Language Processing and Second Language Development: Processability Theory by ManfredPienemannReview by: Erwin TschirnerThe Modern Language Journal, Vol. 85, No. 1, Special Issue: A Century of Language Teachingand Research: Looking Back and Looking Ahead, Part 2 (Spring, 2001), pp. 145-146Published by: Wiley on behalf of the National Federation of Modern Language Teachers AssociationsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/330384 .

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Reviews Reviews

cal structure. Viewing words as serially ordered

temporal sequences, they try to find out how these properties impact the processing system. They conclude that words that are more differen- tiated at the beginning than at the end are better learned.

Although this volume has a theoretical linguis- tic orientation, applied linguists, second and for-

eign language practitioners, and language mate- rials developers can benefit immensely from the research described in it. They can gain insights pertaining to how various features of LI are ac-

quired, based on new hypotheses and ap- proaches. Fresh SLA theories may be built or

existing ones modified on the basis of these in-

sights. Implications regarding several issues may be investigated in SLA in a new light. These in- clude the competing status of communication versus grammar versus the lexicon, competence and performance, the role of background knowl-

edge, declarative and procedural knowledge, and

exposure to language and practice versus static

knowledge. Language educators can replicate or

adapt research paradigms described in The Emer- gence of Language. This may help the second lan-

guage field to avoid speculation in favor of sub- stantiated empirical findings.

MAHDI ALOSH The Ohio State University

cal structure. Viewing words as serially ordered

temporal sequences, they try to find out how these properties impact the processing system. They conclude that words that are more differen- tiated at the beginning than at the end are better learned.

Although this volume has a theoretical linguis- tic orientation, applied linguists, second and for-

eign language practitioners, and language mate- rials developers can benefit immensely from the research described in it. They can gain insights pertaining to how various features of LI are ac-

quired, based on new hypotheses and ap- proaches. Fresh SLA theories may be built or

existing ones modified on the basis of these in-

sights. Implications regarding several issues may be investigated in SLA in a new light. These in- clude the competing status of communication versus grammar versus the lexicon, competence and performance, the role of background knowl-

edge, declarative and procedural knowledge, and

exposure to language and practice versus static

knowledge. Language educators can replicate or

adapt research paradigms described in The Emer- gence of Language. This may help the second lan-

guage field to avoid speculation in favor of sub- stantiated empirical findings.

MAHDI ALOSH The Ohio State University

PIENEMANN, MANFRED. Language Processing and Second Language Development: Processability The- ory. Philadelphia: Benjamins, 1999. Pp. 366. $69.00, cloth; $29.95, paper.

PIENEMANN, MANFRED. Language Processing and Second Language Development: Processability The- ory. Philadelphia: Benjamins, 1999. Pp. 366. $69.00, cloth; $29.95, paper.

In this volume, Pienemann reconceptualizes his work on SLA hierarchies in the area of syntactic development and extends it to the development of morphology. His aim is to develop a general theory of second language (SL) processing that formally predicts which structures can be ac- quired by a SL learner at any given level of devel- opment. Pienemann argues that SLA is con- strained not only by learnability but also by processability. Processability relates to how SLs are acquired under the real-time constraints of oral communication, given the limited capacity of the human language processor. Pienemann sees the language processor as the computational rou- tines that operate on the native speaker's linguis- tic knowledge. Processability theory deals with the nature of these routines and the sequence in

In this volume, Pienemann reconceptualizes his work on SLA hierarchies in the area of syntactic development and extends it to the development of morphology. His aim is to develop a general theory of second language (SL) processing that formally predicts which structures can be ac- quired by a SL learner at any given level of devel- opment. Pienemann argues that SLA is con- strained not only by learnability but also by processability. Processability relates to how SLs are acquired under the real-time constraints of oral communication, given the limited capacity of the human language processor. Pienemann sees the language processor as the computational rou- tines that operate on the native speaker's linguis- tic knowledge. Processability theory deals with the nature of these routines and the sequence in

which they become available to the SL learner. Pienemann considers the acquisition of proce- dural skills to be a major factor in SLA and aims to spell out in a testable manner some of the key procedures involved.

