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This work investigates the knowledge of first language adult English speakers of Russian as a second language.The study uses an experimental methodology to determine whether or not L2 learners are influenced by their L1 language. In addition, an investigation is conducted as to whether or not Chomskian principals of binding and parameter resetting apply to Russian second-language acquisition. The structures involved are the reflexive possessive pronoun svoj, the reflexive object pronoun sebja, and the post-verbal affix - sja. The work also examined the effects of preferences and pragmatics on binding patterns.The work concluded that Chomskian principals of binding did not explain current binding patterns in Russian,even when modified buy the theories of Bennett and Progovac. In addition, the data suggested that two simultaneous grammars may exist currently for Russian speakers, and that language change may be under way as relates to anaphora in Russian.

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Annalisa Czeczulin, Assistant Professor of Russian, teaches at both Goucher College and the Johns Hopkins University as part of the Goucher-Hopkins Cooperative Russian Program. She holds degrees in Slavic Linguistics (Masters/PhD, University of Pittsburgh) and Pedagogy (MAT, Johns Hopkins). Her area of expertise is Second-Language Acquisition.

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