THE ACQUISITION OF POSTVERBAL SUBJECTS
IN SPANISH AND ITS INFORMATION STRUCTURE
BY ENGLISH-SPEAKING STUDENTS
TESIS DE DOCTORADO EN ESTUDIOS FILOLÓGICOS
Ma ía Co nejo Núñez
Uni e sidad de Se illa
En co- u ela con: Uni e si à degli S udi Roma T e
Oc ub e 2019
DIRECTOR/TUTOR: CO-DIRECTOR:
Ángel Luis Jiménez Fe nández Ma a F asca elli
DOCTORANDO:
Ma ía Co nejo Núñez
i
DEDICATION
To my husband, I couldn’ ha e done i wi hou you, I lo e you.
A mi ma ido, no lo hab ía log ado sin i, e quie o.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
When I hink abou he beginning o his esea ch, he i s hough ha
comes o my mind is my “T abajo Fin de Más e ” (TFM), which is he inal p ojec
be o e comple ing a Mas e ’s deg ee. In my case, he deg ee was on eaching
Spanish as a o eign language and o he mode n languages, since my main in e es lies
on he ield o language eaching and lea ning. The inal p ojec o my Mas e ’s
deg ee is closely ela ed o his doc o al hesis.
The i le o my “TFM” is Es udio longi udinal sob e la adquisición de los
pa ones V-X-S / X-V-S en español y su es uc u a in o ma i a en hablan es angló onos.
The de elopmen o his p ojec was my i s academic expe ience wo king on
he heo y o In o ma ion S uc u e wi hin he ield o language acquisi ion.
A e ha , my PhD “ad en u e” began. These yea s ha e been essen ial
o my p o essional de elopmen and pe sonal g ow h. Du ing his ime, I had
he oppo uni y o s udy, lea n and wo k eally ha d in o de o achie e my goal.
Apa om wo king on his esea ch, I woke up e e yday and wen o uni e si y
o do my job as a eache . I lo e my job and I ha e lea n a lo om his expe ience,
bu i has no been easy. Fo his eason, I ha e o say hank you.
Fi s o all, I would like o hank my u o , Ángel Jiménez Fe nández, o
being by my side and gi ing me he suppo I needed. I also wish o hank my
co- u o , Ma a F asca elli, o he help du ing hese yea s, especially du ing my
s ay a Roma T e Uni e si y. I el wa mly welcomed and hanks o he and he
“ eam”(Val e , Gio gio and Tania) i was a e y en iching expe ience.
Thanks o all he in o man s who comple ed he expe imen al es s,
p o iding a undamen al con ibu ion o my wo k, and hanks o e e yone who
collabo a ed in his p ojec in some way.
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Finally, I would like o hank my husband, my amily (especially my
pa en s and b o he ) and my iends, o all he suppo and unde s anding.
Fede, his could ha e ne e been possible wi hou you. Thanks o all you lo e,
you uncondi ional help and also, you wo k.
All o you we e he e o me when I needed, making me eel good and
encou aging me o con inue and comple e his long pa h. Thanks.
I hank you wi h all my hea . ¡Muchísimas g acias po odo!

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedica ion ....................................................................................................................... i
Acknowledgmen s ........................................................................................................ ii
Table O Con en s ....................................................................................................... i
Lis O Tables ............................................................................................................... ix
Lis O Figu es ............................................................................................................. xii
In oduc ion ................................................................................................................... 1
In oduc ion ................................................................................................................. 2
Chap e 1. Theo e ical backg ound ........................................................................ 5
1.1. Gene al No ions o In o ma ion S uc u e .................................................... 6
1.1.1. Theo e ical app oach .................................................................................. 6
1.1.2. Focus, Topic and Gi enness .................................................................... 11
1.1.3. Gi en in o ma ion and new in o ma ion ............................................... 15
1.2. O ganiza ion o cons i uen s ......................................................................... 21
1.2.1. App oaching Wo d-O de ....................................................................... 21
1.2.2. In o ma ion and Syn ac ic S uc u es in Spanish ................................. 25
1.3. The concep s o Topic and Focus .................................................................. 31
1.3.1. Types o Topic ............................................................................................ 36
1.3.1.1. Abou ness-Shi Topic. ........................................................................ 36
1.3.1.2. Con as i e Topic. ............................................................................... 36
1.3.1.3. Familia Topic. ..................................................................................... 37
1.3.2. Types o Foci .............................................................................................. 38
1.3.2.1. Mi a i e Focus ...................................................................................... 40
1.3.2.2. In o ma ion Focus ............................................................................... 41
1.3.2.3. Co ec i e/Con as i e Focus ............................................................ 42
1.3.2.4. B oad Focus .......................................................................................... 44
1.4. Subjec s and hei in o ma ion s uc u e ..................................................... 46
1.4.1. Subjec In e sion ....................................................................................... 46
1.4.2. P o-d op languages and he Null Subjec Pa ame e .......................... 51
1.4.2.1. T adi ion and li e a u e ...................................................................... 51
1.4.2.2. Ag eemen in Null Subjec languages .............................................. 53
1.4.3. Null Subjec Pa ame e in L2 Spanish acquisi ion ............................... 56
1.4.3.1. Linguis ic app oach ............................................................................. 56
1.4.3.2. L2 pos e bal subjec acquisi ion in Spanish ................................... 59
Chap e 2. The Linguis ic Expe imen ................................................................. 62
2.1. The s udy: a gene al in oduc ion o he expe imen al es s. ................... 63
2.1.1. The Smu s Tes : L1 child en ................................................................... 64
2.1.2. The Online Tes : L1 and L2 adul s .......................................................... 64
2.2. Me hodology .................................................................................................... 67
2.2.1. Pa icipan s ................................................................................................. 67
2.2.1.1. P epa a ion and dis ibu ion o he expe imen al es s ................. 67
2.2.1.2. G oups o In o man s .......................................................................... 68
2.2.1.2.1. The Smu s Tes - Spanish L1 (child en) .................................... 68
2.2.1.2.2. The Online Tes –Spanish L1: Con ol G oup (adul s) ............. 69
2.2.1.2.3. The Online Tes – Spanish L2: Ta ge G oup (adul s) .............. 71
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2.2.2. The s uc u e o expe imen al es s ........................................................ 74
2.2.2.1. The Smu s Tes ................................................................................... 74
2.2.2.2. The Online Tes .................................................................................... 79
2.2.2.3. Di e en me hodology o each expe imen al es ......................... 84
2.3. Da a analysis .................................................................................................... 85
2.3.1. Analysis Me hods ...................................................................................... 85
2.3.2. Chi-Squa e Tes o Independence ......................................................... 86
2.3.3. Ano a Tes .................................................................................................. 87
Chap e 3. Discussion o Resul s .......................................................................... 90
3.1. The Smu s Tes ............................................................................................... 91
3.1.1. Desc ip i e S a is ics ................................................................................. 91
3.1.1.1. Di e ences ac oss Focus ypes .......................................................... 92
3.1.1.1.1. In o ma ion Focus .......................................................................... 92
3.1.1.1.2. Co ec i e Focus ............................................................................ 94
3.1.1.1.3. B oad Focus .................................................................................... 97
3.1.1.1.4. Associa ion be ween s a egies and ocus ypes ....................... 99
3.1.3. S a is ical Signi icance: Chi-squa e Tes ............................................... 101
3.2. The Online Tes (Con ol G oup: Spanish L1) .......................................... 104
3.2.1. S a is ics Analysis .................................................................................... 104
3.2.1.1. E ec o he main ac o s and hei in e ac ions ........................... 104
3.2.1.2. E ec o he posi ion ac o .............................................................. 106
3.2.1.3. E ec o he ac o s ocus - posi ion ................................................ 108
3.2.1.4. E ec o he ac o s e b-posi ion ................................................... 111
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3.2.1.5. E ec o he ac o s ocus- e b-posi ion ......................................... 114
3.3. The Online Tes (Ta ge G oup: Spanish L2) ............................................ 122
3.3.1. S a is ics Analysis .................................................................................... 122
3.3.1.1. E ec o he main ac o s and hei in e ac ions ........................... 122
3.3.1.2. E ec o he posi ion ac o .............................................................. 124
3.3.1.3. E ec o he ac o s ocus - posi ion ................................................ 126
3.3.1.4. E ec o he ac o s e b-posi ion ................................................... 129
3.3.1.5. E ec o he ac o s ocus- e b-posi ion ......................................... 132
3.4. O e iew analysis l1 s l2 ............................................................................ 141
3.4.1. S a is ics Analysis .................................................................................... 141
3.4.1.1. E ec o he main ac o s and hei in e ac ion ............................. 141
3.4.1.2. E ec o he posi ion language ........................................................ 143
3.4.1.3. E ec o he ac o s language - posi ion ......................................... 143
3.4.1.4. E ec o he ac o s language - ocus - posi ion ............................. 145
3.4.1.5. E ec o he ac o s language - e b - posi ion ............................... 147
3.4.1.6. E ec o he ac o s language - ocus - e b - posi ion .................. 148
Chap e 4. Conclusions ......................................................................................... 151
4.1. Resea ch goals and p elimina y esul s ..................................................... 152
4.2. Follow-ups and u u e esea ch .................................................................. 157
Re e ences .................................................................................................................. 158
ANNEX I: In o ma i e lye o pa icipan s ...................................................... 166
ANNEX II: Answe shee “The Smu s Tes ” ..................................................... 168
ANNEX III: “The Smu s Tes ” ............................................................................. 171

1
INTRODUCTION
2
INTRODUCTION
The aim o his disse a ion is o esea ch he in e ac ion be ween wo d
o de and in o ma ion s uc u e in Spanish. In pa icula , his s udy has been
de eloped based on p eceding heo ies ha deal wi h in o ma ion s uc u e in
p o-d op languages and how i a ec s he acquisi ion o pos e bal subjec s in
Spanish in o de o accomplish a desc ip i e and expe imen al esea ch on he
in e ac ion be ween he di e en le els o analysis.
This s udy conce ns he acquisi ion o pos e bal subjec s by L1 and L2
English speake s o Spanish om an expe imen al and desc ip i e pe spec i e,
using he main heo e ical concep s assumed in he li e a u e on in o ma ion
s uc u e and a gumen s uc u e. Howe e , he analysis ca ied ou is no
en i ely heo e ical; he heo e ical amewo k is needed in o de o p esen and
de elop he main s udies on he opic, bu his disse a ion s ands on he
s a is ical and desc ip i e analysis o wo linguis ic expe imen al es s.
The gene al hypo hesis is ha he ealiza ion o pos e bal subjec s may
be sensi i e o speci ic ocus ypes. In line wi h his, we suppo ha : a) he
acquisi ion o subjec p oduc ion and dis ibu ion in Spanish (null/explici o
pos e bal subjec s) migh be ela ed one ano he and sha e some o he main
p ope ies om a syn ax and discou se iewpoin ; b) om an e olu iona y
pe spec i e, pos e bal subjec s a egies can be conside ed as a la e acquisi ion
o na ow ocus cons uc ions; c) om a second language acquisi ion
pe spec i e, he exis ence o di e ences be ween L1 and L2 speake s o Spanish
in ela ion o he accep ance o pos e bal subjec s uc u es is ele an enough
o ca y ou an expe imen al analysis ha allows us o de elop some didac ic
p oposals o he class oom in he u u e.
The e o e, his esea ch is in ended o:
3
(i) s udy he ealiza ion o subjec s (speci ically in pos e bal posi ion)
in b oad and na ow cons uc ions om an acquisi ional and
expe imen al pe spec i e. Fo his eason, expe imen al es s ha e
been ca ied ou by child en and adul s.
(ii) analyze he esul s ob ained ollowing he app op ia e s a is ical
me hods acco ding o he design o each es , and hus, acco ding
o he ype o answe equi ed. A chi-squa ed es was needed o
ca y ou he open-( ee) answe es ype (child en), whe eas an
ANOVA es was he p ope s a is ical analysis o ca y ou he
Like scale answe es ype (adul s).
(iii) conduc a compa a i e (s a is ical) analysis on he accep abili y o
pos e bal subjec s by making use o he esul s ob ained om he
L1 and L2 speake s o Spanish (adul s) and de e mine whe e he
di e ences ound a e signi ican .
The ealiza ion o his s udy has p o ided in e es ing and ele an da a o
he objec i es pu sued in his esea ch. Howe e , and mo e impo an ly, he da a
ob ained amply jus i ies u he s udy o he di e en discou se-syn ax
phenomena om di e en pe spec i es in he nea u u e. The esul s lea e some
ques ions unanswe ed and open o deba e and o be analyzed in de ail, ocusing
no only on he expe imen al and s a is ics analysis, bu also on he in e ace
pe spec i e o examine in dep h some syn ax and discou se issues. These issues
ha e been p oposed o discussion in li e a u e om p e ious s udies.
The p esen disse a ion is o ganized in ou chap e s, which a e di ided
as desc ibed below:
Chap e 1 in oduces he heo e ical backg ound on which his
expe imen al disse a ion is based. In his chap e , he p e ious heo ies and
4
backg ound esea ch a e p esen ed, desc ibing he p eceding li e a u e as he
basis o ou expe imen al pu poses.
The ocus o chap e 2 is o p esen and explain he linguis ic expe imen
ha has been de eloped om an o ganiza ional and s uc u al poin o iew.
Th oughou he chap e , a e y gene al in oduc ion o his expe imen is gi en
as well as he pa icipan s’ p o ile and he c ea i e p ocess and me hodology
ollowed. The s a is ical me hods chosen o ca y ou he analysis o da a a e also
explained in his chap e .
Chap e 3 looks a he s a is ical me hodology ha has been applied o
analyze he esul s . In addi ion, he esul s o his analysis a e discussed and he
signi ican di e ences in da a collec ed om each g oup a e epo ed. The e o e,
he s a is ical analysis o da a which we ha e based his s udy on will be
explained in de ail.
Chap e 4 ou lines he main conclusions o his s udy and desc ibes some
o he u u e s udies ha we in end o conduc in he nea u u e, in ol ing he
syn ax-discou se in e ace and i s in luence on he ield o second language
acquisi ion.
Theo e ical backg ound
5
CHAPTER 1. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

