Grammatical preferences in aspect marking in first language and second language: The case of first language Dutch, English, and German and first language Dutch second language English, and first language Dutch second language German

Production studies on event conceptualization have shown that the language inventory has a clear influence on event descriptions in different languages (e.g., Carroll & von Stutterheim, 2010). In our perception study with native speakers of German, English, and Dutch and Dutch learners of German and English, we were able to show that in addition to preferred verbalization patterns, there are other verbalization patterns that are rated as equally likely. Our results suggest that a more differentiated explanation is needed than that proposed by Slobin (1996b). Grammatical aspects of a language are easier to acquire and apply than lexical aspects. These differences can be explained in terms of automatization and cognitive control of first language and second language processes (Levelt, 1989).