The L2 Acquisition of Mass Nouns by Arab Leaners of English - Study and Findings

Oct 15, 2026

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This study explores how Arab L2 learners of English acquire mass nouns and how the morphosyntactic encoding of the mass/count distinction shapes interpretation. Using a context-based acceptability judgment task, the research tests whether learners over-accept definite singulars and under-accept bare singulars in mass noun contexts, based on L1 influence and universal grammar accessibility. Results largely match the hypothesis, while bare singulars are interpreted accurately. The findings guide L2 teaching toward structures that require acquisition rather than those learned automatically.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Mass/Count Distinctions in English and Arabic

English

Arabic

Advances in Language and Literary Studies ISSN: 2203-4714 [www.alls.aiac.org.au](www.alls.aiac.org.au) | The L2 Acquisition of Mass Nouns by Arab Leaners of English
Mona Sabir*
English Language Institute, King Abdulaziz University, PO box 80200, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia Corresponding Author: Mona Sabir, [E-mail:](E-mail: msabir@kau.edu.sa)[ msabir@kau.edu.sa](E-mail: msabir@kau.edu.sa) | | | --- | --- | | ARTICLE INFO | ABSTRACT
This study explores how Arab L2 learners of English acquire mass nouns. The mass/count distinction is a morphosyntactically encoded grammatical distinction. Arabic and English have different morphosyntactic realisations of mass nouns. English mass nouns take the form of bare singular whereas Arabic mass nouns can take the definite singular form or the indefinite singular, but never the bare singular form. Therefore, the study explores how Arab learners interpret English mass nouns in light of the morphosyntactic differences between the two languages. 45 upper-and lower-intermediate Arab English learners were given a context-based acceptability judgment task on English mass nouns. It was hypothesised that Arabic learners would be influenced by their first language (L1), causing them to over accept definite singulars and under accept bare singulars as grammatical in mass noun contexts. The findings are consistent with what was hypothesised, except that Arab learners were found to interpret bare singulars accurately. It is argued that learners’performance is affected by not only L1transfer but also UG accessibility where learners can structure away from L1 and more towards L2 . Consequently, the findings implicate that L2 teachers should not teach grammatical structures that come for free and instead they should focus on grammatical structures that cause L2 acquisition difficulty. | | Article history
Received: July 24, 2019
Accepted: September 26, 2019
Published: October 31, 2019
Volume: 10 Issue: 5
Advance access: October 2019 | | | Conflicts of interest: None
Funding: None | | | Key words:
L2 Acquisition,
Mass/Count Distinction, English Mass Nouns,
UG,
L1 Transfer,
Arab Learners | | INTRODUCTION Quantification expressions are universal and found in almost all languages. However, these expressions vary from language to language in terms of development and complexity. All languages have specific positions for nouns and quantifiers that permit reference to objects in either the real or abstract world. The grammatical distinction of mass/count is encoded morphosyntactically and further connected to the conceptual/semantic distinction of object/substance (Choi, Ionin, & Zhu, 2017) . The semantic component of the mass-count distinction is beyond the scope of this paper as the study focuses on the morphosyntactic aspects of this distinction. Previous L2 acquisition findings in relation to the acquisition of English NPs indicate that noun number (singular, plural, or mass) has an effect on L2 learners’ English article choices. In light of the differences in the morphosyntactic realisations of mass nouns in English and Arabic, this study aims to explore how English as a foreign language (EFL) Arab learners interpret mass nouns. To achieve this goal, the study uses behavioural data gathered via a context-based acceptability judgment test (CAJT) to examine how EFL learners recognise mass nouns compared to English native speakers. The paper begins with an outline of the mass/count distinction in English and Arabic. The paper then provides an overview of previous L2 acquisition studies on mass nouns. The details of the current study are later provided, including information on participants, method, and analysis. Finally, the results are presented and discussed in terms of L1 transfer and universal grammar. MASS/COUNT DISTINCTIONS IN ENGLISH AND ARABIC English and Arabic differ in the morphosyntactic representation of mass/count distinctions. English co

FAQs

How does the study define the mass/count distinction in English and Arabic?

The study treats mass/count as a morphosyntactic grammatical distinction, with English and Arabic realizing it differently. It focuses on the morphosyntactic aspects rather than the semantic component.

What task did the researchers use to collect evidence from learners?

The study used a context-based acceptability judgment task (CAJT) to test how EFL Arab learners recognize and interpret English mass nouns.

What did the findings show about L1 transfer and learner performance?

The results support the prediction of L1-influenced over-acceptance of definite singulars and under-acceptance of bare singulars, but learners interpreted bare singulars accurately. The study argues performance is affected by both L1 transfer and UG accessibility.

Oct 15, 2026

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