Theo e ical backg ound
6
1.1. GENERAL NOTIONS OF INFORMATION STRUCTURE
One o he essen ial aspec s ha we need o deal wi h in his s udy is he
impo ance o In o ma ion S uc u e and i s ela ionship wi h bo h language and
communica ion. In gene al, i has been assumed ha in o ma ion s uc u e is a
way o packaging in o ma ion om a s a emen wi h he pu pose o esponding
o he communica i e needs o in e locu o s in a communica i e exchange, as in
Cha e (1976), Valldu í & Vilkuna (1998), Villalba (2018), among o he s.
Many heo e ical s udies abou In o ma ion S uc u e a e based on he
wo k o Cha e (1976) and, wi h ha pe spec i e in mind, o he au ho s ha e
discussed he basic no ions o In o ma ion S uc u e wi hin he ield o
communica ion. In his sec ion some o hese c ucial concep s a e men ioned
om a heo e ical poin o iew.
1.1.1. Theo e ical app oach
Be o e discussing he In o ma ion S uc u e app oach in g ea e dep h, we
will e e o he e m “syn ax”. In a language, he e m syn ax is ela ed o he a ea
o linguis ics ha deals wi h he connec ion and combina ion o wo ds in g oups
o wo ds, denomina ed“cons i uen s”, leading o he cons uc ion o a s a emen .
The cons uc ion o a s a emen is es ablished by he speci ic p ope ies o he
syn ac ic s uc u e. Thus, e e y hing pe inen o syn ax is also ela ed o e ms
such as “s uc u e” (F asca elli, Ramaglia, & Co pina, 2012)
As i is known, languages a ound he wo ld a e di e en om one
ano he . Howe e , in many cases hey sha e simila i ies ha allow us o
unde s and and communica e wi h each o he despi e speaking di e en
languages ( his is, o ins ance, he case o I alian and Spanish). E en languages
ha seem o ally un ela ed, a e no as di e en as hey may appea a i s sigh .
Acco ding o one o he se e al lines o hough on his, he eason why languages
Theo e ical backg ound
7
p esen common ea u es is ha hey sha e he same pu pose: achie ing e ec i e
communica ion h ough a communica i e sys em. In con as o his poin o
iew, languages may sha e ce ain ea u es since hey de elop in ela ion o he
cogni i e abili ies o human beings, speci ically he capaci y o acquisi ion and
“linguis ic compe ence”. Thus, i we conside hese abili ies o be “inna e”, i can be
s a ed ha a Uni e sal G amma is sha ed by humankind, using a se ies o
ins uc ions ega ding how language is o ganized wi h he pu pose o building
a sys em. Following his heo e ical amewo k, his s udy is based on he ield
o Gene a i e G amma , ini ia ed by Noam Chomsky in he 50’s and de eloped
by nume ous linguis ic s udies o e he yea s. Wi hin he ield o Gene a i e
G amma , he p inciples which ule he language unc ions a e conside ed o be
inna e o he human mind, so he concep o language acquisi ion is closely
ela ed o his in e p e a ion (F asca elli, Ramaglia & Co pina, 2012).
Uni e sal G amma is composed by uni e sal language p inciples and
pa ame e s. The gene al p ope ies o language e e o he concep o p inciple,
o example he S uc u e Dependence P inciple, ela ed o he ac ha he
elemen s o a sen ence (wo ds and cons i uen s) do no depend on i s linea o de ,
bu on he syn ac ic s u u e o he sen ence i sel . In ela ion o his, ano he
example o p inciple is he one ha es ablishes ha e e y sen ence mus ha e a
subjec , al hough in some languages such as Spanish o I alian he subjec does
no ha e o be explici . As o he concep o pa ame e , i e e s o he ac ha
“languages can a y by “choosing” among a limi ed numbe o possible
al e na i es” (F asca elli, Ramaglia & Co pina, 2012, p. 15, my own ansla ion).
Rega ding he p e ious example o he p inciple abou he obliga o y
p esence o a subjec in a sen ence, i should be s a ed ha some languages allow
he subjec no o be explici , bu a he , implied. When his happens, e en i he
subjec is no p onounced explici ly, i emains p esen wi hin he syn ac ic
Theo e ical backg ound
8
s uc u e. A clea example o languages ha con empla e his possibili y is he
ollowing:
(1) S o pa endo
`*(I) am lea ing’ (F asca elli, Ramaglia & Co pina, 2012, p. 16)
This issue is an essen ial pa o he p esen s udy, since he Pa ame e o
Null Subjec (Chomsky 1982; Rizzi 1986) and how i ela es o he acquisi ion o
pos e bal subjec s is one o he issues included in his disse a ion. Acco ding o
his pa ame e , some languages allow he op ion o ha ing a non explici o
implied subjec in a sen ence, such as Spanish, while o he s such as English do
no allow his op ion. Thus, his aspec makes e e ence o he possibili y o
a ia ion among languages ha we men ioned abo e. This aspec is essen ial o
he exis ence o he pa ame e we a e discussing. In line wi h his, i is impo an
o poin ou ha F asca elli (2007, 2014) and Jiménez-Fe nández (2014) “ha e
shown ha in null subjec languages such as I alian and Spanish (bu also
Po uguese and Polish) he dis ibu ion o NSs is c ucially de e mined by
discou se ac o s”(Camacho-Taboada, Jiménez-Fe nández, & López-Rueda,
2014, p. 311). The p esen s udy akes his p oposal wi h he objec i e o
discussing he ela ionship be ween he Null Subjec Pa ame e and he
acquisi ion o pos e bal subjec s om an expe imen al poin o iew, since
languages which allow he subjec o appea in pos e bal posi on a e in all
p obabili y null subjec languages.
Wi h espec o he le els o analysis and in e aces, F asca elli, Ramaglia
& Co pina (2012) desc ibe human language as a complex and a icula ed sys em,
sepa able a di e en le els o analysis: phonology, mo phology, syn ax,
Theo e ical backg ound
9
seman ics, p agma ics. These le els a e no dependen on one ano he . Howe e ,
hey in e ac wi h each o he a he same ime and wo k wi hin he sys em o
each a p ope unc ioning. In o de o explain he connec ion and ela ionship
among he di e se le els o g amma , he concep o in e ace mus be explained.
This e m e e s o he ac ha inside he sys em he di e en le els o analysis
a e connec ed o each o he . Examples o his connec ion a e he Syn ax-
Mo phology in e ace o he Syn ax-Seman ics in e ace, and so on. Since
language is a complex sys em, as p e iously men ioned, he elemen s o
g amma should no be conside ed as independen pa s, so i is necessa y o
in oduce an in e ace analysis aking in o accoun he complex in e ac ion
among such pa s (F asca elli, Ramaglia & Co pina, 2012).
As o he no ion o in e ace speci ically, i has been s a ed ha despi e
being essen ially independen om one ano he , he di e se le els o g amma
in e ac and wo k oge he wi hin he language sys em. Wi h his pe spec i e o
in eg a ed sys em, hese le els do no in e ac eely and wi hou es ic ion.
Acco ding o he heo y o Gene a i e G amma , hei ela ionship ollows an
o de in he p ocess o building a sen ence, especially, syn ax has a undamen al
ole in he a chi ec u e o g amma . As we know, syn ax deals wi h he o mal
p ope ies o a language, using ules in o de o build complex “en i ies” such as
sen ences by combining simple elemen s. Wo ds a e combined o build “g oups
o wo ds”, called cons i uen s, which a e combined in a mo e complex uni o
build he sen ences. Then, ollowing he au ho s’ wo ds:
[…] syn ax ep esen s he gene a i e le el o g amma since i is
buil by an ope a i e sys em ha gene a es all in ini e sen ences
o a language. In ac , ollowing he Gene a i e G amma model,
human language is o med by lexicon on he one hand, ha is, a
Theo e ical backg ound
16
ends o p ecede new in o ma ion” (p. 4, my own ansla ion).
4
This e e s o he
“In o ma ion Flow P inciple”, p oposed by Lamb ech (1994).
Taking he wo k o P ince (1981) on gi en s new in o ma ion and he
h ee le els o gi enness, a summa y o his concep and h ee de ini ions ha
e e o his no ion a e p esen ed by Co pina (2009):
 Gi enness in ela ion o p edic abili y. In e ms o he in e ac ion be ween
speake and hea e , he speake may assume ha he hea e is able o
p edic ha a linguis ic elemen can be a pa o a s a emen , loca ed in a
speci ic posi ion as well. Rega ding his opic, linguis s such as Halliday
(1967), o ins ance, suppo ha elemen s aking pa in a s a emen a e
conside ed old in o ma ion when hey a e p edic ed om a p e ious
con ex . On he con a y, i his in o ma ion o elemen canno be
p edic ed o assumed om a p e ious linguis ic con ex , he in o ma ion
is conside ed new and unp edic able.
 Gi enness in e e ence o saliency. The speake assumes ha he hea e
may be awa e o a pa icula no ion o ha e some in o ma ion a he ime
o in e ac ing. Acco ding o his desc ip ion, i is claimed ha gi en (old)
in o ma ion ep esen s wha he speake conside s o be p esen in he
awa eness o he hea e in he ime o in e locu ion, while new
in o ma ion would be wha he speake in oduces o communica es o
he hea e ’s awa eness a ha speci ic ime o linguis ic in e ac ion. This
de ini ion is accep ed by Cha e (1976).
 Gi enness in e ms o sha ed knowledge. In his case, he speake belie es
ha he hea e knows o migh in e a p ecise pa o in o ma ion.
Following his de ini ion, i can be said ha gi en in o ma ion is known
4
We e e o he non-ma ked o de in he sec ion abou wo d o de in Spanish.

Theo e ical backg ound
17
and belie ed by he hea e (o a leas , ha is wha he speake hinks),
while new in o ma ion is no ye known by he hea e (acco ding o he
speake ’s assump ion).
Acco ding o Co pina (2009) and based on he wo k o P ince (1981), hese
de ini ions a e no independen ; on he con a y, hey a e ela ed o each o he
since he e is a connec ion be ween all h ee ca ego ies: i he speake assumes
he hea e may p edic ha a cons i uen is in a speci ic posi ion inside he
s a emen (p edic abili y), he speake migh p esuppose he hea e is awa e o
ha pa icula no ion (saliency). I he in e p e a ion o hese ac s is igh , he
speake mus suppose ha he hea e should be able o make assump ions and
hus d aw conclusions.
Rega ding he di e en le els men ioned abo e, i should be no ed ha
Cha e (1987) discussed his opic and sugges ed he exis ence o h ee ca ego ies
depending on he ac i a ion s a e ha a concep is in. These ca ego ies a e
labelled as ac i e, semi-ac i e and inac i e concep s (Cha e, 1987):
Ac i e concep e e s o “a concep in a pe son’s ocus o consciousness”
(Cha e, 1987, p. 25).
Semi-ac i e concep co esponds o “a concep o which a pe son has a
backg ound awa eness, bu which is no being di ec ly ocused on” (Cha e, 1987,
p. 25)
Inac i e is de ined as a concep ha “is cu en ly in a pe son’s long e m
memo y, nei he ocally no pe iphe ally ac i e” (Cha e, 1987, p. 25) o , likewise,
“wha he speake does no assume o be in he hea e ’s consciousness”
(Geluykens, 1994, p. 28)
This iple dis inc ion co esponds o he concep s o gi en in o ma ion,
accessible in o ma ion and new in o ma ion (Cha e, 1976, 1987), espec i ely. In
Theo e ical backg ound
18
ela ion o his di ision o concep s, i is assumed ha “ hese ac i a ion s a es a e
a di ec e lec ion o cogni i e ac i i y” (Geluykens, 1994, p. 28) and y o
de elop his a gumen . Wha Geluykens (1994) ema ks on he e is he
impo ance o in e ac ional dimension in eal con e sa ion, since he claims ha
he cogni i e ac i i y is dependen on in e ac ion, adding o Cha e’s iew, a
ma e o be aken in o accoun . Geluykens (1994) elabo a es on his dependence
by sugges ing wo s ages:
Fi s ly, ega ding con e sa ional discou se, he in o ma ion s uc u e and
wha i is conside ed gi en o new in o ma ion is highly dependen on speake -
hea e communica ion; his heo e ical dimension canno be igno ed.
Secondly, ano he in e ac ional dimension ega ds he ac ha
in o ma ion ansmission is a possible aim o communica ion, bu no he only
one. This ac i i y could also lead o a mo e impo an goal, a eques , o ins ance.
Following Geluykens (1994), he aim o communica ion is “ o e ec
changes in he ac i a ion s a es o concep s in he consciousness o he hea e ”
(p.30).
I can be said ha depending on wha is o is no in he hea e ’s and
speake ’s awa eness, he ac i e-inac i e ca ego ies o concep s (o gi en - new)
will ha e a cogni i e base and hus, a psychological e ec . This in o ma ion issue
is gene ally conside ed as a cogni i e e olu iona y p ocess ha de elops h ough
ime. The ole o in e ac ion is, acco ding o Geluykens (1994) an impo an ac
igno ed by Cha e. As he s a es, “ he cogni i e ac i i y exp essed h ough
discou se is always, in essence, also an in e ac ional phenomenon”(Geluykens,
1994, p. 30). The e o e, he cogni i e dimension oge he wi h he in e ac ional
dimension a e dependen on and di ec ly connec ed o one ano he . In o ma ion
low is a cogni i e p ocess as well as an in e ac ional aspec , bo h closely ela ed
o each o he .
Theo e ical backg ound
19
Because o his, he ac ha he in o ma ion low depends on speake -
assump ions and on wha is supposed o be in he hea e ’s awa eness (Cha e,
1987) would make he ac ual da a e y di icul o analyze, acco ding o
Geluykens (1994). Due o he limi a ions his in e p e a ion o e s, his au ho
p oposes he necessi y o a mo e p ac ical and use ul iden i ica ion o he
in o ma ion low.
In ela ion o he dis inc ion be ween gi en in o ma ion and new
in o ma ion, Geluykens (1994) akes Halliday’s (1967) de ini ion o new
in o ma ion, which is basically de ined as non-p edic able, ollowing Halliday’s
wo ds: “no in he sense ha i canno ha e been p e iously men ioned, (…) bu
in he sense ha he speake p esen s i as no being eco e able om he
p eceding discou se” (Halliday, 1967, p. 204). As epo ed by Geluykens (1994),
“gi en in o ma ion, hen, is in o ma ion which is p esen ed as being eco e able
om he p eceding discou se” (p.30).
Rega ding he no ion o p edic abili y used by P ince (1981) and p esen ed
a he beginning o his sec ion, Geluykens (1994) conside s i o be con using,
“since i sugges s ha , o an i em o be gi en, i has o be p edic able a a speci ic
place in he u e ance” (Geluykens, 1994, p. 31). He p e e s o use he al e na i e
e m “ eco e abili y” in o de o eplace he adi ional no ions o gi en-new
in o ma ion, since, om his poin o iew, such e ms a e “o e -used and
con using”. Following his idea, he p oposes ha in o ma ion can be ei he
“ eco e able” o “i eco e able” as in Geluykens (1992) .
In line wi h his app oach, acco ding o Zubiza e a (1998), he no ions o
new in o ma ion and old (o gi en) in o ma ion a e closely ela ed o discou se
and ha e a “ e y supe icial ela ion o he g amma ” (p. 159). A simila iew
abou he dis inc ion be ween new s old in o ma ion is gi en by Suñe (1982). In
ag eemen wi h his in e p e a ion, “new in o ma ion” should be conside ed as he
Theo e ical backg ound
20
in o ma ion ha is no sha ed by he speake and he hea e a a speci ic ime
when in e ac ing, whe eas “gi en in o ma ion” should be associa ed o he
assump ions made abou he sha ed knowledge be ween speake and hea e and
in gene al (wha is p esen in he con ex ). In o he wo ds, he dis inc ion be ween
gi en s new dis inguishes he in o ma ion he speake conside s o be amilia
o he hea e om he in o ma ion ha was no p e iously p esen in he hea e ’s
consciousness. Thus, he e is a di e ence be ween wha is p esen ed as
p esupposed om wha is p o ided as new o an un amilia piece o in o ma ion
in he s a emen (Leone i, 2014).
As p e iously seen, di e en insigh s in o he no ions o gi en and new
in o ma ion ha e been p oposed by di e se au ho s. Toge he wi h he concep s
o ocus and opic, some basic no ions o In o ma ion S uc u e ha e been
in oduced. This phenomenon o in o ma ion packaging esponds o he
communica i e needs o in e locu o s, acco ding o Cha e’s de ini ion (1976). I
should be s a ed ha he In o ma ion S uc u e deals wi h he way in o ma ion
is o ganized in a sen ence depending on he communica i e needs. The
in o ma ion mus be p ope ly included in he con ex so ha he in e locu o s
ha e access o an app op ia e in e p e a ion and achie e e ec i e
communica ion.
.
Theo e ical backg ound
21
1.2. ORGANIZATION OF CONSTITUENTS
1.2.1. App oaching Wo d-O de
The mos signi ican elemen s in a sen ence a e subjec , e b and objec
5
.
E e y sen ence has a nucleus ha is ela ed o he es o he elemen s in di e en
ways. Also, e e y sen ence has wo basic cons i uen s: a noun ph ase and a e b
ph ase. The Spanish language allows he o ganiza ion o he elemen s in g oups
o wo ds (sen ences) and di ides he sen ence in sepa a e pa s. The e o e, i can
be said ha a basic o de exis s o o ganize he elemen s in a sen ence, al hough
i may be subjec o change (Fe nández So iano, 1993)
The di e en combina ions ha can be made when dis ibu ing he
elemen s S, V, O a e possible in languages wi h a basic o de , so he in o ma ion
can be o ganized acco ding o wha we mean o wan o say by changing he
dis ibu ion o he cons i uen s. These combina ions can be: SVO, SOV, VSO,
VOS, OVS, OSV. Some languages can be associa ed wi h one o hese ypes o
basic o de . Howe e , o he languages can include mo e han jus one possibili y.
In gene al, his ac depends on he posi ion o he nucleus, ha is, i he nucleus
is loca ed a he beginning o a he end o he sen ence wi hin he e bal g oup.
In Spanish, he head o he e bal g oup p ecedes he complemen , so he head
is ini ial and consequen ly, he wo d o de is SVO (Fe nández So iano, 1993).
Taking in o accoun he men ioned concep , he e a e languages ha
ollow hei co esponding combina ion in a p ecise way, while o he s a e
allowed o modi y hei basic o de in some cases. Tha is why ano he di ision
be ween ixed o de languages and ee o de languages is possible. This
5
Th oughou his s udy, he “O” label in SVO, OVS, VSO and VOS abb e ia ions e e s
o any ype o objec (no only Di ec Objec ) including adjunc s such as PP (Juan hinks abou his
gi l iend all day, e c). In he case o pa e ns wi h unaccusa i e and une ga i e e bs, he “O” does
no e e o “objec ”, bu indi ec objec s o adjunc s.

Theo e ical backg ound
22
depends on he app op ia e o ganiza ion o he sen ence, in o he wo ds, i he
di e en oles such as agen , pa ien , subjec , e c. a e clea ly exp essed by using
he igh ma ke s such as declina ions, p eposi ions, conco dance, p onouns, e c.
wi hin he wo d g oup hey belong o. This is wha allows objec s o be exp essed
co ec ly wi hou he necessi y o ollowing he es ablished sys em, ha is,
despi e using a di e en o de in he dis ibu ion o cons i uen s, i is no di icul
o comp ehend each pa o he sen ence (Fe nández So iano, 1993).
In ela ion o he dis ibu ion o cons i uen s, i is impo an o poin ou
ha , in gene al, languages ha e a basic o de (also called unma ked) and se e al
ma ked o de s. The unma ked o de in Spanish is SVO; i co esponds o he
mos equen dis ibu ion o elemen s, his is, he mos neu al o de ing since “i
is compa ible wi h he highes numbe o possible con ex s o use” (Leone i,
2014, p. 3, my own ansla ion).
In line wi h his, i should be s a ed ha Spanish is a basic-o de language
ha allows he possible eo ganiza ion o elemen s depending on he
communica i e needs. A he same ime, i is also conside ed a language wi h a
less limi ed wo d o de han o he s, such as English. Acco ding o Leone i
(2014), “Spanish is no (…) a ee o de language, bu i is ela i ely lexible
compa ed o o he s, e en wi hin he limi ed ield o Romanic languages” (p. 3,
my own ansla ion). Al hough wo d o de is closely ela ed o p agma ics, some
aspec s o wo d o de a e dependen on g amma exclusi ely
6
, and appa en ly
hey canno be explained in p agma ic e ms. (Leone i, 2014).
6
Acco ding o Leone i (2014), discou se consequences a e e ec i e when he way o
o ganizing in o ma ion depends on he speake ’s choice, showing a con as wi h o he
al e na i e op ions de e mined by he sys em, howe e , hey a e no e ec i e when a speci ic
cons uc ion is es ablished by in e nal p inciples o he sys em. Fo example, in he case o pa ial
in e oga i es in Spanish, subjec in e sion is equi ed by g amma p inciples.
Theo e ical backg ound
23
The s uc u e o elemen s in a sen ence is no an easy issue in he case o a
language such as Spanish, since i allows he shi o i s componen s as
app op ia e. These possible changes in he dis ibu ion o elemen s may
in luence hei g amma ical, syn ac ic o mo phological ole, among o he s.
I is known ha he way in which wo ds and sen ences a e o ganized is
no he same in e e y language, bu his syn ac ic s uc u e is conduc ed by
ollowing some de e mined sen ence pa e ns and no a bi a ily. Acco ding o
his,
The ac ha some languages use di e en syn ac ic
s uc u es o exp ess a di e en packaging o in o ma ion has
long been known and nume ous s udies ha e been de o ed o
in es iga ing he app op ia e a icula ion o his packaging, he
in o ma ional p imi i es in ol ed, and he syn ac ic co ela ions
o di e en in o ma ion s uc u es in di e en languages
(Casielles-Suá ez, 2004, p. 213)
In ela ion o his, i should be no ed ha packing o in o ma ion is a basic
aspec o communica ion in gene al. Since he way o packaging in o ma ion is
no common o e e y language and nei he a e he syn ac ic s uc u es. I is
impo an o ake his in o accoun when s udying a second language. The s udy
o some aspec s such as g amma , lexicon o phone ics is essen ial o achie e o
e ec i e communica ion.
The e o e, he wo d o de o a language, oge he wi h i s in o ma ion
s uc u e, should be conside ed as a g amma ical aspec o be s udied in a
Spanish L2 class oom. This could help when dealing wi h linguis ic ans e
Theo e ical backg ound
24
p oblems, o ins ance. As Fe nández So iano (1993) claims, “ he wo d o de in a
sen ence is ce ainly one o he undamen al ypological pa ame e s” (p.114, my
own ansla ion).
Theo e ical backg ound
25
1.2.2. In o ma ion and Syn ac ic S uc u es in Spanish
As men ioned ea lie , wo d o de issues a e closely ela ed o he
dis ibu ion o in o ma ion. In ac , he posi ion o ce ain elemen s is associa ed
wi h aspec s such as con as , emphasis, ocus, p esupposi ion and o he s ha do
no co espond di ec ly o a “g amma ical” ca ego y. In addi ion, wo d o de is
gene ally conside ed as es ic ed, and hose es ic ions can be s udied wi hin
he g amma ield. Some p ope ies o he syn ac ic s uc u es a e associa ed wi h
he dis ibu ion o cons i uen s. In ela ion o his, e ms such as “ ocaliza ion” and
“ opicaliza ion” will be explained in his sec ion (Fe nández So iano, 1993,
Jiménez-Fe nández, 2005 ). Since he no ions o ocus
7
and opic a e closely
ela ed o he way o packaging in o ma ion, some issues ela ed o he beha io
o hese elemen s in he sen ence mus be discussed.
Acco ding o he heo y o CG, p e iously in oduced, a dis inc ion
be ween CG con en and CG managemen is made. In ela ion o his dis inc ion,
wo di e en uses o ocus can be dis inguished: he use o ocus ha ela e o he
communica i e needs o he in e locu o s is associa ed o he CG managemen ,
while he use o ocus ha ela e o he ac ual in o ma ion co esponds o he CG
con en . An example o he use o ocus in e e ence o he CG managemen
(p agma ic use)
8
is o emphasize he pa o an answe ha co ela es o he wh-
pa o a ques ion. As poin ed ou by K i ka (2008), a ques ion changes he CG in
o de o indica e he communica i e goal o he speake , conside ing he ques ion
as a se o p oposi ions. Thus, he ques ion and he possible al e na i es o he
answe s belong o he CG managemen . Ano he p agma ic use o ocus is o
con i m in o ma ion, o ins ance. In his case, a con ex mus ha e been p oposed
so ha his leads he speake o a con i ma i e in e p e a ion, excluding o he
7
In he nex sec ion, he concep s o opic and ocus a e explained in de ail.
8
Mo e uses o p agma ic ocus (CG managemen ) such as co ec ions, pa allels,
delimi a ions, e c a e men ioned by K i ka (2008), bu no inlcuded in his sec ion.
Theo e ical backg ound
32
in which he gi en in o ma ion is conside ed o be he s a ing poin is called
“Topic” (Co pina, 2009).
Take he ollowing example om I alian (see Zubiza e a (1998) o
Spanish):
(20) Cosa s a acendo ua so ella?
`*Wha is doing you sis e ?’
(Mia so ella) s a pa lando al ele ono.
`(My sis e ) is alking on he phone’ (Co pina, 2009, p. 9)
In his case, he gi en in o ma ion is my sis e and hus, wha we iden i y
as Topic. The opic could be omi ed in case o being a ailable om he linguis ic
con ex o ela ed o he sha ed in o ma ion by speake and hea e . The e bal
g oup “is alking on he phone” is he new in o ma ion, wha we name Commen ,
and he in o ma ion ha canno be omi ed. Besides his, he e bal g oup can
also be he gi en in o ma ion and he nominal g oup, on he con a y, is he new
in o ma ion, as we can see in he ollowing example om Co pina (2009):
(21) Cosa s ai mangiando?
`Wha a e you ea ing?’
(S o mangiando) la pas a
`(I am ea ing) pas a’ (Co pina, 2009, p. 7)

