The Role of the L1 in the acquisition of reflexive and reciprocal marking in L2 Italian

Generative theories of the initial state in second language (L2) acquisition mostly study transfer as a surface phenomenon, typically in terms of whether a particular L2 property is instantiated in the L1 or not. However, research on a wide range of morphosyntactic phenomena indicates that this view cannot account for all manifestations of L1 influence, and that a more elaborate approach to transfer is needed. The specific problem we study is the acquisition of Italian reflexives and reciprocals by native speakers of Serbian and English. In particular, we are interested in the morphological marking of reflexive and reciprocal forms. Our goal is to provide new evidence for the view that the L1 influences the L2 in complex ways, rather than in the straightforward form of direct transfer.