The Role of Prototypical Transitivity in the Selection of Accusative Case Particle wo by Persian Learners of L2 Japanese

Abstract

This study attempts to account for Japanese language learners’ selection pattern of case particle wo by taking a prototype-based approach to language learning. A cross-sectional study of Persian-speaking learners was conducted to examine whether the degree of predicate transitivity influences case particle selection, and whether proficiency level and L1 play a role in such a selection pattern. The results reveal that learners were sensitive to the degree of predicate transitivity. However, the test scores were significantly higher for verbs of contact (‘throw’, ‘use’) which express object manipulation compared to those for the linguistic prototype which involves a change in the object’s state (‘cut’, ‘reduce’). This suggests that learners may consider contact verbs as the more ‘typical’ or basic transitive construction. The results also show that lower proficiency learners were more likely to select particles based on L1 surface marking, suggesting that learners’ particle selection strategy is influenced by proficiency level.

Keywords

• transitivity
• prototype theory
• L2 Japanese
• accusative case particle wo
• Persian learners