Theo e ical backg ound
33
In such case, when he nominal g oup co esponds o he new
in o ma ion, his g oup is known as Focus, while he e bal g oup is named
P esupposi ion (assump ion), which can be omi ed as in he case o Topic.
Following his desc ip ion, Co pina (2009) p esen s he ollowing examples:
Topic – Commen
(22) Hai comp a o il gio nale?
`Ha e you bough he newspape ?’
Il gio nale, l’ho comp a o s ama ina all’alba.
`*The newspape , I ha e bough i his mo ning’ (Co pina, 2009, p. 7)
Focus – P esupposi ion
(23) Chi è a i a o?
`Who has a i ed?’
É a i a o MIRKO
`*Has a i ed MIRKO’ (Co pina, 2009, p. 7)
In line wi h his, Leone i (2014) dis inguishes he concep s o opic and
commen , desc ibing opic as he “s a ing poin ” (in ag eemen wi h Cha e (1987)
among o he s) which is he link o in oduce he es o in o ma ion in he
sen ence. Topics exp ess gi en in o ma ion ha is connec ed o he p e ious
speech and hey a e no mally placed in ini ial posi ion, al hough i is possible o
Theo e ical backg ound
34
ind hem in inal posi ion (disloca ed o he igh ). This dis inc ion be ween opic
and commen es ablishes a di ision o he sen ence s uc u e in wo in o ma ion
sec ions. As o he dis inc ion be ween ocus and backg ound (also called
p esupposi ion), i is commonly accep ed ha he ocus is conside ed new and
impo an in o ma ion ha needs o be ema ked. The backg ound o
p esupposi ion is he in o ma ion ha we ind explici ly in he sen ence and hus,
assumed (Leone i, 2014).
The di e en le els o analysis a e in e ela ed and hus, when e e ing
o discou se g amma we canno o ge ha in o ma ion s uc u e is associa ed
o syn ac ic s uc u e and he di e en le els men ioned abo e: seman ic,
phonological, logical and p agma ic le el, as p oposed by Chomsky in he 60’s
(Co pina, 2009). The e o e, he ela ionship be ween he double a icula ion o
he sen ence in e ms o discou se (Rizzi 1997) p esen ed abo e (Topic-Commen
and Focus-P essupposi ion) is ca e ully connec ed o he di e se le els o linguis ic
analysis as in he ollowing able om Puglielli e F asca elli (2008) :
LEVELS OF ANALYSIS AND INFORMATION STRUCTURE
PRAGMATICS
GIVEN
NEW
DISCOURSE
GRAMMAR
TOPIC
PRESUPPOSITION
FOCUS
COMMENT
SYNTACMATIC
CATEGORY
NP
VP
NP
VP
SYNTACTIC
FUNCTION
Rela ed o
SUBJECT/OBJECT
SUBJECT
PREDICATE
SEMANTIC
VALUE
Rela ed o ARGUMENT
DISCOURSE
Table 1 Le els o analysis and in o ma ion s uc u e. Adap ed om P&F (2008)
As we can see in Table 1, his dis ibu ion o in o ma ion in a sen ence
iden i ies wo main pa s: gi en in o ma ion (Topic) and new in o ma ion
(Focus), as s a ed in Zubiza e a (1999).
Theo e ical backg ound
35
A he beginning o his chap e we in oduced he concep s o opic and
ocus om a e y gene al pe spec i e, mainly ollowing K i ka’s iew (2008). In
his sec ion, we ha e concen a ed on he desc ip ion o hese concep s based on
he insigh s o some expe s such us Cha e (1976, 1987), K i ka (2008), Co pina
(2009), Puglielli e F asca elli (2008), Rizzi (1997), Zubiza e a (1999) and Leone i
(2014). Le us now ocus on he ypes o opic and ocus.
Theo e ical backg ound
36
1.3.1. Types o Topic
1.3.1.1. Abou ness-Shi Topic.
As s a ed in F asca elli (2007, p. 3) “ he Abou ness-shi Topic has he
discou se unc ion o in oducing a new opic (o p oposing a opic-shi ) in he
discou se”. An example o his is illus a ed as ollows:
(24) Has es ado hablando de Juan du an e ho as… Me han dicho que él no
sabe nada de los esul ados del examen.
‘You ha e been alking abou John o hou s… (as o him), I’ e been old ha
he doesn’ know any hing abou he exam esul s.’ (Camacho-Taboada,
Jiménez-Fe nández & López-Rueda, p. 314)
Acco ding o Bianchi and F asca elli (2010), Abou ness-Shi Topics
implemen a con e sa ional mo e and hey belong o he dimension o CG
managemen (Camacho-Taboada, Jiménez-Fe nández & López-Rueda, 2014)
1.3.1.2. Con as i e Topic.
Con as -ma king in opics is used o “spli a complex p oposi ion in o a
conjunc ion o simple ones in which a p edica e applies sepa a ely o each
membe o a salien se ” (Camacho-Taboada, Jiménez-Fe nández & López-
Rueda, 2014, p. 314). An example o his is illus a ed in (25):
(25) A: ¿Cómo nos o ganizamos pa a p epa a la ies a?
‘How shall we do o o ganize he pa y?’
Theo e ical backg ound
37
B: Yo me enca go de la comp a, ú puedes en ia las in i aciones.
‘I will do he shopping, you can send he in i a ions’ (Camacho-Taboada,
Jiménez-Fe nández & López-Rueda, 2014, p. 314)
1.3.1.3. Familia Topic.
Following he desc ip ion gi en by F asca elli (2007): “The ele an
amilia opic is used o e e o backg ound in o ma ion, o opic con inui y
(Gi ón 1983) o as an “a e hough ”(p.7). This is illus a ed in (26):
(26) A: ¿Tomamos gazpacho pa a cena ?
‘Shall we ha e gazpacho o dinne ?’
B: ¡No, po Dios! El gazpacho, lo omo odas las noches!
‘No, please, I ha e gazpacho e e y e ening!’ (Camacho-Taboada, Jiménez-
Fe nándes & López-Rueda, 2014, p. 314)
As o p onominal subjec s, when hey a e Familia G-Topics a null subjec
shows up, as we can see in his example by Camacho-Taboada, Jiménez-
Fe nández & López-Rueda, (2014, p. 315):
(27) No he is o a Ma ía desde mayo. *Ella/okp o debe es a muy ocupada.
‘I ha en’ seen Ma ía since May. She mus be e y busy’.

Theo e ical backg ound
38
1.3.2. Types o Foci
In ela ion o he no ions o ocus p e iously men ioned and acco ding o
he de ini ion gi en by Roo h (1985, 1992), i should be s a ed ha he concep o
ocus e e s o he possibili y o ha ing di e en al e na i es, since “ ocus
indica es he p esence o al e na i es ha a e ele an o he in e p e a ion o
linguis ic exp essions”. (K i ka, 2008, p. 18). An example o his is shown by
Jiménez-Fe nández (2015a, p. 51)
[…] o a ques ion such as “wha does Ma y wan ?” he e is a
numbe o p oposi ions which a y in he con en p o ided by
he ocused di ec objec (Ma y wan s COKE, Ma y wan s ICE-
CREAM,…) […] he whole se o p oposi ions make up wha is
known as cong uen answe s o he ques ion
In he S uc u ed Meaning app oach by K i ka (2006), ins ead “ he
p oposi ion is di ided in wo pa s, namely a Focus (e.g., “ice-c eam” in he
example abo e) and a backg ound ((…) i.e., he p ope y o being some hing ha
Ma y wan s)”. (Jiménez-Fe nández, 2015a, p. 51)
In line wi h his, i is assumed ha he e a e di e en ypes o oci (and
opics, as we ha e seen in sec ion 1.3.1) which may beha e di e en ly depending
on “ he ela i e posi ion o subjec and e b bo h ac oss languages and wi hin a
single-language”, as s a ed in Jiménez-Fe nández (2015a, p. 50).
No mally, he e m ocus is used o make e e ence o wo di e en
discou se unc ions (Kiss (1998), Zubiza e a (1998)). As Jiménez-Fe nández
claims,
Theo e ical backg ound
39
(a) o in oduce new in o ma ion, which is known as
In o ma ion Focus (IF), and (b) o in oduce a con as wi h
espec o a p e ious asse ion by denying one pa and
p oposing ano he pa (…), ypically e e ed o as Con as i e
Focus (CF) (2015a, pp. 50-51)
A clea dis inc ion be ween hese discou se ca ego ies has been suppo ed
by di e se expe s in he ield, such as Kiss (1998) and Zubiza e a (1998). These
di e ences a e based on mo phological, syn ac ic, phonological and discou se
ac o s. A dis inc ion be ween di e en ypes o Focus is suppo ed by c oss-
linguis ic e idence (Molná (2006), Bianchi & Bocci (2012), C uschina (2012)
Jiménez-Fe nández (2015b)).
The syn ac ic posi ion o ocus, speci ically IF and CF, may change
depending on he language. To illus a e, he posi ion o CF in Romance
languages is ypically in he le pe iphe y, whe eas IF commonly occu s in
pos e bal posi ion, as shown by Zubiza e a (1998):
(28) A: ¿Qué comp ó Ped o?
`Wha did Pe e buy’?
B: Ped o comp ó manzanas
B’: #Manzanas comp ó Ped o (Jiménez-Fe nández, 2015a, p. 51)
The di e en possibili ies ega ding he posi ion o ocus do no wo k in
e e y case, bu in gene al, i does o S anda d Spanish and o some a ie ies o
Theo e ical backg ound
40
Spanish. In ac , he possibili y o a le -pe iphe y posi ion o IF is a ailable
acco ding o Jiménez-Fe nández (2015a). Apa om he syn ac ic p ope ies, he
di e en ypes o oci a e di e en ly in e p e ed a he in e aces ega ding
discou se and p osodic p ope ies (F asca elli & Ramaglia, 2013).
Wi h espec o he di e en “sizes” o cons i uen s wi hin a sen ence,
e ms such as “B oad Focus” (BF) and “Na ow Focus” (NF) a e used (Lamb ech ,
1994). The main di e ence be ween hese wo aspec s is ha NF e e s o ocus
on single wo ds o cons i uen s, while BF e e s o complex cons i uen s, VP o
ins ance, being all pa s newly in oduced in o he discou se a he momen o
u e ance (K i ka, 2008). In pa icula , BF is used o e e o all- ocus sen ences,
whe e he whole con en o a p oposi ion is new.
Wi hin NF, di e se sub ypes can be dis inguished, such as In o ma ion
Focus, Con as i e
12
/Co ec i e Focus o Mi a i e Focus, among o he s (K i ka
(2008), C uschina (2012)). Fo he pu poses o he p esen s udy we will
concen a e on wo o hese sub ypes (In o ma ion Focus and
Con as i e/Co ec i e Focus) along wi h B oad Focus la e on, e e ing o
Mi a i e Focus om a me ely desc ip i e poin o iew.
1.3.2.1. Mi a i e Focus
Based on C uschina (2012), Mi a i e Focus is conside ed as no me ely
in o ma i e. “I p o ides new in o ma ion and, based on he speake ’s
knowledge o wha he hea e ’s expec s, indica es ha such in o ma ion will be
unexpec ed” (Jiménez-Fe nández, 2015a, p. 52)
12
No ice ha no speci ic dis inc ion is made be ween con as i e/co ec i e ocus. Bo h
e ms a e ela ed o he ejec ion o an al e na i e
Theo e ical backg ound
41
(29) ¡No puedo c ee me eso de Ma ía! ELLA ha e minado sus es udios de
doc o ado!
‘I can’ belie e ha abou Ma y! She has inished he doc o a e s udies!’
(Camacho-Taboada, Jiménez-Fe nández & López-Rueda., 2014, p.
315)
Due o he unexpec ed in o ma ion ypically ela ed o Mi a i e Focus, he
se o al e na i es is e y la ge. Besides, his ype o ocus does no depend on a
ques ion-answe con ex . Acco ding o Bianchi (2012), wi hin he sha ed
knowledge o he pa icipan s a con as mus be es ablished and i can be
desc ibed as a ”p oposal o nego ia e a sha ed e alua ion” om a seman ic poin
o iew (Jiménez-Fe nández, 2015a, p. 52)
1.3.2.2. In o ma ion Focus
IF e e s o new in o ma ion pu ely (Zubiza e a, 1998). Following he
S uc u e Meaning app oach by K i ka (2006), he Focus in he answe should
e e o he in e oga i e ph ase o he ques ion (wh-ph ase), which is known as
“ques ion-answe cong uence” (Jiménez-Fe nández, 2015b, p. 122). An example o
his is illus a ed in (30):
(30) A: ¿A quién is e en la playa?
‘Who did you see a he beach?’
B: Vi a Ma a
‘I saw Ma a’ (Jiménez-Fe nández, 2015b, p. 122)
Theo e ical backg ound
48
In e oga i e and exclama i e sen ences:
(46) ¿A quién ha is o Juan? (p. 122)
*¿A quién Juan ha is o?
‘Who has Juan seen?’
(47) No sé a quién ha is o Juan (p. 122)
*No sé a quién Juan ha is o
‘I don’ know who Juan has seen’
(48) ¡Qué boni o coche iene Juan! (p. 122)
*¡Qué boni o coche Juan iene!
‘Wha a nice ca Juan has go ! ‘
(49) Llega on niños (p. 124)
*Niños llega on
‘Child en a i ed’
In cases such as example (49), mo e elemen s can be included in he noun
ph ase in o de o make he sen ence accep able. This acili a es he use o he
p e e bal subjec . In coo dina ion, as in (51), we ind he same p ope y:
(50) Homb es de odo el mundo se han concen ado en Nue a
Yo k en señal de p o es a (p. 125)
‘Men om all o e he wo ld ha e come oge he in New Yo k in
p o es ‘

