JFL Learners' Referential-Form Choice in First-through Third-PersonNarratives

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  • 日本語学習者の一,二人称および三人称談話における指示表現の選択

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This study investigates the selection of one referential form, a full noun phrase (NP), pronoun, or zero pronoun, over another in oral narratives by English-speaking learners of Japanese as a foreign language (JFL). First-, second-, and third-person narrative data were collected through film-retelling and role-play tasks from 36 learners of Japanese at three proficiency levels as well as from 15 native Japanese speakers. While the use of zero pronoun in subject position for first- and second-person reference was frequent and close to target-language (TL) norms for all three proficiency groups, in third-person contexts, the learners supplied more frequent overt reference than their TL counterparts. It is argued that this variation was caused by the different discourse functions the referential forms performed (deictic vs. anaphoric reference) and by the different narrative types in which the forms were used (context-embedded vs. context-displaced narrative). The findings have theoretical implications for SLA research in general in that they illustrate the importance of functional conditions in the JFL learners' acquisition of referential-form use.

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