A Study On The Acquisition Of L2 Chinese Causative Structures

Causation is pervasive in human languages and it consists of causation event and becoming event. Causative construction is composed of causative verbs which can be classified into four categories: causative light verbs, affixed causative verbs, converted causative verbs and compounding causative verbs. Causation may be formed with lexical and syntactic devices in both English and Chinese. However, causation in English is achieved mainly by lexical devices, and morphological causative constructions and lexical causative constructions with converted causative verbs are typical. By contrast, analytical causative constructions and lexical causative constructions with compounding causative verbs are typical Chinese causative constructions.By investigating L1-English L2 Chinese learners'knowledge of causative constructions, this research adopts the VP-shell theory of the Minimalist Program, explores whether the L1-English L2 Chinese learners can shift from the causative constructions formed with lexical devices in English to the ones formed with syntactic devices, whether the acquisition of Chinese causative constructions is determined by syntax or semantics and the role of the first language in the acquisition of Chinese causative constructions. The results show that our participants have basically completed the shift, that semantics plays a determining role in the acquisition of Chinese causative constructions, and that the first language helps L1-English L2 Chinese learners to acquire Chinese analytical causative constructions and the Chinese counterpart of English causative construction with break.Finally, the teaching of the Chinese causative constructions to L1-English L2 Chinese learners and the implications of the present study to L2 Chinese language teaching are discussed. The limitation of the present study and the direction of the future research are also pointed out.