Chapters 1-3 present the theoretical core of Pienemann's argument. The two cornerstones of

processability theory are Levelt's (1989) model of

speech production and the formalism provided by Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG). In chapter 2, Pienemann focuses on the architecture of the hu- man language processor using Levelt's work on

language production to hypothesize a hierarchy of

processing procedures for SLA. In chapter 3, he

implements this hierarchy of processing proce- dures into a formal theory of grammar. He chooses LFG, a unification grammar approach in which feature unification is used to capture infor- mation flow in sentence generation.

Pienemann uses both Levelt's model of speech production and the feature unification approach to provide a new theoretical basis for the well- known German word-order acquisition hierar- chies. According to Levelt, once a speech inten- tion has been conceptualized, it is passed to the formulator, where it is encoded, first grammati- cally and then phonologically. The grammatical encoding process moves from lemma access to the construction of phrases, and then to sentences. At both the phrase and the sentence level, grammati- cal features such as number, case, and tense need to be unified, that is, passed from one element to another, such as from a noun to its determiner, or from the subject to the finite verb. Based on whether features have to be stored in grammatical memory and for how long, Pienemann proposes an acquisition hierarchy of processing skills.

According to this model, the first stage is lemma access, in which single words are accessed without any of their associated features. Learners at this stage of development are able only to list single words or expressions. There is no sense of syntax or morphology. Stage 2 is category proce- dure, where words are accessed with their associ- ated features, chief among which is word class. However, features cannot yet be unified. Morpho- logically, although morphemes are present in the speech of the learner, these morphemes have no relationship with other elements of the sentence, and are correct only by chance. Syntactically, learners use a semantic or canonical word order (SVO).

Stage 3 is phrasal procedure, when grammati- cal features are unified at the phrase level, such as gender or plural agreement within the noun phrase. There is no syntactic equivalent for this

which they become available to the SL learner. Pienemann considers the acquisition of proce- dural skills to be a major factor in SLA and aims to spell out in a testable manner some of the key procedures involved.

Chapters 1-3 present the theoretical core of Pienemann's argument. The two cornerstones of

processability theory are Levelt's (1989) model of

speech production and the formalism provided by Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG). In chapter 2, Pienemann focuses on the architecture of the hu- man language processor using Levelt's work on

language production to hypothesize a hierarchy of

processing procedures for SLA. In chapter 3, he

implements this hierarchy of processing proce- dures into a formal theory of grammar. He chooses LFG, a unification grammar approach in which feature unification is used to capture infor- mation flow in sentence generation.

Pienemann uses both Levelt's model of speech production and the feature unification approach to provide a new theoretical basis for the well- known German word-order acquisition hierar- chies. According to Levelt, once a speech inten- tion has been conceptualized, it is passed to the formulator, where it is encoded, first grammati- cally and then phonologically. The grammatical encoding process moves from lemma access to the construction of phrases, and then to sentences. At both the phrase and the sentence level, grammati- cal features such as number, case, and tense need to be unified, that is, passed from one element to another, such as from a noun to its determiner, or from the subject to the finite verb. Based on whether features have to be stored in grammatical memory and for how long, Pienemann proposes an acquisition hierarchy of processing skills.

According to this model, the first stage is lemma access, in which single words are accessed without any of their associated features. Learners at this stage of development are able only to list single words or expressions. There is no sense of syntax or morphology. Stage 2 is category proce- dure, where words are accessed with their associ- ated features, chief among which is word class. However, features cannot yet be unified. Morpho- logically, although morphemes are present in the speech of the learner, these morphemes have no relationship with other elements of the sentence, and are correct only by chance. Syntactically, learners use a semantic or canonical word order (SVO).

Stage 3 is phrasal procedure, when grammati- cal features are unified at the phrase level, such as gender or plural agreement within the noun phrase. There is no syntactic equivalent for this

145 145

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146 146

stage. However, Pienemann speculates that this is the stage at which adverb preposing is acquired in German. The fourth stage is S-procedure, when grammatical features are unified across

phrases; for example, subject-verb (SV) agree- ment. Syntactically, learners of German as a for- eign language acquire verb separation; that is, the

positioning of nonfinite elements of the predi- cate at the end of the clause in main clauses. They also acquire SV-inversion in main clauses that start with a nonsubject.

