Korean-speaking L2 Learners’ Comprehension of Sentences Containing Numerically Quantified NPs and Negation in English

Abstract

This study investigates Korean-speaking second language learners’ comprehension of scopally ambiguous sentences in English that contain numerically quantified object NPs and negation (e.g., Tom didn’t cut down two apple trees). Using a written Truth Value Judgment Task, the study examines how the learners’ interpretive preferences in English compare to those of their native language and whether there are any differences in interpretive preferences across proficiency levels. Seventy native Korean-speaking learners of English, divided into low and high proficiency groups, and twelve English native speakers participated in the study. The participants’ responses in the Truth Value Judgment Task were analyzed in terms of the acceptance of specific or non-specific interpretations of the target sentences. The learners tended to prefer the specific interpretation to the non-specific interpretation, in contrast to the English native speakers, who did not show a clear preference. The learners’ preference in English was similar to their preference in Korean. The low and high proficiency learner groups showed no difference in their interpretive preferences. The learners’ interpretive preferences in English are discussed in the framework of the processor-based approach to scope interpretation proposed by O’Grady (2005, 2008, 2013) and O’Grady, M. Lee and H. Y. Kwak (2009), which highlights the importance of processing considerations in scope interpretation.