The conceptualisation of knowledge about aspect: From monolingual to multilingual representations

The theoretical dissociation between prototypical and non-prototypical conceptualisations of aspect is predicated on the effect of broad levels of contextualisation of aspectual meanings (e.g. adverbial phrases, discursive grounding). Such dissociation creates a difficult challenge for the acquisition of aspect among adult L2 learners, thus providing an ideal testing ground for the analysis of the effect of distinct sources of linguistic knowledge (i.e. the L1 and the L2) on the acquisition of aspect in the L3. In the present chapter, I review the few empirical studies on the acquisition of L2/L3 aspectual knowledge to support the claim that processing constraints associated with L2/L3 acquisition are distinct from the processes linked to the L1 acquisition of conceptualisations of aspect. I conclude that the proper identification of the theoretical construct of aspect (narrow versus broad) may have important consequences for the evaluation of models of crosslinguistic influence in general.