A Study of Second Language Acquisition of Blocking Effect of ziji by English Speakers

Chinese reflexive ziji is long-distance bound and observes the blocking effect.These properties are not found for its English counterpart.The study investigates the acquisition of ziji by English speakers.It is found that the learners do not increase the acceptance of long-distance binding with their Chinese proficiency.But individual learners who admit long-distance binding are found to abide by the blocking effect.The learners' performance can be accounted for from the nativist's point of view rather than from the emergentist's.