Title: Theoretical and experimental aspects of syntax-discourse interface in heritage grammars /
Authors: Ivanova-Sullivan, Tanya,
Year: 2014
Subjects: Russian language Grammar, Historical.; Russian language Syntax.; Russian language Pronouns.; Anaphora (Linguistics); Russian language Study and teaching Foreign speakers.; Education, Bilingual
Abstract: In 'Theoretical and Experimental Aspects of Syntax-Discourse Interface in Heritage Grammars', Tanya Ivanova-Sullivan investigates comprehension and production of anaphoric dependencies with null and overt subject pronouns. She discusses the divergent behaviour of the heritage speakers of Russian by providing a closer look at their proficiency level, quantity of input and order of language acquisition. She explains the results with various degrees of successful application of pragmatic principles and efficiency in allocating cognitive resources.0The contribution of the monograph lies in the discussion of theoretical and experimental issues related to anaphora resolution along with an investigation of all aspects of representation and processing of anaphoric pronouns by various kinds of bilinguals: heritage speakers, L2 learners and L1 attriters.
Contents: Methodology and sociolinguistic findings -- Input and order of acquisition as variables in the study -- Syntactic and discourse-pragmatic conditions on the distribution of null and overt subjects in Russian -- Optionality in bilingual grammars: establishing anaphoric dependencies in pro-drop languages -- Anaphoric pronouns in oral production -- Deictic pronouns in oral production -- Anaphora resolution in globally ambiguous contexts -- Pronominal resolution and coherence relations -- Pedagogical implications of the study.