A critical review of the unaccusative trap hypothesis: Theoretical, conceptual and empirical issues

Abstract

The Unaccusative Hypothesis (Perlmutter 1978; Burzio 1986) posits that intransitive verbs are not homogenous, but can be further divided into unaccusative verbs and unergative verbs. This distinction has ever since become a topic of heated discussion not only in the field of theoretical linguistics, but also in applied linguistics. Oshita (1997, 2001) proposes the Unaccusative Trap Hypothesis to delineate the mental representation and developmental path of L2 acquisition of unaccusatives. This hypothesis suggests that unaccusatives are first misanalysed by L2 learners as unergatives and L2 learners have to undergo a three-stage process before they can truly acquire the distinction between unaccusatives and unergatives. This hypothesis also predicts a U-shaped pattern in the non-target passivization and avoidance of unaccusatives by L2 learners of different levels. This study is focused on the Unaccusative Trap Hypothesis with L2 English as its main example. It first of all gives a lengthy account of this hypothesis by introducing its framework, foundations, content and predictions. Then it points out that the Unaccusative Trap Hypothesis is theoretically innovative, but conceptually inadequate and empirically controversial. Finally, this study calls for more studies to test and improve the Unaccusative Trap Hypothesis.