Exploring Constraints On Dative Alternation By Chinese EFL Learners

Dative alternation refers to the alternation between a double object construction and a prepositional dative construction.As a universal linguistic phenomenon,the dative alternation had long been a research focus of linguists.Previous research mostly based on the framework of the structuralism and generative grammar etc.to study English dative alternation.However,the dative alternation research based on the theories mainly focused on one certain aspect of the dative construction,which left much room for systematic and comprehensive study.Since the establishment of Construction Grammar,numerous scholars explored factors that affect the dative alternation and found the alternation was constrained by different factors.However,most of the empirical studies on English alternation at home and abroad focused on the alternation of English,of the different English varieties and of the cross-languages.Few studies have examined constraints on English dative alternation by Chinese EFL learners.Based on these,the present study explored the constraints on dative alternation by Chinese EFL learners in the framework of Construction Grammar and compared the similarities and differences between Chinese EFL learners and native speakers.The study employed Spoken and Written English Corpus of Chinese Learners to investigate the effects of constraints,including animacy of recipient/theme,accessibility of recipient/theme,pronominality of recipient/theme,definiteness of recipient/theme,concreteness of recipient/theme,length difference,style.Results showed that the English dative alternation of Chinese EFL learners were influenced by animacy,pronominality of recipient,accessibility,definiteness,concreteness,length difference and style.It has been found that the effects of constraints on the dative alternation of Chinese EFL learners varies with dative verbs.Compared dative alternation of native speaker,the results showed that animacy of recipient,pronominality of recipient,accessibility,concreteness and length difference possessed similar constraint effects on dative alternation of Chinese EFL learners and English native speakers when give,bring,tell and offer were used.However,the constraint effects on the dative alternation of Chinese EFL learners and native speakers differed in animacy of theme,pronominality of theme,definiteness and style.