A study of the transfer of Overt Pronoun Constraints Mechanism in Multilingual Learners' Semantic Comprehension

Abstract

The overt pronoun constraint mechanism is regarded as a principle within Universal Grammar. A comparative study of the constraint effects in the native and target languages of multilingual learners can reveal whether this mechanism is an innate linguistic competence based on Universal Grammar and whether there is cross-linguistic transfer among multiple languages. Through tests matching the expected interpretation in the target language of pronominal reference in Chinese, English, and Spanish, this research reveals that Chinese speakers experience restrictive effects with both explicit and implicit pronouns in subordinate clauses, although the intensity varies among individuals under equal conditions of proficiency in the languages involved. Furthermore, the conceptualization patterns of the first language are transferred to the cognitive processing of pronoun interpretation in the second and third languages, as the study observes that, even in the absence of interpretative constraints in the second and third languages, participants still demonstrate a referential constraint tendency similar to that in Chinese. The results of this study suggest that, in addition to the innate linguistic competence based on Universal Grammar, individual differences and the transfer of first language conceptualization also influence the semantic interpretation of pronouns by participants.