On grammaticality in the syntactic annotation of learner language

Abstract

We examine some non-canonical annotation categories that license missing material (ellipses and enumerations). In extending these categories to learner data, the distinctions seem to require an annotator to determine whether a sentence is grammatical or not when deciding between particular analyses. We unpack the assumptions surrounding the annotation of learner language and how these particular phenomena compare to competing analyses, pointing out the implications for annotation practice and second language analysis.