The Effect of Resumption as a Local Cue on the Production of Pseudo-clefts in L2

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of resumption as a local cue on the production of pseudo-clefts in second language (L2). Eighteen female Persian speaking students, aged between 15 and 18 years, were recruited from a secondary school using a sentence repetition task. The test consisted of 27 items including 10 object pseudo-clefts with resumptive pronoun (OP), 5 objet pseudo-clefts without resumptive pronoun (O), 5 subject pseudo-clefts (S) and 7 fillers. The obtained data was analyzed by conducting a One-Way Repeated Measure ANOVA. The results indicated that the presence of resumptive pronoun significantly reduced the accurate and complete production of object pseudo-clefts in L2. The results were also discussed with reference to some theories of resumption.