Exploring the Acquisition of English Plural Formation and Compounding: Insights from L1 speakers of Libyan Arabic

Abstract

One of the most widely studied morphological phenomena in psycholinguistics is the avoidance of regular but not irregular plurals in noun compounds (e.g., rats eater vs. mice eater). This study addresses this issue by examining the acquisition of English synthetic and root compounding by L1 speakers of Libyan Arabic, focusing on the role of L1 transfer and Universal Grammar (UG) in learning this presyntactic property. Specifically, it investigates whether morphological constraints on plural formation in noun compounds are universally available to second language learners or subject to L1 influence.  Participants were selected at different phases of learning English in the classroom to offer an indication of possible developmental progress. A forced-choice gap-filling task was used to investigate how learners apply pluralization rules in English compounds. The results suggest some evidence of L1 influence, but no clear indication of UG influence. Moreover, little development change was observed across proficiency levels. These findings challenge the claims that morphological level-ordering is universally and innately accessible (e.g., Clahsen, 1991; Clahsen et al., 1992; Gordon, 1985). Overall, the results are consistent with an L1 transfer/access to UG view of the L2 acquisition of pre-syntactic properties, without providing strong support for this position.