Theo e ical backg ound
49
(51) Homb es, muje es y niños se han concen ado en señal de
p o es a (p. 125)
‘Men, women and child en ha e come oge he in p o es ’
As obse ed in Fe nández So iano (1993), when he subjec is no accompanied
by o he complemen s wi hin he noun ph ase, i mus be placed in pos e bal
posi ion necessa ily, as shown in example (49). In addi ion, he e a e speci ic
ypes o in ansi i e e bs ha allow his kind o cons uc ion in Spanish, such as
a i e (llega ) o g ow up (c ece ), as in examples (52) and (53). Fo he es o
e bs, ano he elemen mus appea in ini ial posi ion in he noun ph ase, as
obse ed in example (54).
(52) Han llegado niños (Fe nández So iano, 1993, p. 125)
‘*Ha e a i ed child en’
(53) Han c ecido lo es (Fe nández So iano, 1993, p. 125)
‘*Ha e g own lowe s’
(54) Aquí han comido niños (Fe nández So iano, 1993, p. 126)
‘*He e ha e ea en child en’
In line wi h his, i is impo an o men ion ha he e is a con as be ween
ansi i e and in ansi i e e bs. Th oughou he expe imen al pa o his s udy,
we concen a e on ansi i e and in ansi i e e bs o he de elopmen o he
linguis ic expe imen (s uc u e o he expe imen al es s), and wi hin
in ansi i e e bs we ha e speci ically dis inguished be ween unaccusa i e and
Theo e ical backg ound
50
une ga i e e bs. In e e ence o in ansi i e e bs, some o hem ha e pa icula
cha ac e is ics ha dis inguish hem om o he ypes o e bs and because o
his, hey ha e been s udied in di e en languages such as F ench o I alian (see
Bu zio (1986) o I alian). Wi h ega d o Spanish, Fe nández So iano s a es ha
he “basic” posi ion o he subjec is pos e bal in ce ain s uc u es. As a ma e
o ac , in languages such as English o F ench, which do no allow pos e bal
subjec s in unma ked si ua ions, wi h unaccusa i e e bs hey a e accep ed:
Il es enue un homme (*Il a pa lé un homme)
The e came a man (*The e spoke a man)
[…] in ac , ha is he “na u al” o ganiza ion, based on
in e p e a i e p ope ies, bu he impo an hing is ha
some imes his is he only op ion […] wi h some o hose e bs,
such as happen (sucede ), ake place (ocu i ), miss ( al a )…”
(Fe nández So iano, 1993, p. 129, my own ansla ion).
(55) Fal a ca é/el ca é/Juan
*Ca é/el ca é/Juan al a
‘Co ee/Juan is missing’ (Fe nández So iano, 1993, p. 129)
(56) Sucedió un inciden e
*Un inciden e sucedió
‘An inciden happened' (Fe nández So iano, 1993, p. 129)
Theo e ical backg ound
51
1.4.2. P o-d op languages and he Null Subjec Pa ame e
1.4.2.1. T adi ion and li e a u e
As men ioned ea lie , some languages allow he ealiza ion o null
a gumen s in ce ain si ua ions, while o he s do no . This is he case o languages
such as I alian o Spanish, whe e “ he occu ence o null subjec s co ela es wi h
a se o o he syn ac ic p ope ies, hus sugges ing ha he same abs ac p ope y
is esponsible o appa en ly un ela ed syn ac ic phenomena” (Ba bosa, 2011, p.
551). Howe e , his possibili y is no easible in languages such as English. An
example o his is illus a ed in (57):
(57) a. Chega am [Po uguese]
‘They ha e a i ed’
‘b. *A i ed (Ba bosa, 2011, p. 551)’
This phenomenon is known as p o-d op and i has been a ocus o s udy
o e he yea s. In F asca elli & Jiménez-Fe nández’s wo ds (2019), “in i s o iginal
o mula ion (Pe lmu e 1971), he p o-d op pa ame e was aimed a cap u ing
he empi ical obse a ion ha in some languages a de ini e, e e en ial,
p onominal subjec mus be exp essed in all ini e clauses” (p. 1)
La e on, in he 80s, his idea was elabo a ed and ex ended in he heo y o
Go e nmen and Binding (Chomsky, 1981) and he Ex ended P ojec ion P inciple
(Chomsky, 1982). Since hen, many au ho s ha e s udied he p ope ies o he
p o-d op pa ame e and se e al analyses om di e en poin s o iew ha e been
p oposed ega ding his ma e . Some o he au ho s who ha e wo ked on his
issue in ecen yea s a e F asca elli (2007, 2017), Jaeggli (1982), Jaeggli & Sa i
(1989), Rizzi (1982, 1986), among o he s.
Theo e ical backg ound
52
Acco ding o Chomsky’s app oach o p o-d op, “a phone ically null p o-
nominal a gumen (p o) is an inhe en ly unspeci ied nominal p ojec ion whose
ea u es a e supplied con ex ually” (Ba bosa, 2011, p. 551). Con o ming o he
P inciples and Pa ame e s app oach o he heo y o g amma , a null a gumen
is conside ed a p onominal ca ego y (p o), hence languages ha pe mi he
ealiza ion o NSs a e known as p o-d op languages o null subjec s languages
(NSLs). In his ype o languages, we can ind examples whe e he subjec is
appa en ly missing, howe e , om a syn ac ic pe spec i e he subjec is p esen
in he sen ence since “i can bind an anapho in he objec posi ion jus like any
o e subjec ” (Ba bosa, 2011, p. 551).
(58) Fe iam-se a si mesmos [Po uguese]
`They hu hemsel es’
Besides, wi hin he ca ego y o NSLs he e can be ound wo ypes o null
subjec cons uc ions de e mined by he subjec posi ion, his is, cons uc ions in
which he subjec is e e en ial (57) and hose in which i is no (59). As illus a ed
in he ollowing example om Ba bosa (2011), his di e ence can be obse ed:
(59) a. Cho e (2011, p. 552) [Po uguese]
‘b. I ains’
Also, when he subjec is no e e en ial, non-NSL such as English ha e an
exple i e subjec , as i can be seen in (59).
Theo e ical backg ound
53
1.4.2.2. Ag eemen in Null Subjec languages
I is clea ha p o-d op is no a simple issue and hus, he e a e a se ies o
ac o s ha in luence his phenomenon. Wi h ega d o he main aspec s o NSL
and his esea ch app oach, i is impo an o highligh one o hese ac o s:
“Languages wi h ich subjec ag eemen mo phology (…), such as I alian,
Spanish, Po uguese, Hunga ian, G eek among many o he s. In his ype o
language, subjec s a e eely d opped unde he app op ia e discou se
condi ions” (Ba bosa, 2011, p. 552).
Rega ding he disco e y o his phenomenon, i was p oposed ha he
possibili y o subjec d op in his kind o languages is co ela ed wi h some o he
syn ac ic p ope ies, consequen ly, a heo y o pa ame e ega ding language
acquisi ion and language a ia ion eme ged. Wi hin he heo y o Go e nmen
and Binding (GB) (Chomsky, 1981), he Ex ended P ojec ion P inciple (EPP)
(Chomsky, 1982) “s a ed ha all clauses mus ha e a s uc u al subjec ” (Ba bosa,
2011, p. 553). Based on he obse a ion ha ich subjec ag eemen languages
p esumably ha e he possibili y o d opping an a gumen , a dis inc ion be ween
NSLs and non-NSLs was p oposed by au ho s such us Chomsky (1981), Jaeggli
(1982) and Rizzi (1982).
In line wi h his, some ele an p ope ies o he ich ag eemen NSLs a e
discussed in Ba bosa (2011). The i s p ope y, c ucially ela ed o his esea ch,
is he SV/VS o de al e na ion o “ ee-in e sion”. An example o his o
Po uguese is illus a ed in Ba bosa (2011, p. 556):
(60) a. O Joao ele onou
* he Joao called
‘John called’

Theo e ical backg ound
54
b. Tele onou o Joao
*called he Joao
‘John called’
As men ioned p e iously, languages such as Spanish o I alian belong o
he ca ego y o ich ag eemen NSLs and in hese cases, jus like in Po uguese,
o de al e na ion is also allowed. Ano he p ope y shown in Ba bosa (2011) is
he lack o ha - ace e ec s: subjec ex ac ion is om pos - e bal posi ion. An
illus a ion o his is shown in he ollowing con as be ween English and
Spanish:
(61) *Who did you say ha bough a compu e ?
¿Quién dices que comp ó un o denado ? [Spanish]
Who say-2SG ha bough a compu e
`Who do you say bough a compu e ?’ (Ba bosa, 2011, p. 556)
This lack o ha - ace p ope y is gene alized in all Romance NSLs. As
epo ed in Ba bosa (2011):
Rizzi (1982) and Jaeggli (1984) pu sue an accoun on his
con as based on he claim ha he subjec is ex ac ed no om
he p e- e bal posi ion bu a he om pos - e bal posi ion.
Bu zio (1986, p. 165), howe e , no es ha a s onge s a emen is
needed: i is no simply he case ha subjec s in I alian can be
ex ac ed om pos - e bal posi ion; in ac , hey mus be (p. 556)
Theo e ical backg ound
55
Rega ding o de al e na ion (SV/VS) in Romance NSLs (and speci ically
Spanish), an aspec which is ela ed o his p ope y and a ma e o in e es
among many au ho s such as Con e as (1991), O doñez (1998), Valdu ì (1992)
( o Ca alan) o Zubiza e a (1998), is ha “p e e bal subjec s end o be opics,
whe eas pos - e bal subjec s end o be oci
13
” (Ba bosa, 2011, p. 557). In line wi h
his, ano he ea u e ha needs o be men ioned is he associa ion be ween objec
Cli ic Doubling and pos - e bal subjec cons uc ions in Spanish. Acco ding o
O dóñez and T e iño (1999), “bo h cases pa e n simila ly in ela ion o he
de e mina ion o binding in ce ain cases o misma ches in pe son be ween he
doubling DP and he objec cli ic o be ween he pos - e bal subjec and Ag ”
(Ba bosa, 2011, p. 557). In his connec ion, he ac ual issue abou he hema ic
subjec posi ion in NS sen ences is i s associa ion wi h p onominal cli ics in
gene al. Acco ding o Villa-Ga cía (2012), apa om pu ely syn ac ic ac o s,
o he aspec s ega ding he discou se-p agma ic in e ace o he lexicon-syn ax
in e ace a ec he exis ence and dis ibu ion o subjec s.
In any case, Ba bosa (2011) s a es ha some o hese NSLs ea u es, among
o he s, ha e no been accu a ely analyzed and unde s ood in he li e a u e o e
he yea s. As men ioned be o e, he p o-d op o NS pa ame e is no a simple
ma e . Di e se and a ious heo ies abou ich ag eemen NSLs ha e been
p oposed o e he yea s, becoming a ma e o in e es in he linguis ic ield and
an issue o deal wi h in his esea ch, as i seems o be connec ed o pos - e bal
subjec s uc u es along wi h some gene al aspec s o In o ma ion S uc u e. In
line wi h his, F asca elli (2007) and F asca elli & Jiménez-Fe nández (2019) deal
13
Bu see Leone i & Escandell (2017) o he possibili y ha a pos e bal subjec is no
ocus.
Theo e ical backg ound
56
wi h an IS s a egy and discuss abou he in e p e a ion o a e e en ial NS.
Acco ding o hem, he e is a ela ionship o ag eemen be ween p o and a
speci ic ype o Topic, he Abou ness-shi Topic (A-Topic) (see Jiménez-
Fe nández 2016 o a simila analysis in Spanish). As s a ed in F asca elli &
Jiménez-Fe nández (2019):
The A-Topic combines he [abou ness] ea u e wi h he [shi ] ea u e,
which is he p ope y o A-Topics o mo e o con e sa ion om one opic o
ano he , upda ing he discou se con ex (Bianchi & F asca elli, 2010). This means
ha A-Topics a e p esen in e e y p edica i e sen ence o es ablish “wha he
sen ence is abou ” and shi he opic ac oss sen ences when o e ly ealized
(2019, p. 3).
1.4.3. Null Subjec Pa ame e in L2 Spanish acquisi ion
1.4.3.1. Linguis ic app oach
Wi hin he ield o linguis ic esea ch, and pa icula ly in he ele an
li e a u e on syn ax and acquisi ion, he Null-Subjec Pa ame e has been a ocus
o discussion o e he yea s since i was i s discussed by Chomsky (1981),
Jaeggli (1982), and Rizzi (1982, 1986), as men ioned abo e. In addi ion, his opic
has gene a ed a ho deba e conce ning NSP acquisi ion in adul L2 s udies,
esul ing in con o e sy and lack o unde s anding, especially in ela ion o
Uni e sal G amma (UG) ole in L2 acquisi ion (Ro hman & I e son, 2007).
The concep o Uni e sal G amma (UG) assumes ha child en a e bo n
wi h he abili y o lea ning he gi en language hey a e exposed o, being able o
acqui e “a comple e na i e g amma ha e lec s mo e knowledge ha can be
de i ed di ec ly om he inpu hey ecei e”. (Ro hman & I e son, 2007, p. 329).
In ac , humans a e supposedly bo n wi h a speci ic men al sub-sys em in ended
o he de elopmen o he language skill, so when we a e bo n, we do no need
Theo e ical backg ound
57
o lea n all aspec s o he na i e language. In line wi h his, some au ho s such as
Bley-V oman (1990), Hawkins and Chan (1997), Tsimpli and Roussou (1991),
a gue ha a po en ially in luen ial ac o ega ding L1 and adul L2 acquisi ion
may be he di e ences in UG-accessibili y (Ro hman & I e son, 2007). Some o
hese a ia ions can be ela ed o speci ic lea ning p oblems. Acco ding o Whi e
(1985), some examples o di e ences in UG-accessibili y a e issues such as
mapping p oblems, ans e o he L1 o p oblems in in e ace-condi ioned
p ope ies (e.g. a he syn ax/phonology, syn ax/seman ics and syn ax/p agma ic
in e aces), being he la e one o he main aspec s o discussion in his s udy.
As s a ed in Ro hman (2009), ollowing So ace (2005) and Valenzuela
(2006):
[…] in e aces a e p ecisely he sou ce o L2 non-con e gence.
So ace and o he s con end ha in e aces (e.g. he syn ax-
p agma ics, syn ax-seman ics in e aces) a e especially
ulne able o adul s and he e o e subjec o g ea e di icul y
and delays, i no he p inciple loci o ine i able ossiliza ion in
adul g amma s (p. 952)
In ac , acco ding o So ace (2005), in he ield o adul L2 acquisi ion some
equen p oblems a e he ones ela ed o he in e p e a ion o ea u es, since his
is ele an o he syn ax-discou se in e ace.
Rega ding he p agma ics-discou se in e ace, s udies ha e demons a ed
ha i is no unusual o ind adul monolingual a iabili y and de elopmen al L1
delays wi h p ope ies, as well as c oss-linguis ic in e e ence and op ionali y o
p ope ies o bilinguals a his in e ace. Because o his, i has been poin ed ou
The Linguis ic Expe imen
64
wo d o de a ia ion and aimed a in es iga ing he acquisi ion o pos e bal
subjec in Spanish.
The o ganiza ion o he wo expe imen al es s is di ided as ollows:
EXPERIMENTAL TESTS
a) The Smu s Tes : Spanish na i e-speake s (child en)
b) The Online Tes :
- Spanish na i e-speake s (adul s)
- English-speaking s uden s o Spanish as a second language (adul s)
2.1.1. The Smu s Tes : L1 child en
“The Smu s Tes ” is an expe imen al es aken by child en in which we
es ed language p oduc ion o pos e bal subjec s depending on di e en
si ua ional con ex s (93 child en). The ollowing example shows one o he
con ex s p esen ed o he child en in Spanish:
The Smu s
Tes
(Spanish L1)
Los Pi u os ienen que esc ibi una ca a muy impo an e, la es á
esc ibiendo Papá Pi u o, ¿no?
The Smu s ha e o w i e a e y impo an le e , Papa Smu
is w i ing i , igh ?
[ hey a e shown he pic u e o Smu e e w i ing he le e ]
[ hey a e shown he pic u e o Smu e e w i ing he
(co ec i e ocus ques ion ype)
2.1.2. The Online Tes : L1 and L2 adul s
“The Online Tes ” is an expe imen al es dis ibu ed o adul s in which we
es he accep abili y o pos e bal subjec depending on di e en si ua ional

