Keywords
interlanguage
learnability
inverted structure
salience
How to Cite
Abstract
Inverted structures have received ample attention in the related literature throughout the past few decades. Meanwhile, two theoretically competing positions, namely Markedness Differential Hypothesis and Salience Hypothesis, are frequently referred to when it comes to the acquisition of such language structures in EFL contexts. A review of the local literature in the Iranian context, however, reveals that little attention has been paid to this matter. The present study, thus, was an attempt to investigate the existence of any possible relationship between markedness and salience in the acquisition of inversion among Iranian EFL learners. A total number of 102 participants at three proficiency levels at two language centers took part in this study. In order to obtain evidence on the object of inquiry, a grammar test was developed that served a dual purpose, reallocating the participants to new groups according to their grammar proficiency as well as providing evidence on the variable of the study. Based on the results of the Chi-square test, it was found that the instructed group outperformed the other. A further analysis of Wilcoxon signed rank test showed that the acquisition of such constructions, despite their relative salience, is largely explained by markedness differential hypothesis.
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