Interpretation of pronominal forms in L1 and L2 French and Chinese

This study investigates how native speakers and second language (L2) learners interpret pronominal forms in French, a non-pro-drop language, and Chinese, a topic-drop language. Focusing on null and overt pronouns, we examine how grammatical principles and discourse-level factors influence pronoun resolution in anaphoric and cataphoric constructions. Based on the Interface Hypothesis, we test whether L2 learners show more target-like interpretations in contexts governed by grammatical constraints than in contexts requiring the integration of grammar and discourse. Two offline experiments were conducted. Experiment 1 involved native speakers of French and Chinese L2 learners of French and examined the interpretation of null forms (PRO) in infinitival subordinate clauses versus overt pronouns in finite subordinate clauses. Both groups interpreted PRO as referring to subject antecedents. In contrast, learners differed from native speakers in the overt anaphora condition: while French native speakers preferred object interpretations, learners displayed less consistent patterns. In cataphoric null- and overt-pronoun contexts, native speakers and learners alike were guided by the Active Search Mechanism and preferred subject antecedents. Experiment 2 involved native speakers of Chinese and French learners of Chinese. As in Experiment 1, native and L2 speakers patterned alike in cataphoric contexts but differed in anaphoric conditions. French learners of Chinese interpreted anaphoric null and overt pronouns as referring to object antecedents more frequently than native speakers. Nevertheless, both groups were more likely to select subject antecedents with null pronouns than with overt pronouns. We propose that, under greater processing demands, L2 speakers may rely either on interpretive preferences transferred from their L1 or on more general heuristic principles, such as a recency preference.