Abstract
Valency theory has been applied to investigate various languages, such as German, Chinese and English. However, most studies in this field were based on the linguistic materials produced by native speakers. The current research aimed to examine the valency structures in the interlanguage. Based on the English writing produced by L2 Chinese learners, we adopted the quantitative approach, trying to find out whether the distributional features of verb valency in the interlanguage also had regular probability distributions as those in the native languages, and whether there was a relationship between these valency distributional characteristics and L2 learners’ language competence. It was found that (1) verb valency in the interlanguage followed distributional regularities which had been identified in the native languages; (2) the valency features showed differences in the diversity of valency patterns, the use of valences and the complexity of forms of complements between the interlanguage and the target language; (3) the distribution functions and parameters related to verb valency could manifest the development of students’ language competence. The current research has extended valency theory to the study of interlanguage and the valency perspective has profound methodological and pedagogical implications for L2 learning. Its item-specific property and the integration of grammatical and lexical factors are conducive to analyzing the way various words combine with each other.
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