Chapter 1 Introduction 1
1.1 Research Background 1
1.2 Research Objectives and Research Questions 3
1.3 Significance of the Study 5
1.4 Organization of the Book 6
Chapter 2 Theoretical Analysis of the Split Intransitivity 8
2.0 Introduction 8
2.1 The Split Intransitivity 9
2.2 The Split Intransitivity Hierarchy 15
2.3 Split Intransitivity in English and Chinese 17
2.4 Unaccusative Diagnostics in English and Chinese 22
2.5 Summary 34
Chapter 3 Previous Studies on L2 Intransitivity 36
3.0 Introduction 36
3.1 Early Studies Based on Spontaneous Composition Data 36
3.2 Studies Based on Corpus Production Data 39
3.3 Studies Based on Experimental Data 42
3.4 Summary and Unresolved Problems 52
Chapter 4 Research Methodology 58
4.0 Introduction 58
4.1 Research Hypotheses 58
4.2 Subjects 61
4.3 Tasks and Materials 62
4.4 Data Collection 69
4.5 Procedures for Data Analysis 70
Chapter 5 Results 72
5.0 Introduction 72
5.1 Results for Hypothesis Ⅰ 72
5.2 Results for Hypothesis Ⅱ 86
5.3 Results for Hypothesis Ⅲ 104
5.4 Further Analysis of the Results for Hypothesis Ⅳ 115
5.5 Summary of the Overall Results 118
Chapter 6 Discussions 121
6.0 Introduction 121
6.1 Summary of the Major Results 121
6.2 L2 Mental Grammar:Unaccusative-Unergative Distinction 123
6.3 Sensitivity to the Semantic Hierarchy 132
6.4 The Developmental Patterns 137
6.5 The Role of UG and L1 142
Chapter 7 Conclusions 145
7.0 Introduction 145
7.1 Summary of the Major Findings 145
7.2 Implications 147
7.3 Limitations and Recommendations 150
Appendix 153
References 171