Torregrossa_4.2 EuroAmerican  Journal  of  Applied  Linguistics  and  Languages   Special  Issue,  Volume  4,  Issue  2,  December  2017,  pages  140-­‐145   ISSN  2376-­‐905X     DOI  http://dx.doi.org/10.21283/2376905X.7.114   www.e-­‐journall.org   ©  Torregrossa  2017.  This  work  is  licensed  under  a  Creative  Commons  Attribution  4.0  International  License.       The  volume  Il  parlato  in  (italiano)  L2:  Aspetti  pragmatici  e  prosodici  [(Italian)  L2  Spoken  Discourse:   Prosodic  and  Pragmatic  Aspects],  edited  by  Marina  Chini,  is  based  on  papers  presented  at  the  homonymous   international  conference  held  at  the  University  of  Pavia.     The   main   aim   of   the   volume   is   to   investigate   how   pragmatic   categories   are   expressed   morphosyntactically   and   prosodically   in   different   interlanguages.   The   articles   contained   in   the   volume   examine   the   L2   acquisition   of   pragmatics   and   its   linguistic   encoding   on   three   different   levels.   First,   some   articles  account  for  the  structuring  of  L2  utterances  according  to  informational  criteria  (e.g.,  topic/comment   and   given/new)   –   an   area   of   research   to   which   the   Pavia   Project   on   L2   Italian   has   made   significant   contributions   (Andorno,   2000;   Chini,   2010;   Giacalone   Ramat,   2003).   On   the   discourse   level,   other   articles   investigate   the   linguistic  means   used   by   L2   learners   to   achieve   discourse   cohesion   and   coherence.   Finally,   some  contributions  focus  on  the  expression  of  non-­‐literal  forms  of  communication,  such  as  sarcasm  or  lying.                                                                                                                               *  Contact:  Jacopo.Torregrossa@uni-­‐hamburg.de         Chini,  Marina  (a  cura  di).  (2015).  Il  parlato  in  (italiano)  L2:aspetti   pragmatici  e  prosodici.  [(Italian)  L2  spoken  discourse:  Prosodic  and   pragmatic  aspects].  Milano,  Italia:  Franco  Angeli.       JACOPO  TORREGROSSA*1   University  of  Hamburg     Book  Review     Received  29  October  2017;  received  in  revised  version  20  December  2017;  accepted  22  December  2017     ABSTRACT   EN The volume edited by Marina Chini serves as a forum for discussion among scholars working in interlanguage prosody and pragmatics. Pragmatics is understood here in a broad sense, encompassing the encoding of informational notions in sentence structure, categories of discourse management, and features of discourse interactions in educational settings. In this review I provide an overall evaluation of the volume together with a brief summary of the individual contributions. Key words: L2 PROSODY, L2 PRAGMATICS, INTERACTION IN L2, INFORMATION STRUCTURE, DISCOURSE STRUCTURE ES Este volumen, editado por Marina Chini, sirve como foro para la discusión entre académicos cuyas investigaciones se centran en la prosodia y pragmática entre una lengua y otra. Aquí se entiende la pragmática en un sentido amplio, incluyendo la codificación de los elementos que definen la estructura informativa en una frase, categorías de la gestión de discurso y características de interacciones discursivas en ambientes educativos. En esta reseña doy una evaluación general del volumen, además de un breve resumen de las contribuciones individuales. Palabras clave: PROSODIA L2, PRAGMÁTICA L2, INTERACCIÓN EN L2, ESTRUCTURA INFORMATIVA, ESTRUCTURA DEL DISCURSO IT Il volume curato da Marina Chini funge da forum di discussione per gli studiosi di prosodia e pragmatica dell’interlingua. La pragmatica viene qui intesa in senso lato, ed include i concetti quali la codifica degli elementi che definiscono la struttura informativa nella frase, le categorie di gestione del discorso, le caratteristiche delle interazioni discorsive in ambiti educativi. Questa recensione offre una valutazione complessiva del volume accompagnata da un breve riassunto dei singoli contributi. Parole chiave:  PROSODIA L2, PRAGMATICA L2, INTERAZIONE IN L2, STRUTTURA INFORMATIVA, STRUTTURA DEL DISCORSO REVIEW:  L2  SPOKEN  DISCOURSE   E-­‐JournALL  4(2)  (2017),  pp.  140-­‐145   141   The  investigations  of  L2  prosody  contained  in  the  volume  involve  all  three  domains  in  the  acquisition   of  pragmatics  (ranging  from  the  analysis  of  single  utterances  to  the  management  of  non-­‐literal  meanings   in   discourse),   and   this   ultimately   adds   to   the   coherence   of   the  whole   book.  Many   of   these   contributions   give   particular  attention  to   the  acquisition  of  suprasegmental  (prosodic)   features.  Although   initially  disregarded   in  favor  of  the  analysis  of  L2  speech  at  the  segmental  level  (Rasier  &  Hiligsmann,  2007),  this  area  of  research   has  received  increasing  attention  over  the  last  few  years.    The  volume  represents  a  significant  contribution  to   our  understanding  of  L2  prosody.       The  book  has  been  conceived  as  a  platform  for  discussions  on  interlanguage  prosody  and  pragmatics   as  well  as  the  factors  affecting  its  variation  across  and  within  learners.  The  articles  consider  a  variety  of  these   factors,  ranging  from  more  traditional  ones  related  to  the  role  of  L2  proficiency,  the  type  of  L1-­‐L2  pair  and  the   intercultural  dimension   (Bettoni,  2006),   to  more  unexplored  ones   such  as   the   type  of   acquisitional   context   (e.g.,   spontaneous   acquisition   vs.   guided   learning)   or   literacy   practices   (see   also   Bongartz   &   Torregrossa,   2017   on   school   biliteracy   programs).   