The Linguis ic Expe imen
65
con ex s. This es is in ended o L1 and L2 speake s o Spanish. The con ol
g oup is composed o 137 Spanish na i e-speake s, while he a ge g oup is
composed o 34 English-speaking s uden s o Spanish as a second language. This
is an example o a dialogue om he online es in Spanish:
The Online Tes
(Spanish L1/L2)
Es a mañana había un ga o en el ja dín, pe o ya no es á
¿Quién lo ha cogido?
This mo ning he e was a ca in he ga den and now I
can’ see i anymo e. Who ook he ca
(in o ma ion ocus ques ion ype)
The Online Tes
(Spanish L1/L2)
El a ma io es á odo deso denado, ¿qué ha pasado?
The wa d obe is a mess… wha happened?
(b oad ocus ques ion ype)
The ac ha bo h g oups o adul s comple ed he exac same online es is
he key o a eal compa a i e analysis o da a om a linguis ic-me hodological
poin o iew, as we will see u he on in sec ion 3.4. In his way, he g oup o
L1 speake s o Spanish is labelled Con ol G oup while he g oup o L2 speake s
is named Ta ge G oup. I is essen ial o men ion ha he me hodology ollowed
is di e en o child en, he e o e, we will use he Con ol G oup as a “ e e ence”
g oup when discussing he child en’s esponses in an a emp o do so om an
acquisi ional and e olu iona y pe spec i e.
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66
So a in chap e 2, wha we ha e p esen ed is he main ocus o his s udy
along wi h a e y gene al summa y o he expe imen al es s ha we designed.
The aim o his linguis ic expe imen was o collec he necessa y in o ma ion o
he de elopmen o his esea ch. In he subsequen sec ions o his chap e , he
aim will be o desc ibe he c ea i e p ocess o his expe imen by explaining in
de ail he me hodology ollowed and p o iding speci ic in o ma ion in ela ion
o he pa icipan s who collabo a ed in he me hodological pa o he s udy.
The Linguis ic Expe imen
67
2.2. METHODOLOGY
2.2.1. Pa icipan s
In his sec ion, he p o ile o he pa icipan s who collabo a ed in his s udy
is desc ibed. These pa icipan s ha e been classi ied in wo g oups: in he i s
place, he academic colleagues who ook pa in he esea ch by helping mos ly
in he expe imen al p ocess and, in he second place, he g oups o in o man s
(child en and adul s) who we e asked o comple e he expe imen al es s. Thanks
o all o hem, we we e able o collec he da a needed o de eloping and
analyzing his w i en disse a ion.
2.2.1.1. P epa a ion and dis ibu ion o he expe imen al es s
Fi s o all, i is essen ial o men ion ha his s udy has been ca ied ou
unde join supe ision by he uni e si ies o Se ille and Roma T e. The
collabo a i e wo k and join e o be ween eams ha e p o ed essen ial o he
p epa a ion and dis ibu ion o he expe imen al es s.
Secondly, we mus ake in o accoun ha his esea ch and speci ically, he
elabo a ion and dis ibu ion o he expe imen al es s, ha e been conduc ed in
bo h languages Spanish and I alian. In his s udy, we deal wi h he expe imen al
es s in Spanish, and hus, he desc ip ion o he es s and he discussion o esul s
e e o he su eys w i en in Spanish.
The p ocess ha led o he c ea ion o he di e en expe imen al es s and
he dis ibu ion p ocedu e ha helped us collec he da a a e he basis o his
hesis om a me hodological poin o iew. The w i en es in ended o adul
pa icipan s was dis ibu ed online, while he es in ended o child en was
ca ied ou “in si u” a Kinde ga en and P ima y schools. Th ough he
de elopmen o his expe imen al me hod we aimed o analyze he alidi y o
ou ini ial hypo hesis.
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68
2.2.1.2. G oups o In o man s
2.2.1.2.1. The Smu s Tes - Spanish L1 (child en)
The Smu s Tes was designed o be comple ed by Kinde ga en and
P ima y s uden s. In he case o Spanish, he es was comple ed by a o al o 93
child en. All o hem we e s uden s a Colegio de Educación In an il y P ima ia San
Isido o, Se ille, Spain. The s uden s come om he geog aphical and linguis ic
a ea o Se ille o close-by a eas (same a ie y o Spanish).
….
Figu e 1 Child en age anges. The Smu s Tes
As we can see in he igu es, ou s uden s ange om 4 yea s old (II Kinde ga en
School) o 9
15
yea s old (IV P ima y School). Thus, i was necessa y o di ide
child en in o wo g oups in o de o p o ide a mo e accu a e analysis o da a
om an e olu iona y pe spec i e . We sepa a ed pa icipan s in o wo g oups:
o Child en om 4 o 6 yea s old, co esponding o he classes o II, III
Kinde ga en School and I P ima y School
o Child en om 7 o 9 yea s old, co esponding o he classes o II, III and
IV P ima y School.
15
By he ime he es was conduc ed some o he child en we e al eady 10 yea s old, bu
mos o hem we e 9 y.o. This di e ence is no ele an , so 10 y.o. child en ha e been included in
he 7-9 y.o. g oup.
G oup 4-6 Y.O.
II
Kinde ga en
(4-5 y.o.)
III
Kinde ga en
(5-6 y.o.)
I P ima y
School (6-7
y.o.)
G oup 7-9 Y.O..
II P ima y
School (7-8
y.o.)
III P ima y
School (8-9
y.o.)
IV P ima y
School (9-10
y.o.)
The Linguis ic Expe imen
69
GROUP
PARTICIPANTS
GENDER
CLASS
GENDER
GROUP
4-6 Y.O.
38
MALE
17
II Kinde ga en
School
9
M
3
F
6
III Kinde ga en
School
12
M
6
FEMALE
21
F
6
I P ima y
School
17
M
8
F
9
GROUP
7-9 Y.O.
55
MALE
32
II P ima y
School
14
M
8
F
6
III P ima y
School
21
M
16
FEMALE
23
F
5
IV P ima y
School
20
M
8
F
12
Table 2 The Smu s Tes ; Pa icipan s da a
The 4-6 yea s old g oup is composed o 38 pa icipan s in o al, o whom
17 a e male and 21 emale. The 7-9 yea s old g oup is composed o 55 pa icipan s
in o al, o whom 32 a e male and 23 emale.
In Table 2, we can see he numbe o pa icipan s pe class and he numbe
o male and emale child en wi hin each class.
2.2.1.2.2. The Online Tes –Spanish L1: Con ol G oup (adul s)
The Online Tes is o speake s o Spanish as a i s and as a second
language. Fi s ly, we sha ed he es wi h L1 speake s since we needed a con ol
g oup o na i e in o man s in Spanish in o de o ca y ou a p ope analysis o
he L2 esponses. The es was dis ibu ed online by sending he link h ough
social ne wo king channels such as Facebook o Twi e and also by email
con ac . Due o he ac ha he dis ibu ion o his es was online, i was
comple ed by speake s o mo e languages o he han Spanish, so we omi ed
hose who we e no speake s o Spanish as a i s language. The in o man s had
access o a su ey by clicking he link p e iously ecei ed by one o hese
channels and hen hey could en e on he online pla o m in o de o comple e
he su ey. In Figu e 2 we can see he websi e sc een o he su ey:

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70
Figu e 2 Access o he online su ey
This es was comple ed by a o al o 157 in o man s. Howe e , as men ioned
ea lie , some o hem we e omi ed because hey did no espond o he es ’s
needs, so he inal numbe o in o man s is 137. The in o ma ion abou he
pa icipan s p o ile
16
is egis e ed in he i s pa o he su ey. The pa icipan s’
iden i y is anonymous bu he e a e some ques ions ega ding he sociolinguis ic
and geog aphic p o ile o hese in o man s ha we would like o highligh :
Figu e 3 Sociolinguis ic & Geog aphic In o ma ion
Rega ding he pa icipan s’ gende , a o al o 100 emale in o man s
comple ed he es , while a numbe o 37 we e male. As o he age, he e a e 67
16
Pe sonal in o ma ion abou he pa icipan s (gende , age, geog aphical a ea, e c) has
no been ele an o he s a is ical analysis, howe e , we we e in e es ed in ha ing a simila
p o ile o in o man s o make i as accu a e as possible)
The Linguis ic Expe imen
71
in o man s who a e unde 29 yea s old and 70 who a e olde han 29 yea s old.
In ela ion o he geog aphical o igin o he in o man s, all o hem we e Spanish
speake s om he a ea o Spain.
2.2.1.2.3. The Online Tes – Spanish L2: Ta ge G oup (adul s)
The Online Tes , apa om being in ended o ou con ol g oup o
Spanish na i e speake s, as we ha e seen abo e, is also in ended o ou a ge
g oup o English-speaking s uden s who s udy Spanish as a second language.
The es was dis ibu ed online by sending he link h ough social ne wo king
channels such as Facebook o Twi e and also by email con ac . We also designed
and dis ibu ed a lye w i en in English wi h a summa y o he s udy and he
ins uc ions o he su ey o make i mo e accessible. See annex I.
Howe e , unlike he con ol g oup, he a ge g oup o in o man s was no
simple o ge in con ac wi h, since we needed a speci ic p o ile o pa icipan s
and no jus any na i e speake o English.
The p o ile
17
o hese s uden s was qui e gene al ega ding he s udy
p og am o deg ee, bu less gene al in e ms o age and language knowledge:
mos o hem a e uni e si y s uden s be ween 18 and 25 yea s old wi h uppe -
in e media e o ad anced le el o Spanish (B2-C1).
The a ge g oup consis s o 34 in o man s who speak English as a i s
language and whose le el o Spanish is uppe -in e media e o ad anced. This
speci ic ea u e allowed us o ca y ou a much mo e accu a e analysis o da a, as
we a e wo king wi h wo g oups o na i e speake s (Spanish in he case o he
con ol g oup, English in he case o he a ge g oup) and hei beha io as
ega ds unde s anding pos e bal subjec s in Spanish.
17
See no e 16.
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72
The websi e o he su ey was he one p e iously used o he con ol
g oup. The s uden s could en e on he online pla o m and comple e he es by
clicking he link ecei ed h ough one o he channels men ioned p e iously,
including he lye . In he nex igu e we can see he websi e sc een o he su ey:
Figu e 4 Access o he su ey
Jus like in he case o he con ol g oup, he speci ic in o ma ion abou he
pa icipan s is egis e ed in he i s pa o he su ey. The pa icipan s’ iden i y
is anonymous bu se e al ques ions abou he sociolinguis ic and geog aphic
p o ile o he pa icipan s a e illus a ed in he ollowing igu e:
Figu e 5 Pe sonal In o ma ion
Rega ding pa icipan s’ gende , a o al o 25 emale in o man s comple ed
he es , while only 9 we e male. As o he age, he e a e 19 in o man s who a e
unde 24 yea s old and 15 who a e olde han 24 yea s old (no signi ican ly olde
The Linguis ic Expe imen
73
anyway). In ela ion o he geog aphical o igin o he in o man s, hal o hem
(17) a e o iginally om The Uni ed S a es and he o he hal (17) a e om The
Uni ed Kingdom. As we men ioned ea lie , he 34 in o man s speak English as a
i s language and Spanish as a second language.
The Linguis ic Expe imen
80
- Lo ha cogido el niño, el ga o (I ook he boy, he ca ) VSO
- El niño ha cogido el ga o (The boy ook he ca ) SVO
- Ha cogido el ga o el niño (I ook he ca he boy) VOS
- El ga o lo ha cogido el niño (The ca i ook he boy) OVS
o Co ec i e Focus
A: Es a mañana había un ga o en el ja dín, pe o ya no es á. Es oy segu a
de que lo ha cogido esa niño que lo mi aba an o… B: Te equi ocas... A: This
mo ning he e was a ca in he ga den and now I can’ see i anymo e. I’m su e ha i
has been aken by ha gi l who was looking a i . B: You a e w ong…)
- Te equi ocas, lo ha cogido el niño, el ga o VSO
- Te equi ocas, el niño ha cogido el ga o SVO
- Te equi ocas, ha cogido el ga o el niño VOS
- Te equi ocas, el ga o lo ha cogido el niño. OVS
o B oad Focus
A: Te eo ne iosa... ¿Qué ha pasado?... A: You seem ne ous… wha
happened?
- Que hoy lo ha cogido mi hijo, un ga o, y se lo ha aído a casa! VSO
- ¡Que hoy mi hijo ha cogido un ga o y se lo ha aído a casa! SVO
- ¡Que hoy ha cogido un ga o mi hijo, y se lo ha aído a casa! VOS
- ¡Que hoy un ga o lo ha cogido mi hijo, y se lo ha aído a casa! OVS

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81
Figu e 6 In o ma ion Focus ques ion simple
The online su ey is di ided in o wo main pa s: sociolinguis ic and
geog aphic in o ma ion (p e iously exposed in sec ion 2.2.1.2) and he lis o 21
ques ions, including 3 dis ac o s, so s uden s answe ed 24 ques ions which we e
andomized o a oid any p iming de iance. See annex IV.
This expe imen al es is he same e sion o bo h he con ol g oup o
Spanish na i e-speake s and he a ge g oup o English-speaking s uden s. In
his way, we we e able o collec esul s o he same es om wo di e en
in o man s so ha he analysis o da a is compa able.
The Linguis ic Expe imen
82
The Online Tes S uc u e (adul s)
A - INFORMATION FOCUS
B - CORRECTIVE FOCUS
C - BROAD FOCUS
TRANSITIVE
VERBS
UNACCUSATIVE
VERBS
UNERGATIVE
VERBS
TRANSITIVE
VERBS
UNACCUSATIVE
VERBS
UNERGATIVE
VERBS
TRANSITIVE
VERBS
UNACCUSATIVE
VERBS
UNERGATIVE
VERBS
1 -TRANSITIVE OD
[+ANIMATED]
2 -TRANSITIVE OD [-
ANIMATED]
3 - MOTION VERB
4 - INHERENTLY
REFLEXIVE VERB
5 - CHANGE OF
STATE
6 - MONO-
ARGUMENTAL
7 - BI-
ARGUMENTAL
1 -TRANSITIVE OD
[+ANIMATED]
2 -TRANSITIVE OD [-
ANIMATED]
3 - MOTION VERB
4 - INHERENTLY
REFLEXIVE VERB
5 - CHANGE OF
STATE
6 - MONO-
ARGUMENTAL
7 - BI-
ARGUMENTAL
1 -TRANSITIVE OD
[+ANIMATED]
2 -TRANSITIVE OD [-
ANIMATED]
3 - MOTION VERB
4 - INHERENTLY
REFLEXIVE VERB
5 - CHANGE OF
STATE
6 - MONO-
ARGUMENTAL
7 - BI-
ARGUMENTAL
1 - A
2 - A
3 - A
4 - A
5 - A
6 - A
7 - A
1 – B
2 – B
3 - B
4 - B
5 - B
6 - B
7 - B
1 - C
2 - C
3 - C
4 - C
5 - C
6 - C
7 - C
Table 5 The Online Tes S uc u e (adul s)
The Online Tes (adul s): Answe S uc u e
0 Leas
Accep able
1
2
3
4 - Mos
Accep able
VSO
SVO
VOS
OVS
Table 6 The Online Tes (adul s): Answe S uc u e
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83
Figu e 7 Su ey ques ions om 1 o 12
Figu e 8 Su ey ques ions om 13 o 24
The Linguis ic Expe imen
84
2.2.2.3. Di e en me hodology o each expe imen al es
I is essen ial o highligh he ac ha he way in which ques ions a e
posed in each es is di e en , depending on he s uc u e o he es i sel , he
p o ile o he pa icipan s and he pu poses om a linguis ic poin o iew in each
case. No e ha The Online Tes , in ended o adul s, includes a Like scale om
0 o 4 (4 meaning ha hey would de ini ely use i in he con ex p o ided, and 0
meaning ha hey would ne e use i ) o show he le el o “accep abili y”
acco ding o he con ex . All op ions a e g amma ical hough. On he con a y,
The Smu s Tes , in ended o child en, consis s o a se ies o sen ences/dialogues
se in di e en audio isual con ex s and a ques ion ha mo i a es he child’s
spon aneous answe , ins ead o he selec ion o al e na i es, as p e iously
men ioned.
Bo h es s ha e he acquisi ion o Pos e bal Subjec s as he main ocus o
in e es , bu om a me hodological pe spec i e we conside ed he spon aneous
answe op ion mo e sui able o ca ying ou he child en’s es s “in-si u”, while
he s uc u e o The Online Tes and he ac ha i was dis ibu ed online and
in ended o adul s made he op ion o a Like scale mo e app op ia e and
p ac ical. This is a c ucial ac o when i comes o deciding he s a is ical me hod
o he analysis o each es .
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85
2.3. DATA ANALYSIS
2.3.1. Analysis Me hods
The es s ha ha e been discussed in he p e ious chap e c ea e wo
di e en ypes o answe s:
- Fo he Smu s Tes , he in o man gene a es a “quali a i e”
answe based on he p oduc ion o one o ou di e en pa e ns
(VSO- SVO– OVS-VOS)
- Fo he Online Tes , he in o man gene a es a quan i a i e answe
whe e he a es he accep abili y o he pos e bal subjec posi ion.
This a e is done h ough he Like Scale, which measu es he
a i ude o he in o man owa ds a speci ic answe . The way hese
da a should be analyzed a e deba ed in a pape by (Ca i io & Pe la,
2008) whe e he wo majo hypo hesis a e discussed (“o dinal
iew” s “in e al iew”). This hesis ollows he “in e al iew”
which s a es “ ha he Like esponse o ma p oduces empi ically
in e al da a” (i.e. Ca i io (1976), (1978); Vicke s (1999)) and hus,
a pa ame ic analysis can be pe o med.
As discussed in he p e ious pa ag aph, he ype o answe de e mines
he ype o me hodology ha should be applied o analyze hese answe s:
- The quali a i e answe s ecei ed in The Smu s Tes lead us o
apply a chi-squa e es o independence o e alua e he null
hypo hesis (no signi ican di e ence among he g oups).
- The “in e al iew” o he Like Scale gi es us he oppo uni y o
apply a pa ame ic analysis o indi idua e signi ican di e ences
among he answe s. The analysis has been ca ied ou by applying
a Mul i-Fac o ANOVA.

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86
2.3.2. Chi-Squa e Tes o Independence
The Chi-Squa e Tes is a non-pa ame ic s a is ic es ha is used o
de e mine whe he he e is a signi ican ela ionship be ween he expec ed
equency and he obse ed equency o wo a iables.
While he obse ed equencies a e de i ed di ec ly om he expe imen
(i.e., you lip a coin en imes and you coun how many imes appea ed heads),
he obse ed equencies a e calcula ed applying he s a is ical heo y (i.e.,
lipping a coin you would expec 50% chances o appea heads).
The o mula o expec ed cell equencies is:
!",$ =&'∙&)
*
Whe e:
Ei,j= Expec ed equency o he cell in he i h ow and j h column;
Ti= To al numbe o answe s in he i h ow;
Tj= To al numbe o answe s in he j h ow;
N= To al numbe o answe s in he whole able.
In his case he a iables a e:
- The age g oup o he in o man s (II Kinde ga en – IV P ima y).
- The subjec posi ion (VSO -OVS- VOS – SVO)
The s a is ic es is based on he compa ison o wo hypo hesis:
- The “Null Hipo hesis”: he wo a iables a e independen ;
- The “Al e na i e Hipo hesis”: he wo a iables a e no independen ;
To calcula e he chi-squa e alue he ollowing o mula has been applied:
The Linguis ic Expe imen
87
+2=
--.
/0,1 −!0,1
3
2
!0,1
4
1=1
6
0=1
Whe e:
+27
= Chi – squa e es o independence;
Oi ,j= obse ed alue o wo nominal a iables;
Ei,j = expec ed alue o wo nominal a iables
Once he chi-squa e alue has been calcula ed, we need o de e mine
whe he o accep o ejec he “Null hypo hesis”.
The null hypo hesis s a es ha he wo a iables a e independen , in o he
wo ds, ha he answe dis ibu ion is he same independen ly om he age
g oup. Fo his analysis a signi ican alue o 0,05 has been se ; his means ha
he p- alue has o be below his numbe o ejec he null hypo hesis (in o he
wo ds, o p o e ha he answe dis ibu ion is di e en ).
To calcula e he p- alue we need o p o ide wo alues: one is he chi-
squa e alue p e iously calcula ed, and he o he is he deg ee o eedom o he
sys em, which is calcula ed as (i-1)*(j-1), whe e i and j ep esen he numbe o
ows and he numbe o columns o he analysis.
In he subsequen sec ions he analysis ha has been done in The Smu
Tes (L1 child en, e e ence g oup) is epo ed acco ding o his me hodology.
2.3.3. Ano a Tes
Acco ding o he “in e al iew” o he Licke scale (illus a ed in sec ion
2.2.2.2), a pa ame ic es can be used o in es iga e he ou come. Fo The Online
Tes (L1 and L2 adul s, con ol and a ge g oups) we ha e used he ANOVA
(ANalysis O VA iance) es .
The Linguis ic Expe imen
88
By applying he Mul i-Fac o ANOVA analysis i has been possible o
de ine he signi ican ac o s in a mul i ac o s model, using he analysis o
a iance o de e mine, on he one hand, he amoun / ype o da a in luenced by
each ac o aken in o examina ion and, on he o he , he amoun o da a
in luenced by a casual e o .
Speci ically, he ac o s analyzed a e he ollowing:
- Posi ion, wi h 4 possible iden i ies: VSO, SVO, VOS, OVS.
- Focus, wi h 3 possible iden i ies: In o ma ion Focus, Co ec i e
Focus, B oad Focus.
- Ve b, wi h 3 possible iden i ies: T ansi i e, Unaccusa i e,
Une ga i e.
Wi hin he same g oup (L1 o L2) he 4 combina ions o a iables ha e
been analyzed (Posi ion, Focus Vs Posi ion, Ve b Vs Posi ion, Focus Vs Ve b Vs
Posi ion) in o de o de e mine wha ac o o combina ion o hem is
“signi ican ” (i.e., which one gene a es a signi ican di e ence in he ou come).
In each combina ion he ac o “posi ion” has o be p esen , since his is he key
elemen o his s udy. In his analysis a signi ican alue o 0,05 has been
es ablished, which means ha when he p- alue is lowe he wo means a e
di e en (and hus, he null hypo hesis is ejec ed).
As p e iously men ioned, al hough he ANOVA es allows us o
indi idua e i and wha ac o (posi ion, ocus o e b) o combina ion is
signi ican , i does no ell us whe e his di e ence lies (i.e., compa ing he VSO
wi h he o he o de s wi hin he ac o “posi ion”, he e could be a signi ican
di e ence o he pai s VSO-SVO and VSO-OVS, bu no o VSO-VOS). In o de
The Linguis ic Expe imen
89
o de e mine which speci ic combina ion o a iable means a e di e en om one
ano he , a Tukey HSD
24
es has been ca ied ou .
Finally, a compa ison be ween he wo g oups (L1 and L2 pa icipan s) has
been conduc ed. The ANOVA es has been used in o de o analyze i and wha
ac o (o combina ion o hem) gene a es a signi ican a ia ion among he
answe s gi en o he same ype o a iables iden i ied o he 2 g oups. In his
case, a new ac o is gene a ed, he “language” ac o , wi h wo possible
iden i ies: L1-Spanish and L2 – English speaking s uden s).
24
Tukey HSD “hones ly signi ican di e ence” o “hones signi ican di e ence” es is a
s a is ical es which is used o de e mine whe he he di e ence be ween wo means (in luenced
by h ee o mo e a iables) is g ea e han he s anda d e o , and he e o e, signi ican ly di e en
be ween each o he .
Discussion o Resul s
96
Figu e 11 CF end by class g oup
Figu e 12 CF end by age g oup
I we analyze he end o assess he e olu ion om a di e en pe spec i e,
we can es ablish ha he e is an inc ease in he VS o de (OVS, VOS) and, on he
o he hand, a dec ease in SVO, al hough i is la gely used in all ages. The e o e,
he use o VS s a egy s a s o eme ge ea lie o CF han o IF. The DP s a egy
is no e y ele an in CF con ex s, while Cle sen ences a e cons an o e he
analysis (9%).
0,0%
10,0%
20,0%
30,0%
40,0%
50,0%
60,0%
70,0%
80,0%
90,0%
100,0%
II Kinde ga en
III Kinde ga en
I P ima y
II P ima y
III P ima y
IV P ima y
A -
VSO
Bo e -
SVO
Bnul -
SVO
C -
VOS
D -
OVS
E -
Cle
F - DP
G -
O he
0,0%
10,0%
20,0%
30,0%
40,0%
50,0%
60,0%
70,0%
80,0%
90,0%
100,0%
4 - 6 Yea s Old
7 - 9 Yea s Old
A - VSO
Bo e -
SVO
Bnul -
SVO
C - VOS
D - OVS
E - Cle
F - DP
G - O he

