Chapter published in:
Current Theoretical and Applied Perspectives on Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics
Edited by Diego Pascual y Cabo and Idoia Elola
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 27] 2020
► pp. 319–342

The acquisition of obligatory and variable mood selection in epistemic predicates by L2 learners and heritage speakers of Spanish

| Purdue University
| Purdue University
| Purdue University
The present study examines the extent to which L2 learners and HS of Spanish acquire target knowledge of subjunctive mood selection in Spanish. Specifically, we analyze obligatory and variable selection in temporal and concessive constructions. Ten HS of Spanish, ten English-speaking L2 learners and fifteen controls from Mexico completed a sentence completion task. Results indicate significant differences between the two experimental groups and the monolingual control group. The HS outperformed the L2 learners in three of the six conditions-tested. No significant differences were found between obligatory and variable subjunctive selection within the epistemic modality. Results suggest that the obligatory nature of mood selection does not play a role in the acquisition of the Spanish subjunctive within the epistemic modality.
Keywords: subjunctive mood, Spanish HS, L2 acquisition of Spanish, age effects, obligatoriness
Published online: 04 June 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.27.15lus
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