The Use of Argument Structures by Native and Nonnative Speakers of English: Topic- versus Subject-Prominent Argument

Abstract

By Thao Nguyen, Secondary Education

Advisor: Hye Pae

Presentation ID: PM_C08

Abstract: This research draws upon the differences in how native and nonnative speakers use English in argument structures with the concentration on how often topic-prominent and subject-prominent arguments are used. Through interviewing 20 participants - native English University of Cincinnati students and nonnative University of Cincinnati students (in this case Chinese and Korean international students), asking them to tell the story, and recording their interpretations of Mercer Mayer's wordless picture book Frog, Where Are You?, the research explores similarities and differences of the rhetoric structure and narrative style between the two language groups and important inquiries about second language (L2) research: how the process of L2 learning interacts with the first language (L1) features and how these L1 features affect the outcome of L2 learning. Overall, this research attempts to fill the gap in the extant literature and to lay a foundation for theory-building in cross-language transfer with respect to narrative structures.