Discussion o Resul s
97
3.1.1.1.3. B oad Focus
Table 11 Di e ences ac oss ocus ypes BF
Le us now examine he da a conce ning BF cons uc ions:
As expec ed, SVO is de ini ely he p e e ed s a egy o ealize BF
cons uc ions a any age. The VS s a egy has a e y limi ed ele ance, gene ally
es ic ed o unaccusa i e e bs. The SVO (null-subjec s) answe s
26
a e mo e
equen o BF, in pa icula in younge child en, while o IF and CF in mos
SVO answe s he subjec is o e . Also, educed s a egies a e no an op ion o
BF. The “o he ” ca ego y o BF p esen s highe pe cen ages in child en om 4
o 7 y.o, since kinde ga en child en ha e some imes p o ided ee answe s no
ela ed o he con ex in his case.
26
The eason o his migh be he ac ha he e e en s o subjec s cons i uen s we e
“shown” in he pic u e and hey migh be conside ed as “gi en” elemen s by child en.
Discussion o Resul s
98
Al hough he VS s a egy has e y limi ed ele ance o BF, he use o he
OVS o de is especially in e es ing, being no comple ely imma e ial and e y
simila a all ages, as illus a ed in Table 12.
Table 12 Answe ing s a egies o BF in Spanish child en
In pa icula , he use o VS cons uc ions in BF is limi ed o unaccusa i e
(especially mo ion) e bs, in ag eemen wi h F asca elli & S o ini (2019) o
I alian, as obse ed in Table 13 below:
B oad Focus: Unaccusa i e Ve bs
O de
Mo ion
Resul change
P og essi e change
4 - 6 Yea s
Old
7 - 9 Yea s
Old
4 - 6 Yea s
Old
7 - 9 Yea s
Old
4 - 6 Yea s
Old
7 - 9 Yea s
Old
SV
15,79%
14,55%
89,47%
83,64%
92,11%
98,18%
VS
73,68%
85,45%
10,53%
16,36%
0,00%
1,82%
O he
10,53%
0,00%
0,00%
0,00%
7,89%
0,00%
Table 13 VS s a egy in BF (unaccusa i e e bs)
Figu e 13 BF end by class g oup
0,0%
10,0%
20,0%
30,0%
40,0%
50,0%
60,0%
70,0%
80,0%
90,0%
100,0%
II Kinde ga en
III Kinde ga en
I P ima y
II P ima y
III P ima y
IV P ima y
A -
VSO
Bo e -
SVO
Bnul -
SVO
C -
VOS
D -
OVS
E -
Cle
F - DP
G -
O he
Discussion o Resul s
99
Figu e 14 BF end by age g oup
As seen in Figu e 13 and Figu e 14, he end shows ha SVO is de ini ely
he p e e ed s a egy a any age o BF. In his case, he VS s a egy has a e y
limi ed ele ance, e en i he OVS o de is he second op ion. This esul is a
om he SVO p e e ence, bu s ill in e es ing.
3.1.1.1.4. Associa ion be ween s a egies and ocus ypes
The esul s ob ained wi h his expe imen allow o some gene al
conside a ions on he de elopmen o Focus s a egies.
As is shown, he SVO o de s a egy is he mos equen o all he oci
examined un il he age o 6-7 y.o. The VS s a egy, on he con a y, shows a
cons an inc ease eme ging a he age o 7 (e en ea lie o CF, 6 y.o.) which
a ec s specially CF and IF. The OVS o de becomes he p e e ed s a egy in
child en om 7 o 9 y.o. In BF sen ences, he SVO is mo e equen o all age
g oups, whe eas VS is mo e equen wi h speci ic ypes o e bs (i.e.
unaccusa i e e bs) a e he age o 6-7 y.o. The VSO o de does no seem an
op ion in Spanish, whe e VOS is p e e ed. Rega ding he di e ences among
e b ypes, bo h objec ypes and adjunc s we e always men ioned in he con ex
p eceding he ques ions, so any a ia ion is no ela ed o an expe imen al bias.
0,0%
10,0%
20,0%
30,0%
40,0%
50,0%
60,0%
70,0%
80,0%
90,0%
100,0%
4 - 6 Yea s Old
7 - 9 Yea s Old
A - VSO
Bo e -
SVO
Bnul -
SVO
C - VOS
D - OVS
E - Cle
F - DP
G -
O he
Discussion o Resul s
100
These esul s suppo he claim ha he VS s a egy can be conside ed a
la e acquisi ion eme ging a he age o 6 y.o., becoming a signi ican al e na i e o
SVO o de o NF cons uc ions in he child en’s compe ence a e ha age. The
e olu ion o answe ing s a egies is illus a ed in Figu e 15.
Figu e 15 E olu ion o answe ing s a egies (SV-VS) by age
As seen in Figu e 15, he blue line shows ha he e is an eme ging end
in educing he use o he SV s a egy as child en g ow up. On he o he hand,
he o ange line illus a es a clea inc easing o VS s a egies (conside ing he
union o VOS, VSO and OVS) wi h age. The di e ence be ween he use o SV and
VS is highe in Kinde ga en and I P ima y child en, while his di e ence is less
p onounced as hey g ow up, as obse ed in his igu e.
As o educed s a egies, hey a e la gely used by kinde ga en child en
in al e na ion wi h SVO. Howe e , i s equency shows a dec ease wi h school
educa ion becoming almos imma e ial.
0,0%
5,0%
10,0%
15,0%
20,0%
25,0%
30,0%
35,0%
40,0%
45,0%
50,0%
55,0%
60,0%
65,0%
II
Kinde ga en
III
Kinde ga en
I P ima y II P ima y III P ima y IV P ima y
E olu ion o answe ing s a egies by age
SV VS Cle DP O he
Discussion o Resul s
101
3.1.3. S a is ical Signi icance: Chi-squa e Tes
The s a is ical analysis has been ca ied ou o de e mine he exis ence o
signi ican di e ences be ween answe ing s a egies in he wo age g oups. The
es used is he Chi-squa e Tes , a non-pa ame ic s a is ical es desc ibed in
sec ion 2.3.2. In pa icula we a e in e es ed in e i ying whe he he e is a
signi ican di e ence om an e olu iona y pe spec i e. Hence, each column in
Table 14 indica es he s a is ical di e ence a es ed in he answe ing s a egies
used in he wo g oups (4-6 and 7-9 y.o. child en), whe e he lowe he alue is,
he highe he signi icance.
The ou come o his es is shown as ollows:
Chi-Squa e Tes Resul s
(Con . Le el 0,05)
In o ma ion
Focus
Co ec i e
Focus
B oad
Focus
T ansi i e
<0,001
<0,001
0,133
T ansi i e (+anm obj.)
0,001
0,005
0,270
T ansi i e (-anm obj.)
<0,001
0,018
0,213
Unaccusa i e
<0,001
<0,001
<0,001
Unaccusa i e (mo ion)
<0,001
0,003
0,001
Unaccusa i e ( esul change)
<0,001
0,323
0,588
Unaccusa i e (p og essi e change)
<0,001
<0,001
0,031
Une ga i e
<0,001
0,001
0,039
Une ga i e (mono)
<0,001
0,228
0,047
Une ga i e (bi)
0,001
0,003
0,483
Table 14 Chi-Squa e es esul s
In Table 14, colo s ep esen wha ollows:
- Red: alues ma ked in ed show a signi ican di e ence
- Black: alues ma ked in black do no show a signi ican di e ence
In o de o co ela e he desc ip i e s a is ics wi h he s a is ical
signi icance he ollowing summa y is p esen ed:

Discussion o Resul s
102
As illus a ed in Table 14, he use o answe ing s a egies shows
di e ences ha a e s a is ically signi ican in mos cases o IF and CF (applying
a 5% con idence le el).
Rega ding IF, Table 14 shows ha he answe ing dis ibu ion changes
wi h age (g oups 4-6 y.o. and 7-9 y.o.). This means ha he hypo hesis abou an
e olu ion in he answe s depending on he age is easible, since he answe s a y
and go om choosing SVO in kinde ga en le els o p oducing VS s uc u es
while hey g ow in age. The answe s p o ided in IF a e signi ican ly di e en
(<0,001) in all cases. In his case, he gene al end is clea and all he di e ences
a es ed in he desc ip i e analysis a e signi ican . Al hough child en in gene al
p e e SVO o de in IF, he dec easing o he p e e ence o SVO wi h age is
signi ican acco ding o he chi-squa e es , as well as he inc easing o he VS
s a egy wi h age, specially VOS and OVS, since all he possible answe s show a
<0,001. The signi icance o his esul is in line wi h he la e acquisi ion o VS
s a egies ha we suppo .
As o CF, impo an di e ences a e a es ed ega ding he h ee g oups
o e bs: ansi i es (<0,001), unaccusa i es (<0,001), une ga i es (0,001), as
shown in Table 14. In pa icula , o unaccusa i e e bs impo an di e ences a e
obse ed in mo ion and p og essi e change e bs, (0,003) and (<0,001)
espec i ely, while o une ga i es, signi ican di e ences a e obse ed o bi-
a gumen al (0,003). Only in he case o esul e bs (unaccusa i es) and mono-
a gumen al (une ga i es) di e ences a e no signi ican . This means ha he
e olu ion o he answe s is di e en in ela ion o mos e b ypes, showing ha
he lea ning p ocess gene a es a a ia ion in he p oduc ion o he answe s gi en
by child en. Howe e , his is no he case o esul e bs (unaccusa i es) and
mono-a gumen al (une ga i es).
Discussion o Resul s
103
In gene al, o BF i eme ges ha he answe s gi en do no show an
e olu ion wi h age excep o he unaccusa i e mo ion and p og essi e change,
as well as une ga i e mono-a gumen al (see Table 14). While o unaccusa i e
mo ion he signi ican di e ence is clea (0,001), o unaccusa i e p ogessi e
change (0,031) and une ga i e mono-a gumen al (0,047) he p- alues ob ained
a e closed o he limi o signi icance, being his ac a possible objec o esea ch
in u he s udies om a s a is ical pe spec i e.
I should be no ed ha in he case o unaccusa i e e bs he esul s a e
pa icula ly in e es ing. On he one hand, he e olu ion o he esponses in
mo ion and p og essi e change e bs shows a signi ican di e ence ega dless
he ype o ocus (IF, CF and BF). On he o he hand, as o he unaccusa i e
( esul change) e b, he answe s do no show a signi ican di e ence wi h age in
he cases o CF and BF, while hey do o IF.
Discussion o Resul s
104
3.2. THE ONLINE TEST (CONTROL GROUP: SPANISH L1)
3.2.1. S a is ics Analysis
The Online Tes has been ca ied ou by a con ol g oup (137 speake s o
Spanish as a i s language). The answe s gi en by he pa icipan s ha e been
collec ed in o de o:
- explo e he e ec o he di e en ac o s on he accep abili y o
each answe ;
- use hese da a as e e ence alues o compa e hem wi h hose o
English-speaking s uden s o Spanish as a second language.
The accep abili y judgmen s ob ained in he expe imen al es ha e been
analyzed o de e mine whe he he e is a signi ican di e ence wi hin he h ee
ac o s in ol ed ega ding he accep abili y a ia ion be ween he di e en
con ex s. In his case, he s a is ical me hod used o his is he ANOVA (ANalysis
O VA iance) es , desc ibed in sec ion 2.3.3.
3.2.1.1. E ec o he main ac o s and hei in e ac ions
Table 15 L1 ANOVA es , signi icance o he ac o s
In he p e ious able he ollowing in o ma ion is epo ed:
Discussion o Resul s
105
- The i s column on he le co esponds o he ac o s being
examined: he a ge is ocused on he ac o s ha con ain
“posi ion”, as we a e in e es ed in analyzing he accep abili y o
di e en o de s.
- SS (sum o squa e): i is he sum o he squa es o he de ia ions o
all he answe s xi, i ep esen s he sum o he squa ed di e ences
om hei mean alue
8
9.
- Deg ees o F eedom (DF): he deg ees o eedom ( om now on
called m) a e calcula ed as he numbe o a iables o each ac o
(3 di e en Focus ypes, 3 di e en Ve b ypes, 4 di e en
posi ions) minus one
27
.
- MS (`Mean Sum o Squa e’): i is calcula ed as he Sum o Squa e
di ided by he DF and i is a ep esen a ion o popula ion a iance.
- F ep esen s he F- s a is ic, and i is calcula ed by di iding he MS
alue by he MS e o . I helps o e i y whe he he a iance
be ween he means o wo popula ions is signi ican ly di e en .
- Finally, he las column co esponds o he p- alue; he p- alue is
he p obabili y o ob aining a esul a leas as ex eme as he one
obse ed; he p- alue ep esen s he mos impo an ou pu o his
able as i gi es us he smalles signi icance le el a which he null
hypo hesis should be ejec ed. I he p- alue is less han 0,05 he
e ec o he ele an ac o o in e ac ion is conside ed signi ican
(all signi ican alues a e ma ked in ed in his s udy).
27
Whe e a combina ion o ac o s is analyzed, he deg ees o eedom o he g oups a e
calcula ed as (a-1)*(b-1) (i.e. o Focus – Posi ion he deg ees o eedom a e (4-1)*(3-1) = 3*2 = 6).
The deg ees o eedom o he E o ow a e he n da a collec ed minus he p oduc o all he
ac o s (7 ques ions * 3 oci * 4 posi ions * 137 subjec s – 4 posi ion * 3 e bs * 3 oci). Fo a de ailed
illus a ion and explana ion o ele an no ions, he in e es ed eade is e e ed o The ANOVA
able (SS, d , MS, F), G aphPad, 2014.
Discussion o Resul s
112
Figu e 18 L1 Ve b – Posi ion means
In Table 21 and Figu e 18 he a e age Like accep abili y o each pai is
shown.
In line wi h he p e ious Focus – Posi ion analysis, SVO is he mos
equen ly selec ed op ion o all e b ypes. In his case, he le el o accep abili y
o his o de does no depend on he ype o e b, since he e is no signi ican
di e ence among hem: ans i e and unaccusa i e e bs (Table 20, cell (2;6) =
0,118), ansi i e and une ga i e e bs (cell (2;10) = 0,872) and be ween
unaccusa i es and une ga i es (cell (6;10) = 0,994).
As o OVS, in wo ou o h ee cases (une ga i e and ansi i e) his is he
second p e e ed o de (e en hough i does no show a signi ican di e ence in
une ga i e e bs compa ed o VOS, see Table 20, cell (11;12) = 0,757). I s le el o
accep abili y dec eases wi h unaccusa i e e bs, being he leas accep able op ion
(see Figu e 18) .
0,00
0,25
0,50
0,75
1,00
1,25
1,50
1,75
2,00
2,25
2,50
2,75
3,00
3,25
3,50
3,75
4,00
T ansi i e
Unaccusa i e
Une ga i e
Ve b - Posi ion
OVS VOS SVO VSO

