The L2 acquisition of argument structure has attracted the attention of several researchers in the field of Second Language Acquisition in the last decade. Previous studies on the L2 acquisition of English and Spanish causative structures have given somehow contradictory accounts as to the mechanisms at play. Some of these studies account for the phenomenon as a case of access to Universal Grammar with some verb classes and as transfer of L1 properties with others. Taking as a point of departure the analysis of different syntactic properties of English and Spanish causative structures, the present studies explore the role of transfer in the L2 acquisition of this area of argument structure. Two bidirectional experimental studies involving English and Spanish in adult acquisition are reported. It is concluded that L2 learners transfer different properties of their L1 depending on their proficiency. Less marked properties seem to be used in early stages, while more language specific ones are accessed later on. This book should be of special interest to researchers and graduate students in the fields of Linguistics, Hispanic Linguistics, and Language Acquisition.

Models of theoretical linguistics now emphasize the meeting points, or interfaces, between different aspects of our language capacity. Syntactic operations include structure-building, checking long-distance relationships between units, and connecting alternative word orders. This volume presents a collection of original studies that explore the mapping between these operations and other language-related areas such as word meanings, discourse contexts, the construction of meaning for larger units, and the alternative expressions of word order. It differs from previous traditional research on interfaces by bringing together studies and analyses from a range of languages, using monolingual varieties that include second language phenomena. Case studies of different types of interfaces, as well as studies based on lesser known sets of linguistic data, provide important examples that propose a new view of the connections between syntactic processes and other areas of grammar.