To account for all German word-order acquisi- tion phenomena, Pienemann adds two more stages. First, he divides S-procedure into two

stages: a revised stage 4 in which interphrasal features are unified from a salient position, such as the end of a clause, as in verb separation; and a stage 5, where interphrasal features from two nonsalient positions are unified, as in clause-in- ternal SV-agreement or SV-inversion. Second, he adds a stage 6, called subordinate clause proce- dure, which has no morphological equivalents.

In chapters 4 and 5, Pienemann presents data from German, English, Swedish, and Japanese to test his theoretical predictions that language ac-

quisition proceeds through the above six stages. Chapter 6 deals with variational aspects of devel-

opment: (a) variation and the developmental problem, (b) the effect of formal intervention on

interlanguage variation, (c) the stability and vari- ation of interlanguages across tasks, and (d) dif- ferences in primary and secondary language ac-

quisition. Processability Theory is an intriguing book. It pro-

vides much food for thought and puts forward

richly stimulating hypotheses both for SLA theory and for foreign language teaching. Pienemann of- fers a well-developed theory of language process- ing that is formally precise and psychologically plausible. This reader, however, remains uncon- vinced that Pienemann has actually proven his

theory as he frequently suggests. Despite the re-

peated claim to the contrary, Pienemann's data- base remains relatively small (except for Swedish), especially with respect to morphology and the ex- tension of his theory to nonconfigurational lan-

guages. This is the case for German. The data he

presents are reprinted from articles published in the 1980s. Moreover, Pienemann's major test case for German syntax and morphology, presented in

chapter 4, consists of a single learner who barely reaches stage 5 of Pienemann's 6-stage system.

Pienemann's reconceptualization of the acqui- sition of German word order is only partially based on Levelt and Bresnan. To distinguish be- tween stages 4 and 5, Pienemann needs to take

stage. However, Pienemann speculates that this is the stage at which adverb preposing is acquired in German. The fourth stage is S-procedure, when grammatical features are unified across

phrases; for example, subject-verb (SV) agree- ment. Syntactically, learners of German as a for- eign language acquire verb separation; that is, the

positioning of nonfinite elements of the predi- cate at the end of the clause in main clauses. They also acquire SV-inversion in main clauses that start with a nonsubject.

To account for all German word-order acquisi- tion phenomena, Pienemann adds two more stages. First, he divides S-procedure into two

stages: a revised stage 4 in which interphrasal features are unified from a salient position, such as the end of a clause, as in verb separation; and a stage 5, where interphrasal features from two nonsalient positions are unified, as in clause-in- ternal SV-agreement or SV-inversion. Second, he adds a stage 6, called subordinate clause proce- dure, which has no morphological equivalents.

In chapters 4 and 5, Pienemann presents data from German, English, Swedish, and Japanese to test his theoretical predictions that language ac-

quisition proceeds through the above six stages. Chapter 6 deals with variational aspects of devel-

opment: (a) variation and the developmental problem, (b) the effect of formal intervention on

interlanguage variation, (c) the stability and vari- ation of interlanguages across tasks, and (d) dif- ferences in primary and secondary language ac-

quisition. Processability Theory is an intriguing book. It pro-

vides much food for thought and puts forward

richly stimulating hypotheses both for SLA theory and for foreign language teaching. Pienemann of- fers a well-developed theory of language process- ing that is formally precise and psychologically plausible. This reader, however, remains uncon- vinced that Pienemann has actually proven his

theory as he frequently suggests. Despite the re-

peated claim to the contrary, Pienemann's data- base remains relatively small (except for Swedish), especially with respect to morphology and the ex- tension of his theory to nonconfigurational lan-

guages. This is the case for German. The data he

presents are reprinted from articles published in the 1980s. Moreover, Pienemann's major test case for German syntax and morphology, presented in

chapter 4, consists of a single learner who barely reaches stage 5 of Pienemann's 6-stage system.