Discussion o Resul s
113
Simila ly o he Focus – Posi ion analysis, he VOS op ion shows a
conside able cons an le el o accep abili y, al hough he only no signi ican
di e ence is be ween ansi i e and une ga i e e bs (Table 20, cell (3;11) =
0,183).
The VSO cons uc ion is he leas accep able op ion. I shows no ela ion
a all be ween VSO – TR/UNERG/UNACC o wi h any o he posi ion o e b
ype ( o all signi ican di e ences ac oss all ypes o o de s and e bs, see Table
20, ow 1 and 5).
To summa ize he esul s o his analysis, i is shown ha :
- SVO o de is he p e e ed op ion and his does no depend on he
e b ype
- Fo une ga i e e bs, he e is no signi ican dis inc ion be ween
VOS and OVS s a egies.
- OVS a ies conside ably depending on he ype o e b;
- Al hough VOS cons uc ions a y, hey ha e a conside able
cons an le el o accep abili y among all e b ypes.
- The VSO s a egy is gene ally he leas accep able o de .
Discussion o Resul s
114
3.2.1.5. E ec o he ac o s ocus- e b-posi ion
This sec ion shows he e ec s and he means o each ou pu :
L1 TUKEY HSD
Tes :
Focus - Ve b -
Posi ion;
sub able
In o ma ion Focus
Cell Row
IF-TRANS-VSO
IF-TRANS-SVO
IF-TRANS-VOS
IF-TRANS-OVS
IF-UNACC-VSO
IF-UNACC-SVO
IF-UNACC-VOS
IF-UNACC-OVS
IF-UNERG-VSO
IF-UNERG-SVO
IF-UNERG-VOS
IF-UNERG-OVS
Cell Column
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
IF-TRANS-VSO
1
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
0.959
0.649
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
IF-TRANS-SVO
2
<0.001
0.404
<0.001
0.998
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
1.000
<0.001
<0.001
IF-TRANS-VOS
3
<0.001
0.992
<0.001
<0.001
0.010
0.348
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
IF-TRANS-OVS
4
<0.001
<0.001
0.143
<0.001
<0.001
0.979
<0.001
0.321
IF-UNACC-VSO
5
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
0.018
<0.001
IF-UNACC-SVO
6
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
0.583
<0.001
<0.001
IF-UNACC-VOS
7
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
1.000
IF-UNACC-OVS
8
1.000
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
IF-UNERG-VSO
9
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
IF-UNERG-SVO
10
<0.001
<0.001
IF-UNERG-VOS
11
0.002
IF-UNERG-OVS
12
Table 22 L1 Tukey HSD Tes : Focus - Ve b – Posi ion; sub able In o ma ion Focus
Cell No.
FOCUS
VERB
POSITION
MEAN
1
In o ma ion Focus
TRANSITIVE
VSO
1.20
2
In o ma ion Focus
TRANSITIVE
SVO
3.44
3
In o ma ion Focus
TRANSITIVE
VOS
1.79
4
In o ma ion Focus
TRANSITIVE
OVS
3.13
5
In o ma ion Focus
UNACCUSATIVE
VSO
1.97
6
In o ma ion Focus
UNACCUSATIVE
SVO
3.60
7
In o ma ion Focus
UNACCUSATIVE
VOS
2.81
8
In o ma ion Focus
UNACCUSATIVE
OVS
1.40
9
In o ma ion Focus
UNERGATIVE
VSO
1.48
10
In o ma ion Focus
UNERGATIVE
SVO
3.34
11
In o ma ion Focus
UNERGATIVE
VOS
2.35
12
In o ma ion Focus
UNERGATIVE
OVS
2.81
Table 23 L1 HSD Tes , Focus - Ve b - Posi ion Means; sub able In o ma ion Focus
Discussion o Resul s
115
Figu e 19 L1 In o ma ion Focus: Focus - Ve b – Posi ion means
As illus a ed in Figu e 19, in he case o IF answe s, he SVO o de is
p e e ed o all e b ypes, and is no in luenced by he e b, since he e is no
signi ican di e ence (Table 22, cell (2;6) = 0,998, cell (2;10) = 1,000, cell (6;10) =
0,583) . The alues o his ype o answe a e, in all cases, be ween 3 and 4 in he
Like scale.
30
In he case o ansi i e e bs, no signi ican di e ence has been
ound o SVO and OVS s a egies (Table 22, cell (2;4) = 0,404.
As o he OVS o de , (pos e bal subjec associa ed wi h le -disloca ion
in Spanish) i is shown ha o ansi i e and une ga i e e bs OVS is qui e an
accep able op ion, be ween 2,75 and 3,25 in he Like scale (and no signi ican
di e ence has been ound be ween hese wo e bs, as shown in Table 22, cell
(4;12) = 0,321), while his o de can be conside ed almos unaccep able o
unaccusa i e e bs, wi h alues unde 1,50 in he Like scale.
31
In ela ion o he VOS o de , (pos e bal subjec s associa ed wi h “in si u”
objec s), low alues a e shown (1,79, Table 23) o ansi i e e bs. As o he es
30
This may mean ha he subjec has been mo ed o a posi ion in he le pe iphe y. As
a gued by Jiménez-Fe nández (2015b) , IF can be cons uc ed by mo ing he ele an cons i u en
o he le .
31
This shows ha le -disloca ion is no used o he objec s o unaccusa i es, while his
is equen o ansi i es (especially) and une ga i es.
0,00
0,25
0,50
0,75
1,00
1,25
1,50
1,75
2,00
2,25
2,50
2,75
3,00
3,25
3,50
3,75
4,00
T ansi i e
Unaccusa i e
Une ga i e
In o ma ion Focus
OVS VOS SVO VSO
Discussion o Resul s
116
o he e bs, in gene al VOS shows alues a ound 2,5 in he Like scale (see Table
23). The VOS s a egy sco es di e en alues o di e en e bs ypes in he case
o IF, highligh ing he impo ance o he in luence o he e b ac o (see Figu e
19).
As men ioned ea lie , he VSO o de o IF shows e y low alues in
gene al (Table 23). As wi h VOS, he VSO s a egy shows di e en alues o
di e en e b ypes.
Bo h OVS and VOS o de s a e accep able op ions when he pos e bal
subjec is ocused, a e he p e e ed SVO o de . I should be no ed ha in he
case o ansi i e and une ga i e e bs, he OVS o de is he p e e ed op ion
a e SVO, while VOS is he p e e ed op ion in he case o unaccusa i e e bs,
ollowed by VSO and las ly OVS.
L1 TUKEY HSD
Tes :
Focus - Ve b -
Posi ion;
sub able Co ec i e
Focus
Cell Row
CF-TRANS-VSO
CF-TRANS-SVO
CF-TRANS-VOS
CF-TRANS-OVS
CF-UNACC-VSO
CF-UNACC-SVO
CF-UNACC-VOS
CF-UNACC-OVS
CF-UNERG-VSO
CF-UNERG-SVO
CF-UNERG-VOS
CF-UNERG-OVS
Cell Column
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
CF-TRANS-VSO
13
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
0.016
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
CF-TRANS-SVO
14
<0.001
0.089
<0.001
0.221
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
0.010
<0.001
1.000
CF-TRANS-VOS
15
<0.001
0.236
<0.001
<0.001
0.068
0.999
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
CF-TRANS-OVS
16
<0.001
1.000
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
1.000
<0.001
0.433
CF-UNACC-VSO
17
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
1.000
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
CF-UNACC-SVO
18
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
1.000
<0.001
0.746
CF-UNACC-VOS
19
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
0.034
<0.001
CF-UNACC-OVS
20
<0.001
<0.001
0.959
<0.001
CF-UNERG-VSO
21
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
CF-UNERG-SVO
22
<0.001
0.099
CF-UNERG-VOS
23
<0.001
CF-UNERG-OVS
24
Table 24 L1 Tukey HSD Tes : Focus - Ve b - Posi ion; sub able Co ec i e Focus
Discussion o Resul s
117
Cell No.
FOCUS
VERB
POSITION
MEAN
13
Co ec i e Focus
TRANSITIVE
VSO
1.12
14
Co ec i e Focus
TRANSITIVE
SVO
3.16
15
Co ec i e Focus
TRANSITIVE
VOS
1.80
16
Co ec i e Focus
TRANSITIVE
OVS
3.53
17
Co ec i e Focus
UNACCUSATIVE
VSO
1.49
18
Co ec i e Focus
UNACCUSATIVE
SVO
3.46
19
Co ec i e Focus
UNACCUSATIVE
VOS
2.70
20
Co ec i e Focus
UNACCUSATIVE
OVS
2.14
21
Co ec i e Focus
UNERGATIVE
VSO
1.62
22
Co ec i e Focus
UNERGATIVE
SVO
3.58
23
Co ec i e Focus
UNERGATIVE
VOS
2.34
24
Co ec i e Focus
UNERGATIVE
OVS
3.22
Table 25 L1 HSD Tes , Focus - Ve b - Posi ion Means; sub able Co ec i e Focus
Figu e 20 L1 Co ec i e Focus: Focus - Ve b – Posi ion means
As we can see in Table 25 and Figu e 20 he p e e ed op ions in he case
o CF a e SVO and OVS.
Pos e bal subjec in he OVS o de is ex emely equen wi h ansi i e
and une ga i e e bs ( ele an alues in he Like scale a e o e 3 in bo h cases),
while o unaccusa i e e bs, no only SVO bu also he VOS o de is p e e ed
o e OVS.
32
In Table 24, no signi ican di e ence be ween OVS ansi i e and
une ga i e e bs (cell (16;24) = 0,433) eme ges, while bo h o hem a e di e en
wi h unaccusa i e OVS (cell (16;20) = <0,001 and cell (20;24), = <0,001). An
32
As men ioned ea lie , le disloca ion is no associa ed o unaccusa i e e bs.
0,00
0,25
0,50
0,75
1,00
1,25
1,50
1,75
2,00
2,25
2,50
2,75
3,00
3,25
3,50
3,75
4,00
T ansi i e
Unaccusa i e
Une ga i e
Co ec i e Focus
OVS VOS SVO VSO

Discussion o Resul s
118
impo an ea u e o he OVS s a egies o CF is ha no only is he e no
signi ican di e ence among hem, bu also he e is no signi ican di e ence
be ween OVS ansi i e and SVO ansi i e (cell (14;16) = 0,089), be ween OVS
ansi i e and SVO une ga i e (cell (16;22) = 1,000), be ween OVS une ga i e and
SVO une ga i e (cell (22,24) = 0,099). This means ha , in ansi i e and une ga i e
e bs, he e is no signi ican di e ence o OVS and SVO answe s, he la e being
he i s op ion and he o me , he second.
SVO is once again he p e e ed op ion
33
. While SVO unaccusa i e does
no e lec a signi ican di e ence be ween SVO ansi i e (cell (14;18) = 0,221)
and SVO une ga i e (cell (18;22) = 1,000), he e exis s a signi ican di e ence
be ween SVO ansi i e and une ga i e (cell (14;22) = 0,010).
The VOS o de is he hi d p e e ed op ion in he case o ansi i e and
une ga i e e bs, a e SVO and OVS. Howe e , he his o de shows a highe
le el o accep abili y han OVS in he case o unaccusa i e e bs. The di e ence
be ween VOS unaccusa i e and he es o he a iables is signi ican (Table 24,
ow and column 19); no ela ion has been ound be ween any VOS o de in he
Co ec i e Focus (Table 24, cell (15;19) = <0,001, cell (15;23) = <0,001, cell (19;23) =
0,034).
The VSO o de is he las op ion in all cases, showing alues ha a e
loca ed a om he p e e ed op ions, hus showing a signi ican di e ence
(<0,05) among all he o he a iables (Table 24, ow 13 and 17), excep o VSO
unaccusa i e and VSO unaccusa i e, whe e he di e ence is no signi ican (cell
(17;21) = 1,000)
33
I would be e y in e es ing o con as his p e e ence o SVO in a non-w i en es ,
ha is, by o e ing he possibili y o spon aneous answe s o he same ques ions. In his way, we
could check whe he he op ion in mos SVO answe s is in luenced by he ac ha his is an
online es comple ed by adul s who hink h ough and ake ime o ma k he “co ec ” answe .
E en i hey a e said ha all op ions a e g amma ically co ec , hey end o do his unconsciously.
Discussion o Resul s
119
L1 TUKEY HSD
Tes :
Focus - Ve b -
Posi ion;
sub able B oad
Focus
Cell Row
BF -TRANS-VSO
BF -TRANS-SVO
BF -TRANS-VOS
BF -TRANS-OVS
BF -UNACC-VSO
BF -UNACC-SVO
BF -UNACC-VOS
BF -UNACC-OVS
BF -UNERG-VSO
BF -UNERG-SVO
BF -UNERG-VOS
BF -UNERG-OVS
Cell Column
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
BF -TRANS-VSO
25
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
0.981
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
BF -TRANS-SVO
26
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
1.000
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
1.000
<0.001
<0.001
BF -TRANS-VOS
27
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
BF -TRANS-OVS
28
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
1.000
<0.001
<0.001
1.000
BF -UNACC-VSO
29
<0.001
0.999
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
1.000
<0.001
BF -UNACC-SVO
30
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
1.000
<0.001
<0.001
BF -UNACC-VOS
31
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
0.998
<0.001
BF -UNACC-OVS
32
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
BF -UNERG-VSO
33
<0.001
<0.001
0.764
BF -UNERG-SVO
34
<0.001
<0.001
BF -UNERG-VOS
35
<0.001
BF -UNERG-OVS
36
Table 26 L1 Tukey HSD Tes : Focus - Ve b - Posi ion; sub able B oad Focus
Cell No.
FOCUS
VERB
POSITION
MEAN
25
B oad Focus
TRANSITIVE
VSO
0.56
26
B oad Focus
TRANSITIVE
SVO
3.85
27
B oad Focus
TRANSITIVE
VOS
2.89
28
B oad Focus
TRANSITIVE
OVS
1.39
29
B oad Focus
UNACCUSATIVE
VSO
2.30
30
B oad Focus
UNACCUSATIVE
SVO
3.84
31
B oad Focus
UNACCUSATIVE
VOS
2.44
32
B oad Focus
UNACCUSATIVE
OVS
0.75
33
B oad Focus
UNERGATIVE
VSO
1.52
34
B oad Focus
UNERGATIVE
SVO
3.81
35
B oad Focus
UNERGATIVE
VOS
2.28
36
B oad Focus
UNERGATIVE
OVS
1.26
Table 27 L1 HSD Tes , Focus - Ve b - Posi ion Means; sub able Co ec i e Focus
Discussion o Resul s
120
Figu e 21 L1 B oad Focus: Focus - Ve b – Posi ion means
Rega ding BF, he SVO o de is de ini ely associa ed wi h his ype o
ocus, so he numbe s in his case mee he expec a ions (see Table 27 and Figu e
21). The alues o he p e e ed op ion (SVO) a e highe han in any o he case,
he e a e no SVO op ions unde 3,75 in he Like scale. I can he e o e be claimed
ha he connec ion be ween SVO and BF is app opia e. The SVO p e e ence in
BF is no in luenced by he e b ype, as he e is no signi ican di e ence be ween
any o he SVO answe s (Table 26, cell (26;30) = 1,000, cell (26;34) =1,000 and cell
(30;34) =1,000).
Despi e ha , i is necessa y o highligh he ele ance o VOS o de in all
BF cases, since he alues o his op ion a e mos ly o e 2 on he Like scale and
is he in o man s‘ second p e e ed op ion. The e is no signi ican di e ence in
he accep abili y o VOS answe s be ween unaccusa i e and une ga i e (Table
26, cell (31;35) = 0,998), whe eas he e is signi ican di e ence be ween ansi i e
and une ga i e (cell 27;35) and ansi i e and unaccusa i e e bs (cell 27;31).
Rega ding he esul s o VSO o de , ansi i e e bs show eally low
alues (Table 27, 0,56), while unaccusa i e (2,30) and une ga i e (1,52) e bs
show highe alues. I is impo an o no ice how, o une ga i e e bs, he e is
no signi ican di e ence be ween VSO and OVS (Table 26, (cell 33;36) = 0,764),
0,00
0,25
0,50
0,75
1,00
1,25
1,50
1,75
2,00
2,25
2,50
2,75
3,00
3,25
3,50
3,75
4,00
4,25
T ansi i e
Unaccusa i e
Une ga i e
B oad Focus
OVS VOS SVO VSO
Discussion o Resul s
121
while, o unaccusa i e e bs, he e is no signi ican di e ence be ween VSO and
VOS (Table 26, cell (29;31) = 0,999).
While o CF and IF he OVS s a egy was a alid answe , o BF i is shown
ha his o de is no an op ion. In all e b ypes he accep abili y o his answe
is below 1,5 (see Table 27) wi h a lowe mean o unaccusa i e e bs and a g ade
o accep abili y o 0,75. The e is no signi ican di e ence in he answe s gi en o
ansi i e and une ga i e e bs Table 26, cell (28;36) =1,000).
The esul s o his analysis can be summa ized as ollows:
- SVO is gene ally he mos accep able answe , and his is no
in luenced by he ype o e b (excep o CF be ween ansi i e
and une ga i e e bs).
- The p e e ence o OVS answe s is s ongly in luenced by he ype
o ocus: i is widely accep ed in IF and CF, bu i is no conside ed
as a alid o de o BF. Gene ally, OVS answe s a egies a e bes
linked wi h ansi i e e bs, wi h sligh ly less p e e ence o
une ga i e e bs, while unaccusa i e e bs a e conside ed a less
accep able op ion.
- The VOS s a egies a e gene ally accep ed wi h all ocus ypes and
e bs; o IF and CF he leas p e e ed VOS o de is linked wi h
ansi i e e bs, while in BF mos p e e ence is gi en o his op ion.
- The VSO s a egy is a e he leas accep able op ion. The only alue
o e 2 can be ound in BF o unaccusa i e e bs.
Discussion o Resul s
128
by he e b ype, as he e is no signi ican di e ence be ween each VSO pai
compa ed o each o he (Table 31, cell (1;5) = 1,000, cell (1;9) = 1,000 and cell (5;9)
= 0,945). While he VSO o de does no show signi ican di e ence wi h VOS o
IF and BF, in he case o CF, he VSO o de does no show any signi ican
di e ence wi h he OVS answe s (Table 31, cell (5;8) = 1,000).
The OVS o de is he leas accep able op ion in all cases, al hough in he
case o CF he e is no signi ican di e ence wi h VSO. As wi h p e ious cases,
OVS does no show any signi ican di e ence be ween IF and CF (Table 31, cell
(4;8) = 0,709) and be ween IF and BF (cell (4;12) = 0,583), while he e is a signi ican
di e ence be ween BF and CF ega ding he OVS o de (cell (8;12) = 0,002).
Acco ding o hese esul s, he ollowing conclusions a e eached:
- O e all, he g ade o accep abili y o he o de s is no in luenced
by he ocus ype in he case o L2 in o man s ( he only excep ion
is CF – OVS s BF – OVS);
- The SVO o de is he mos accep able op ion, ollowed by VOS,
VSO. The leas accep able o de is OVS.
- The e is no signi ican di e ence be ween VOS and VSO, hus bo h
can be conside ed as he second p e e ed op ion in he cases o BF
and IF.
- In he case o CF, he e is no signi ican di e ence be ween VSO
and OVS, he la e being he las op ion and he o me , he hi d.

