Abstract When acquiring Spanish object pronouns (OP), English-speaking second language (L2) learners must learn the variety of forms available, word order, and case distinctions. The acquisition of case distinctions in particular is an aspect that has not been thoroughly investigated. Zyzik (2006) showed, through production tasks, that English-speaking L2 Spanish learners overgeneralize the dative form to accusative contexts when the referent is animate. This study investigates how L2 learners use animacy (human, animal, and inanimate object) instead of case marking as cues to interpret and produce L2 Spanish object pronouns. Data from an interpretation task and a fill-in-the-blank production task were collected from 121 intermediate to advanced levels of Spanish learners. Results from linear mixed effects models reveal that learners show effects of the influence of animacy on object pronoun distinction in comprehension as well as production. A key new finding is that learners use the dative form with human referents, reserving accusative forms for animals and inanimate referents. These results provide evidence that animacy cues strongly influence L2 Spanish learners in the formation of their OP paradigm, especially at lower-proficiency levels. As proficiency increases, L2 learners begin to rely on case cues to distinguish Spanish OPs.

中文翻译：

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生命力对二语西班牙语宾语代词区分的影响

摘要 在习得西班牙语对象代词 (OP) 时，说英语的第二语言 (L2) 学习者必须学习各种可用的形式、词序和大小写区别。特别是获取案例区分是一个尚未彻底调查的方面。Zyzik (2006) 通过生产任务表明，当所指对象是有生命的时，说英语的 L2 西班牙语学习者会将与格形式过度概括为宾格语境。本研究调查 L2 学习者如何使用生命力（人类、动物和无生命物体）而不是大小写标记作为解释和生成 L2 西班牙语物体代词的线索。来自 121 名中高级西班牙语学习者的口译任务和填空任务的数据收集。线性混合效应模型的结果表明，学习者表现出动画对理解和产生中对象代词区分的影响。一个重要的新发现是学习者将与格形式与人类所指对象一起使用，为动物和无生命的所指对象保留宾格形式。这些结果提供了证据，表明活力线索强烈影响 L2 西班牙语学习者形成他们的 OP 范式，尤其是在低熟练度水平。随着熟练程度的提高，L2 学习者开始依靠案例线索来区分西班牙语 OP。这些结果提供了证据，表明活力线索强烈影响 L2 西班牙语学习者形成他们的 OP 范式，尤其是在低熟练度水平。随着熟练程度的提高，L2 学习者开始依靠案例线索来区分西班牙语 OP。这些结果提供了证据，表明活力线索强烈影响 L2 西班牙语学习者形成他们的 OP 范式，尤其是在低熟练度水平。随着熟练程度的提高，L2 学习者开始依靠案例线索来区分西班牙语 OP。