions: (a) Universal Grammar (UG) operates normally in all types of natural language acquisition, (b) first language (L1)-selected parameterized functional features (PFFs) are available in the acquisition of languages other than the L1, and (c) there is a critical period for the acquisition of PFFs. Following Hawkins and Chan's (1997) failed functional features hypothesis (FFFH), Franceschina hypothesizes that in adult SLA, nativelike knowledge of PFFs will be restricted to the subset instantiated in the L1. Using gender marking in second language (L2) Spanish as a test case, the study addresses the following questions: (a) Can adult learners acquire nativelike knowledge of grammatical gender in the L2? (b) In adult L2 learners, is the possibility of nativelike attainment in the area of grammatical gender determined by the learner's L1? (c) What might prevent near-natives from reaching the same endstate knowledge as L1 speakers? Two experimental groups of adult near-natives with contrasting L1s (+gen vs. −gen) relative to the target language and a control group of native speakers were formed and subsequently subjected to six experimental tasks that tapped into comprehension, production, and metalinguistic judgments. The data from each test task separately underwent quantitative analyses, and the results consistently pointed to an advantage for the +gen group and, conversely, a disadvantage for the −gen group, thereby confirming the FFFH and, hence, Franceschina's own hypothesis.
The volume is organized into six chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the theoretical framework, content of the study, and organization of the volume. Chapter 2 provides definitions, followed by a detailed discussion of key conceptual terms employed, such as computational and representational resources, grammar, nativelikeness, endstate, and critical period. Theoretical assumptions about language and language learning are made, as are predictions. Chapter 3 reviews theories of child L1 versus adult L2 ultimate attainment differences. Franceschina argues in favor of the FFFH over a range of extralinguistic and linguistic accounts. Chapter 4 focuses on gender, the target structure of the empirical investigation, starting with an overview of definitions. Distinctions are made among the semantic, morphological, and syntactic aspects of gender, against which the gender system in Spanish is then described. Also considered in this chapter are processing and acquisitional issues, including online production and comprehension by near-natives and natives and L1 acquisition versus SLA. Chapter 5 presents the empirical study. Details are given on the design, data, and experimental tasks. On average, 75 adult subjects (31 in the +gen group, 15 in the −gen group, and 29 controls) participated in the tasks. Quantitative results are reported for each task, followed by a summary of the general patterns observed. The volume concludes with chapter 6, wherein the research questions are revisited and main findings are highlighted. In amassing further support for the FFFH, in this chapter Franceschina invokes, inter alia, works in SLA on other PFFs such as uninterpretable number and past tense marking, arguing that only the FFFH provides an adequate account of the persistent representational divergence selectively occurring in some L2 learners' endstate grammar. In closing, Franceschina suggests several areas for future research, including, but not limited to, SLA of other PFFs, age of first exposure as a variable, and effects of ambiguous input.
Although gender features are a main concern in this volume, the issues dealt with herein are complex and wide ranging, relatable to a broad SLA audience. For UG-based researchers, the study directly joins the debate on whether the lack of targetlike attainment concerning functional features represents a deficit in the core or periphery. For researchers assuming other cognitive architectures, the study sheds light on a long-term concern for the generic difficulty in SLA of grammatical morphemes. Indeed, whereas the field of SLA today appears much divided due to an increased number of contending conceptual perspectives, SLA of grammatical morphemes has become a uniting theme that cuts across the diversity. Linguists, psycholinguists, and neurolinguists, among others, are all focusing much attention on this issue. Franceschina's study makes a valuable addition to the L2 literature: By virtue of finely designed experimental tasks, the study produces a granular understanding of the linguistic loci of the particular learning problem (i.e., L2 endstate, nontargetlike representation of Spanish grammatical gender), and at the same time offers substantive insights on broader issues such as interlearner variability and the role of L1 in SLA ultimate attainment.