Discussion o Resul s
129
3.3.1.4. E ec o he ac o s e b-posi ion
In he ollowing able, he signi ican ela ion be ween he ac o s e b and
posi ion (wi hou di e en ia ing by ocus) is illus a ed:
L2 TUKEY
HSD Tes :
Ve b -
Posi ion
Cell Row
TRANS-VSO
TRANS-SVO
TRANS-VOS
TRANS-OVS
UNACC-VSO
UNACC-SVO
UNACC-VOS
UNACC-OVS
UNERG-VSO
UNERG-SVO
UNERG-VOS
UNERG-OVS
Cell Column
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
TRANS-VSO
1
<0.001
<0.001
0.203
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
1.000
0.002
<0.001
<0.001
0.994
TRANS-SVO
2
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
0.996
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
0.909
<0.001
<0.001
TRANS-VOS
3
0.026
1.000
<0.001
0.986
<0.001
0.651
<0.001
0.953
<0.001
TRANS-OVS
4
0.005
<0.001
<0.001
0.008
0.962
<0.001
0.678
0.894
UNACC-VSO
5
<0.001
0.982
<0.001
0.437
<0.001
0.875
<0.001
UNACC-SVO
6
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
1.000
<0.001
<0.001
UNACC-VOS
7
<0.001
0.024
<0.001
0.168
<0.001
UNACC-OVS
8
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
0.699
UNERG-VSO
9
<0.001
1.000
0.094
UNERG-SVO
10
<0.001
<0.001
UNERG-VOS
11
0.013
UNERG-OVS
12
Table 33 L2 Tukey HSD Tes : Ve b Posi ion
Cell No.
VERB
POSITION
MEAN
1
TRANSITIVE
VSO
1.53
2
TRANSITIVE
SVO
3.56
3
TRANSITIVE
VOS
2.33
4
TRANSITIVE
OVS
1.88
5
UNACCUSATIVE
VSO
2.34
6
UNACCUSATIVE
SVO
3.44
7
UNACCUSATIVE
VOS
2.47
8
UNACCUSATIVE
OVS
1.44
9
UNERGATIVE
VSO
2.06
10
UNERGATIVE
SVO
3.36
11
UNERGATIVE
VOS
2.14
12
UNERGATIVE
OVS
1.67
Table 34 L2 Tukey HSD Tes , Ve b - Posi ion Means
Discussion o Resul s
130
Figu e 24 L2 Ve b – Posi ion means
As expec ed, SVO is he p e e ed o de o all e bs. In Table 34 i is
obse ed ha alues a e a ound 3,4 on he Like scale. The le el o accep abili y
o his o de does no depend on he ype o e b, since he e is no signi ican
di e ence in any o he cases: be ween ansi i e and unaccusa i e e bs (Table
33, cell (2;6) = 0,996), ansi i e and une ga i e e bs (cell (2;10) = 0,909) and
unaccusa i es and une ga i es (cell (6;10) = 1,000). This esul is simila o he
ou pu ob ained o L1, as he e is no signi ican di e ence among he e b ypes.
The VOS o de is he second mos accep able op ion o all e bs. As
obse ed in Table 34, i s means a e o e 2 poin s in all cases and i does no
depend on he e b ype since he e is no signi ican di e ence among hem
(Table 33, cell (3;7) = 0,986, cell (3;11) = 0,953 and cell (7;11) = 0,168). Addi ionally,
i is impo an o highligh ha he e is no signi ican di e ence be ween he VOS
and VSO o de s o unaccusa i e e bs (Table 33; cell (5;7) = 0,982) and
une ga i e e bs (cell (9;11) = 0,982), in bo h cases i s mean alues a e o e 2 on
he Like scale.
As men ioned abo e, VSO is gene ally he hi d p e e ed op ion,
al hough i is he leas accep able op ion o ansi i e e bs (as p e iously
men ioned, he e is no signi ican di e ence be ween VSO and VOS o
une ga i e and unaccusa i e e bs). The le el o accep abili y o VSO is no
Discussion o Resul s
131
in luenced by he e b ype in he case o unaccusa i e and une ga i e e bs,
since he e is no signi ican di e ence be ween hem (Table 33, cell (5;9) = 0,437),
while bo h o hem show signi ican di e ences wi h ansi i e e bs (cell (1;5) =
<0,001 and cell (1;9) = 0,002), which is no conside ed as an accep able op ion
(Table 34: 1,53). The VSO and OVS op ions do no show any signi ican di e ence
be ween hem in ansi i e (cell (1;4) = 0,203) and une ga i e e bs (cell (9;12) =
0,094).
The OVS o de is he leas accep able op ion, excep o ansi i e e bs.
The e is no signi ican di e ence be ween une ga i e and unaccusa i e e bs
(Table 33, cell (8;12) = 0,699) and be ween ansi i e and une ga i e e bs (cell
(4;12) = 0,894), while he e is a signi ican di e ence be ween unaccusa i e and
ansi i e e bs (cell (4;8) = 0,008)
Acco ding o hese esul s, he ollowing conclusions a e eached:
- The SVO o de is he mos accep able op ion and his does no
depend on he e b ype;
- The VOS o de does no depend on he ocus, since he e is no
signi ican di e ence among he ocus ypes. This op ion shows a
simila le el o accep ance o VSO in unaccusa i e and une ga i e
e bs.
- The accep abili y o he VSO o de is no in luenced by he ocus
ype in ela ion o unaccusa i e and une ga i e e bs ( ela i ely
accep able answe ), while i is no conside ed such an accep able
op ion in he case o ansi i e e bs.
- OVS is gene ally conside ed he leas accep able op ion, excep in
he case o ansi i e e bs.
Discussion o Resul s
132
3.3.1.5. E ec o he ac o s ocus- e b-posi ion
This sec ion shows he e ec s and he means o each ou pu :
L2 TUKEY HSD
Tes :
Focus - Ve b -
Posi ion;
sub able
In o ma ion
Focus
Cell Row
IF-TRANS-VSO
IF-TRANS-SVO
IF-TRANS-VOS
IF-TRANS-OVS
IF-UNACC-VSO
IF-UNACC-SVO
IF-UNACC-VOS
IF-UNACC-OVS
IF-UNERG-VSO
IF-UNERG-SVO
IF-UNERG-VOS
IF-UNERG-OVS
Cell Column
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
IF-TRANS-VSO
1
<0.001
0.040
0.913
0.002
<0.001
<0.001
1.000
0.011
<0.001
0.382
0.999
IF-TRANS-SVO
2
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
1.000
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
0.937
<0.001
<0.001
IF-TRANS-VOS
3
1.000
1.000
<0.001
1.000
0.016
1.000
0.032
1.000
0.970
IF-TRANS-OVS
4
0.992
<0.001
0.216
0.862
0.998
<0.001
1.000
1.000
IF-UNACC-VSO
5
<0.001
1.000
<0.001
1.000
0.027
1.000
0.697
IF-UNACC-SVO
6
0.001
<0.001
<0.001
0.999
<0.001
<0.001
IF-UNACC-VOS
7
<0.001
1.000
0.753
0.819
0.021
IF-UNACC-OVS
8
0.003
<0.001
0.259
0.999
IF-UNERG-VSO
9
0.097
1.000
0.848
IF-UNERG-SVO
10
0.001
<0.001
IF-UNERG-VOS
11
1.000
IF-UNERG-OVS
12
Table 35 L2 Tukey HSD Tes : Focus - Ve b - Posi ion; sub able In o ma ion Focus
Cell No.
FOCUS
VERB
POSITION
MEAN
1
In o ma ion Focus
TRANSITIVE
VSO
1.37
2
In o ma ion Focus
TRANSITIVE
SVO
3.63
3
In o ma ion Focus
TRANSITIVE
VOS
2.24
4
In o ma ion Focus
TRANSITIVE
OVS
1.90
5
In o ma ion Focus
UNACCUSATIVE
VSO
2.30
6
In o ma ion Focus
UNACCUSATIVE
SVO
3.47
7
In o ma ion Focus
UNACCUSATIVE
VOS
2.58
8
In o ma ion Focus
UNACCUSATIVE
OVS
1.39
9
In o ma ion Focus
UNERGATIVE
VSO
2.31
10
In o ma ion Focus
UNERGATIVE
SVO
3.12
11
In o ma ion Focus
UNERGATIVE
VOS
2.06
12
In o ma ion Focus
UNERGATIVE
OVS
1.75
Table 36 L2 Tukey HSD Tes , Focus - Ve b - Posi ion Means; sub able In o ma ion Focus
Discussion o Resul s
133
Figu e 25 L2 In o ma ion Focus: Focus - Ve b – Posi ion means
As illus a ed in Figu e 25 he h ee- ac o analysis shows ha SVO is he
mos accep able o de . I s accep abili y wi hin IF does no depend on he e b, as
he e is no signi ican di e ence be ween ansi i e and unaccusa i e e bs
(Table 35, cell (2;6) = 1,000) ansi i e and une ga i e e bs (cell (2;10) = 0,937)
and unaccusa i es and une ga i es (cell (6;10) = 0,999).
The VOS o de is he second mos accep able op ion, and i s le el o
accep abili y is no in luenced by he e b, as he e is no signi ican di e ence
be ween ansi i e and unaccusa i e e bs (Table 35, (cell (3;7) = 1,000), ansi i e
and une ga i e e bs (cell (3;12) = 1,000) and unaccusa i es and une ga i es (cell
(7;11) = 0,819). In all cases, he VOS o de shows no signi ican di e ence wi h
VSO (cell 5;7) = 1,000) o une ga i e and unaccusa i e e bs (cell (9;11) = 1,000)
and wi h OVS o ansi i e e bs (cell (3;4) = 1,000).
In ela ion o VSO, he e is a high le el o disc epancy ega ding
accep abili y since i is he second p e e ed op ion in he case o une ga i e
e bs, bu he leas p e e ed op ion o ansi i e e bs. While o unaccusa i e
and une ga i e e bs he accep abili y o VSO is no in luenced by he ype o
e b (as he e is no signi ican di e ence, Table 35, cell (5;9) = 1,000), in he case
o ansi i e e bs he e is (cell (1;5) = 0,002 and cell (1;9) = 0,011). As o
0,00
0,25
0,50
0,75
1,00
1,25
1,50
1,75
2,00
2,25
2,50
2,75
3,00
3,25
3,50
3,75
4,00
T ansi i e
Unaccusa i e
Une ga i e
In o ma ion Focus
OVS VOS SVO VSO

Discussion o Resul s
134
une ga i e e bs, he VSO o de does no show any signi ican di e ence wi h
he o he o de s ( ow 9); in he case o unaccusa i e e bs, i shows no signi ican
di e ence wi h VOS (see Table 35, cell (5;7)=1000) while in ansi i e e bs he
VSO o de does no show any signi ican di e ence wi h OVS (Table 35, ow 1).
The OVS o de is, in gene al, he leas accep able o de . I is no in luenced
by he e b ype, as obse ed in Table 35 (cell (4;8) = 0,862, cell (4;12) = 1,000; cell
(8;12) = 0,999). This o de does no show a signi ican di e ence be ween
ansi i e e bs and une ga i e e bs, wi h VSO (cell (1;4) = 0,913 and cell (9;12)
= 0,848 espec i ely) and VOS (cell (3;4) = 1,000 and cell (11;12) = 1,000).
Acco ding o hese esul s, he ollowing conclusions a e eached:
- The SVO o de is he mos accep able op ion and his does no
depend on he e b ype;
- The accep abili y o VOS o de is no in luenced by he ocus ype
and is simila o VSO in unaccusa i e and une ga i e e bs.
- The VSO op ion is no in luenced by he ocus ype ega ding
unaccusa i e and une ga i e e bs (accep able answe s), while i
is no conside ed such an accep able op ion in he case o ansi i e
e bs.
- The OVS o de is conside ed he leas accep able op ion, al hough
i is no signi ican ly di e en wi h bo h VSO and VOS in he case
o une ga i e and ansi i e e bs.
Discussion o Resul s
135
L2 TUKEY HSD
Tes :
Focus - Ve b -
Posi ion;
sub able
Co ec i e Focus
Cell Row
CF-TRANS-VSO
CF-TRANS-SVO
CF-TRANS-VOS
CF-TRANS-OVS
CF-UNACC-VSO
CF-UNACC-SVO
CF-UNACC-VOS
CF-UNACC-OVS
CF-UNERG-VSO
CF-UNERG-SVO
CF-UNERG-VOS
CF-UNERG-OVS
Cell Column
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
CF-TRANS-VSO
13
<0.001
0.848
0.913
0.999
<0.001
0.013
1.000
0.999
<0.001
0.546
1.000
CF-TRANS-SVO
14
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
1.000
0.003
<0.001
<0.001
1.000
<0.001
<0.001
CF-TRANS-VOS
15
1.000
1.000
<0.001
1.000
0.434
1.000
<0.001
1.000
1.000
CF-TRANS-OVS
16
1.000
<0.001
1.000
0.556
1.000
<0.001
1.000
1.000
CF-UNACC-VSO
17
<0.001
0.677
0.951
1.000
<0.001
1.000
1.000
CF-UNACC-SVO
18
0.001
<0.001
<0.001
1.000
<0.001
<0.001
CF-UNACC-VOS
19
<0.001
0.936
0.017
1.000
0.494
CF-UNACC-OVS
20
0.972
<0.001
0.156
1.000
CF-UNERG-VSO
21
<0.001
1.000
1.000
CF-UNERG-SVO
22
0.002
<0.001
CF-UNERG-VOS
23
0.999
CF-UNERG-OVS
24
Table 37 Tukey HSD Tes : Focus - Ve b - Posi ion; sub able Co ec i e Focus
Cell No.
FOCUS
VERB
POSITION
MEAN
13
Co ec i e Focus
TRANSITIVE
VSO
1.68
14
Co ec i e Focus
TRANSITIVE
SVO
3.46
15
Co ec i e Focus
TRANSITIVE
VOS
2.24
16
Co ec i e Focus
TRANSITIVE
OVS
2.21
17
Co ec i e Focus
UNACCUSATIVE
VSO
2.03
18
Co ec i e Focus
UNACCUSATIVE
SVO
3.42
19
Co ec i e Focus
UNACCUSATIVE
VOS
2.53
20
Co ec i e Focus
UNACCUSATIVE
OVS
1.62
21
Co ec i e Focus
UNERGATIVE
VSO
2.06
22
Co ec i e Focus
UNERGATIVE
SVO
3.37
23
Co ec i e Focus
UNERGATIVE
VOS
2.32
24
Co ec i e Focus
UNERGATIVE
OVS
1.93
Table 38 L2 Tukey HSD Tes , Focus - Ve b - Posi ion Means; sub able Co ec i e Focus
Figu e 26 L2 Co ec i e Focus: Focus - Ve b – Posi ion means
0,00
0,25
0,50
0,75
1,00
1,25
1,50
1,75
2,00
2,25
2,50
2,75
3,00
3,25
3,50
3,75
T ansi i e
Unaccusa i e
Une ga i e
Co ec i e Focus
OVS VOS SVO VSO
Discussion o Resul s
136
As expec ed, SVO is once again he mos accep able o de by a . I does
no show any signi ican di e ence be ween ansi i e and unaccusa i e e bs
(Table 37 cell (14;18) = 1,000) ansi i e and une ga i e e bs (cell (14;22) = 1,000)
and unaccusa i es and une ga i es (cell (18;22) = 1,000); in addi ion, SVO
answe s a e s a is ically di e en compa ed o any o he answe (Table 37, ow
14 and ow 22).
The VOS o de is he second mos accep able op ion. I is no in luenced
by he e b ype since he e is no signi ican di e ence be ween ansi i e and
unaccusa i e e bs (Table 37, cell (15;19) = 1,000), ansi i e and une ga i e e bs
(cell (15;23) = 1,000) and unaccusa i e and une ga i e e bs (cell (19;23) = 1,000).
The VSO is he hi d p e e ed op ion o unaccusa i e and une ga i e
e bs, and as wi h SVO and VOS, he e is no signi ican di e ence be ween
ansi i e and unaccusa i e e bs (Table 37, cell (13;17) = 0,999) ansi i e and
une ga i e e bs (cell (13;21) = 0,999) and unaccusa i es and une ga i es (cell
(17;21) = 1,000).
Rega ding OVS, his o de is no in luenced by he e b ype ei he , since
he e is no signi ican di e ence be ween ansi i e and unaccusa i e e bs
(Table 37, cell (16;20) = 0,556), ansi i e and une ga i e e bs (cell (16;24) = 1,000)
and inally, unaccusa i e and une ga i es (cell (20;24) = 1,000).
In he case o ansi i e and une ga i e e bs, apa om SVO, he e is no
signi ican di e ence among he h ee o he o de s ( ansi i e e bs: VOS-VSO
cell (13;15) = 0,848, VOS-OVS cell (15;16) = 1,000, and VSO-OVS cell (13;16) = 0,913.
Une ga i e e bs: VOS-VSO cell (21;23) = 1,000, VOS-OVS cell (23;24) = 0,999, and
VSO-OVS cell (21;24) = 1,000).
As o unaccusa i e e bs, wi hou including SVO, VSO does no show
any signi ican di e ence wi h VOS ( cell (17;19) = 0,677) and wi h OVS ( cell
Discussion o Resul s
137
(17;20) = 0,951), while be ween VOS and OVS he e is a signi ican di e ence (cell
(19;20) = <0,001).
Acco ding o hese esul s, he ollowing conclusions a e eached:
- In he case o CF, he accep abili y o all o de s is no in luenced by
he e b ype.
- While SVO is by a he mos accep able op ion o any ype o
e b, he e is no signi ican di e ence be ween he o he h ee
o de s in ansi i e and une ga i e e bs. Howe e , in
unaccusa i e e bs he e is no signi ican di e ence be ween VSO
and VOS/OVS, bu VOS and OVS show a signi ican di e ence
compa ed o each o he .