Pienemann's reconceptualization of the acqui- sition of German word order is only partially based on Levelt and Bresnan. To distinguish be- tween stages 4 and 5, Pienemann needs to take

The Modern Language Journal 85 (2001)

recourse in the notion of saliency. There are at least two problems associated with this argument. First, it is often unclear where, under real-life conditions, utterances begin and end; that is, where the salient positions are. A slight pause after the finite verb may turn it into a salient word, whereas the positioning of an adverb after a past participle or an infinitive may reduce their saliency. Second, it is unconvincing that learners who have acquired phrase and sentence structure rules should revert to sequential strategies. Fi- nally, Pienemann's stage 6, subordinate clause structure, also does not derive from Levelt's model of speech production.

A major unresolved question appears to be the nature of the relationship between perception and production. While the notion of saliency clearly points to perception and input processing, both Levelt's model and the data Pienemann pre- sents to support his theory refer to production only. Perhaps learners exhibit two sets of process- ing strategies, one set related to perception and one to production.

All in all, this book is a stimulating, if difficult, read. Unfortunately, it has not been very carefully edited. It contains many typos, is missing a few references, and is repetitive. The latter may be due to the fact that significant portions of the book were published elsewhere and then repur- posed to form this single volume. Some of the

chapters, particularly the chapter on LFG, re-

quire specialized knowledge. I would certainly recommend it as additional reading in an ad- vanced SLA graduate course but probably not as the main course text. SLA specialists, however, should strongly consider perusing this volume and adding it to their library. It may very well "mark a new development in the field of SLA research," and a significant one to boot, as the back cover advertisement asserts.

ERWIN TSCHIRNER Herder-Institut, Universitdt Leipzig

The Modern Language Journal 85 (2001)

recourse in the notion of saliency. There are at least two problems associated with this argument. First, it is often unclear where, under real-life conditions, utterances begin and end; that is, where the salient positions are. A slight pause after the finite verb may turn it into a salient word, whereas the positioning of an adverb after a past participle or an infinitive may reduce their saliency. Second, it is unconvincing that learners who have acquired phrase and sentence structure rules should revert to sequential strategies. Fi- nally, Pienemann's stage 6, subordinate clause structure, also does not derive from Levelt's model of speech production.

A major unresolved question appears to be the nature of the relationship between perception and production. While the notion of saliency clearly points to perception and input processing, both Levelt's model and the data Pienemann pre- sents to support his theory refer to production only. Perhaps learners exhibit two sets of process- ing strategies, one set related to perception and one to production.

All in all, this book is a stimulating, if difficult, read. Unfortunately, it has not been very carefully edited. It contains many typos, is missing a few references, and is repetitive. The latter may be due to the fact that significant portions of the book were published elsewhere and then repur- posed to form this single volume. Some of the

chapters, particularly the chapter on LFG, re-

quire specialized knowledge. I would certainly recommend it as additional reading in an ad- vanced SLA graduate course but probably not as the main course text. SLA specialists, however, should strongly consider perusing this volume and adding it to their library. It may very well "mark a new development in the field of SLA research," and a significant one to boot, as the back cover advertisement asserts.

ERWIN TSCHIRNER Herder-Institut, Universitdt Leipzig

REGAN, VERA. (Ed.). Contemporary Approaches to Second Language Acquisition in Social Context.

Crosslinguistic Perspectives. Dublin, Ireland: Univer-

sity College Dublin Press, 1998. (U.S. Distributor: Dufour Editions, Chester Springs, PA) Pp. 172. $29.95, paper.

REGAN, VERA. (Ed.). Contemporary Approaches to Second Language Acquisition in Social Context.

Crosslinguistic Perspectives. Dublin, Ireland: Univer-

sity College Dublin Press, 1998. (U.S. Distributor: Dufour Editions, Chester Springs, PA) Pp. 172. $29.95, paper.

This series of essays is based on papers presented at the 1995 annual conference of the European This series of essays is based on papers presented at the 1995 annual conference of the European

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