Cited by 346Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic VariationEFL/ESL Teaching and LearningCategorization, perception, and language

Discourse Motivations for Some Cognitive Acquisition Principles

Andersen, Roger W., Shirai, Yasuhiro·1994·Studies in Second Language Acquisition

Abstract

This paper offers an alternative interpretation for what has been called the defective tense hypothesis, the primacy of aspect hypothesis, or simply the aspect hypothesis in the literature on first and second language acquisition of tense and aspect. The aspect hypothesis states that first and second language learners will initially be influenced by the inherent semantic aspect of verbs or predicates in the acquisition of tense and aspect markers associated with or affixed to these verbs. Our account focuses on the observation that adult native speakers also appear to adhere to this primacy of inherent semantic aspect in the relative quantitative distribution of tense-aspect markers in their speech. We argue that a small set of cognitive operating principles and the notion of prototypicality account for this behavior in learners. Moreover, we argue that these principles are a consequence of how learners and native speakers alike organize information and their perspectives on it in ongoing discourse.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1017/s0272263100012845

Cites

57 of 57 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Andersen, R. W., & Shirai, Y.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Los Angeles (US)
  • Daito Bunka University (JP)
Venue
Studies in Second Language Acquisition
Published
1994-06
Volume
16
Issue
2
Pages
133-156
ISSN
  • 0272-2631 (ISSN-L)
  • 1470-1545
OpenAlex
W2088303151
Cited by
346
References
57
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 42 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 36 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 12
FWCI
31.47
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Studies in Second Language Acquisition (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Categorization, perception, and language
Keywords
aspect hypothesis, prototypicality, discourse structure, first language acquisition, second language acquisition

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review