Anaphora resolution in L2 European Portuguese: Animacy effects and the position of the antecedent

This study investigates the interpretation of subject pronouns in L1 Italian – L2 European Portuguese, considering animacy effects and the position of the antecedent. Participants were 25 adult EP native speakers, 25 upper-intermediate, 25 advanced, and 19 near-native Italian adult learners of L2 EP. They were administered two multiple-choice tasks (speeded and untimed) with a 2 x 2 design crossing the following variables: animacy of the matrix object (animate vs. inanimate) and type of embedded pronominal subject (overt vs. null). Results indicate that L2 learners show problems only in the areas where the L1 and the L2 differ, namely: the resolution of overt subjects in the presence of [−animate] object antecedent and the resolution of null subjects. Learners’ performance in these areas remains unstable even at the near-native level. These findings challenge the ideas that only overt subjects are persistently problematic in L2 acquisition and that the L1 plays a minor role in anaphora resolution.