跨模式語言習得與代名詞之詮釋： 以臺灣手語學習者爲例

Cross-Modality Learning and Pronoun Interpretation: a case study of Taiwan Sign Language

唐駿(Tankersley, Devin)

指導教授 ： 蘇宜青

國立清華大學/人文社會學院/語言學研究所/碩士(2018年)

摘要

本論文探討母語者及學習者對子句中顯性代名詞(overt pronoun)及零代名詞(null pronoun)的詮釋是否有所差異，三組受試對象爲(A)臺灣手語爲母語者、(B)臺灣手語之學習者及(C)未學過臺灣手語的中文使用者。本研究之目的分爲兩類：(一）顯性代名詞及零代名詞在句外(extra-sentential)及句內(coreferential)的可能詮釋中有何差異；(二）對臺灣手語爲第二語言的學習者而言，他們較可能將這些代名詞按照其母語抑或是臺灣手語的語序進行翻譯。此研究旨在測試臺灣手語及中文使用者對 Overt Pronoun Constraint (OPC) 的理解，以及子句中的零代名詞所指的對象能否爲句外的某人或某物。
根據OPC規則表示，在顯性代名詞與零代名詞皆可出現之情況下，顯性代名詞無法被句法變量(syntactic variable)所約束(Montalbetti, 1984)。先前有關OPC在第二語言習得中的文獻指出，即使OPC存在於學習者的母語，但只有當學習者達到進階程度時，他們才能展現出相當於母語者對OPC同程度的理解。此外，先前有關零代名詞詮釋的文獻也表示，母語爲中文者不容許零代名詞指句外的對象 (Lust et al., 1999)。爲了測試此兩種代名詞之使用限制，本論文以Truth Value Judgment Task爲實驗方法，以利研究對象熟知篇章文意後，再進行句型之判斷。然而，此研究發現以臺灣手語爲第二語言的學習者能接受顯性代名詞被句法變量約束的句型；而此結果與OPC所預期的情況相反。不過，也因爲中文與臺灣手語的母語者都接受該句型，故筆者認爲OPC在這兩種語言中不一定存在。此外，根據實驗結果顯示，三組受試者皆能接受零代名詞可用來指句外對象，但此詮釋可能只在特定情況中出現。

關鍵字

第二語言習得 ； 臺灣手語 ； 代名詞詮釋 ； 量化詞 ； 顯性/零代名詞

並列摘要

This study presents an investigation into the interpretations of null and overt pronouns in embedded clauses by native and non-native speakers of Taiwan Sign Language (TSL), as well as monolingual native Mandarin speakers. The goals of this study are two-pronged, investigating: (a) how the two types of pronouns (null vs overt) differ in their possible interpretations (extra-sentential vs coreferential); and (b) whether second language (L2) learners of TSL are more likely to interpret these pronominals along the lines of their native language (Mandarin) or their target language (TSL). In particular, this study aims to test the knowledge of the Overt Pronoun Constraint (OPC) among speakers of TSL and Mandarin, and how accessible extra-sentential referents are for null embedded pronouns.
The OPC states that in cases where both null and overt pronouns may occur, an overt pronoun may not be bound by a syntactic variable (Montalbetti, 1984). Previous research on the OPC in second language (L2) acquisition has found that L2 learners only demonstrate native-like understanding of OPC at advanced stages, even when their native language has the OPC, as found in Matsuoka & Lillo-Martin (2017), where L1-Japanese learners of Japanese Sign Language tended to allow bound variable readings. In the case of null pronouns, experimental research into their interpretation by native speakers of Mandarin has found that extra-sentential readings are strongly dispreferred (Lust et al., 1999). The present study is the second study to look at L2-M2 (second modality) learners, employing the Truth Value Judgment Task, where participants can evaluate the meaning of a sentence against a particular context, as our main test methodology. Overall, we found that L2 learners of TSL did indeed allow bound variable readings, contrary to OPC, though both groups of L1 speakers likewise allowed bound variable readings, casting some doubt on the validity of OPC in these two languages. Extra-sentential antecedents were also available for null pronouns, though often only under certain conditions.

並列關鍵字

L2 acquisition ； Taiwan Sign Language ； pronominal interpretation ； quantifiers ； overt/null pronouns

參考文獻

AOUN, Joseph, Norbert HORNSTEIN. 1992. Bound and Referential Pronouns. In C.-T. James HUANG, Robert MAY (eds.), Logical structure and linguistic structure: cross-linguistic perspectives. (pp. 1-23). Kluwer Academic Publishers.

AOUN, Joseph, Yen-hui Audrey LI. 1996. Two Cases of Logical Relations: Bound Pronouns and Anaphoric Relations. In Robert FREIDIN (ed.), Current Issues in Comparative Grammar. (pp. 346-373). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

BELLETI, Adriana, Elia BENNATI, Antonella SORACE. (2007). Theoretical and developmental issues in the syntax of subjects: Evidence from near-native Italian. Nat Lang Linguist Theory, 25, 657-689.

CARMINATI, Maria Nella. (2002). The processing of Italian subject pronouns. PhD dissertation, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

CHANG, Jung-hsing, Tsung-yu CHUANG. 2011. 〈台灣手語人名之造詞研究〉 [Personal Name Signs in Taiwan Sign Language]. In Jung-hsing CHANG (ed.), 《語言語認知：戴浩一先生七秩壽慶論文集 》 [Language and Cognition: Festschrift in Honor of James H-Y. Tai on His 70th Birthday]. (pp. 259-276). Taipei: Crane Publishing.