The Aquisition of subject case in Icelandic

Abstract

The present paper aims to contribute on a theoretical level to Processability theory (PT) by presenting two hypotheses, the first concerning the developmental pattern of case in Icelandic as a second language and the latter one, Case Interface Hypothesis, proposes that thematic case assignment develops in canonical sentences before it becomes functional. With the support of Processability Theory’s Lexical Mapping Hypothesis, we propose a developmental hypothesis for thematic case marking on canonical subjects in L2 Icelandic. We hypothesize that thematic case develops in this order: dative ? accusative ? genitive. From the developmental perspective it is necessary to take the two mapping processes together, a- structure to f-structure as well as c-structure to f-structure, and explain how argument case development may interface thematically (a-f) and functionally (c-f). We will propose a hypothesis, the Case Interface Hypothesis (CIH), that links the development of those two mappings together. The CIH proposes that thematic case assignment, first develops in canonical sentences. In non-canonical sentences thematic case assignment needs to be aligned with functional case assignment.

Keywords: Second Language Acquisition, Processability Theory, Case Marking, Positional Case assignment, Functional case assignment