hpsg and second language acquisition

[dmellow at sfu.ca]

Dear HPSG-list members,

I have recently completed a manuscript in which I argue that HPSG provides a
very effective means of understanding second language acquisition phenomena.
In particular, HPSG formalisms appear to be highly compatible with the
connectionist approach to development, one of the most vibrant new areas in
SLA research.  As an SLA researcher, I am very interested in HPSG, but am
certainly not an authority. However, in writing this paper, I found myself
trying to provide, in less than 5000 words, an introduction to HPSG to two
audiences that likely have no current understanding of HPSG: SLA researchers
who use Chomksyian P&P (or Universal Grammar) syntax; and SLA researchers
who are only familiar with descriptive or functional approaches to grammar.


I have posted a pdf version of the manuscript on a webpage in case any list
members might be interested in providing feedback on my use and presentation
of HPSG, for the analyses of ESL phenomena and as an introduction for these
new audiences:

http://www.sfu.ca/~dmellow/HPSGSLA.html

I would be grateful for any feedback.  I hope that list members consider
such a request to be appropriate.  I intend to send the manuscript to an SLA
journal within a few weeks.

I have also been compiling a bibliography on HPSG and acquisition.  I plan
to make that available to the list in the near future.

Best wishes,

Dean Mellow