| The Chinese language is classified as a topic-prominent language according to Li and Thompson (1976). Among the features characterizing a topic-prominent language, topic-comment structures and zero anaphors are frequently observed in Chinese. In contrast, English is a subject-prominent language and grammatical concepts such as subject and object are more important than those of topic and comment.; The question then arises: to what extent are these differences reflected in the interlanguage of English speakers learning Chinese? This study used a story-telling technique to elicit data and compared the narratives produced by learners of Chinese as a foreign language at various proficiency levels with the narratives produced by native Chinese speakers. It was found that: (1) The novice learners' interlanguage is basically not topic-prominent; (2) At the intermediate level, learners' interlanguage begins to be different from their native language; and (3) The interlanguage becomes more and more topic-prominent as their proficiency improves.; The results of this study challenge some hypotheses in second language acquisition theories. Some researchers have proposed that early interlanguage is characterized by topic-comment structuring (Givon, 1979; Rutherford, 1983; Fuller & Gundel, 1986). Topic-comment structures are expected to occur early in natural second language acquisition, because the process of second language acquisition is a process of syntacticization in which learners change their use from a pragmatic to a syntactic mode (Givon, 1979). The results of this study, however, did not support the early topic-comment stage hypothesis in adult second language acquisition.; The phenomena observed in this study are likely due to suppression of the pragmatic mode by adult learners' first language which is subject-prominent. The subject-prominence characteristics of English exert an important influence on the process of learning Chinese. It is suggested that it is advisable to develop awareness of topic/subject-prominence of Chinese and English among both language instructors and students. More attention should be paid to the topic-prominence characteristics of Chinese in teaching and textbook design. |