In   addition,   the   contributions   address   several  methodological   issues.   For  example,   given   its   strong   focus  on  communicative   competence   in  L2,   the  volume  provides  an  excellent   overview   of   elicitation   tasks,   which   are   both   spontaneous   (e.g.,   classroom   interactions)   and   semi-­‐ spontaneous  (e.g.,  production  of  narratives,  map  tasks)  in  nature.  Moreover,  some  authors  engage  in  critical   reflections  on  the  nature  of  the  interactional  tasks  and  the  factors  that  contribute  to  their  complexity.  Other   methodological   considerations   concern   the   prosodic   analysis   of   the   data,   including   the   formulation   of   a   complex  index  for  assessing  L2  prosodic  competence.       Given  the  vast  array  of  topics  covered,  this  volume  is  intended  for  a  diverse  audience,  ranging  from   researchers  interested  in  theoretical  and  methodological  issues  involved  in  the  description  of  interlanguages   and   their   developmental   stages,   to   scholars   whose   research   is   more   concerned   with   the   optimization   of   language  teaching  practices.  For  example,   the  volume  implicitly   investigates  which  pedagogical  practices  or   language  tasks  most  significantly  account  for  the  observed  variation  in  L2  acquisition.       The  book  consists  of  14  contributions  preceded  by  an  introduction,  in  which  the  editor  Marina  Chini   outlines   the  main   topics   around  which   the   following   papers   are   organized:   prosodic   aspects   (Part   I   of   the   volume),  pragmatic  aspects  (Part  II)  and  interactional  and  conversational  features  of  L2  discourse  (Part  III).   This   tripartite   structure   renders   the   book   well   organized.   Moreover,   the   fact   that   some   issues   (e.g.,   the   expression  of   information   structure)   and  methodologies   (e.g.,   dialogic   tasks)   are   considered  across   several   contributions   provides   coherence   and   clarity   to   the   book   as   a   whole.   Finally,   it   is   remarkable   that   the   ‘multilingual   approach’   that   informs   the   content  of   the  various   contributions   is   also   reflected  at   the   formal   level:  some  papers  are  written  in  Italian  (with  an  abstract  in  English)  and  others  are  written  in  English  (with   an  abstract   in   Italian).   In  what   follows,   I  provide  a  brief  summary  of  each  chapter,  adhering  to  the  order   in   which  they  appear  in  the  volume.     In   “Prosodic   expression   of   sarcasm   in   L2   English,”   Aoju   Chen   and   Diantha   de   Jong   analyze   the   prosodic  encoding  of  sarcasm  in  the  oral  production  of  L1  Dutch/L2  English  speakers  of  different  proficiency   levels.  Sarcastic  and  non-­‐sarcastic  sentences  were  elicited  by  means  of  a   ‘telephone  conversation’   task.  The   sarcastic  sentences  were  of  different  types,  including  declaratives  (simple  or  preceded  by  a  specific  discourse   marker),  exclamations  and  tag  questions.  Native  English  speakers  were  then  asked  to  identify  the  degree  of   sarcasm  expressed  by  each  sentence.  The  results   indicate   that  L2   learners  do  not   fully  master   the  prosodic   means   to   encode   sarcasm   in   English.   Moreover,   the   authors   report   on   the   effects   of   the   type   of   stimulus,   language  proficiency  and  aptitude.     In  “Intonazione,  ritmo  e  atti  linguistici.  L’italiano  L2  di  apprendenti  senegalesi  con  diversi  modelli  di   literacy,”  Marta  Maffia  uses  an  elicited  imitation  task  to  investigates  the  extent  to  which  Senegalese  speakers   with   low   proficiency   in   L2   Italian   are   able   to   reproduce   the   intonation   and   rhythmic   structure   of   Italian   sentences.   The   participants   experienced   different   literacy   practices   in   their   home   country:   one   group   attended  French  schools  –  focused  on  the  teaching  of  reading  and  writing  –,  while  the  other  group  attended   Koranic   schools,  where  orally-­‐based   learning  was   emphasized   (e.g.,   reciting   of   the  Koran).  By  means  of   an   algorithm,  the  author  calculates  the  degree  to  which  the  prosodic  contour  of  L2  utterances  differs   from  the   one  produced  by  L1  Italian  speakers.  The  results  reveal  the  crucial  role  of  the  type  of  literacy  instruction  for   L2  prosodic  competence.  The  participants   from  the  Koranic   schools  appear  more  sensitive   to  prosodic  and   rhythmic  aspects  of  speech  production  than  the  participants  from  the  French  schools,  who  are  more  focused   on  reproduction  at  the  segmental  level,  and  the  prosodic  contours  of  the  former  more  closely  mirror  those  of   native  Italian  speakers.  Moreover,  when  unable  to  reproduce  individual  words,  the  participants  from  Koranic   schools  make  extensive  use  of  ‘mumbling’  as  a  strategy  to  maintain  the  rhythmical  structure  of  the  sentence.     TORREGROSSA   E-­‐JournALL  4(2)  (2017),  pp.  140-­‐145  142   In  “Misurare  la  competenza  prosodica.  Le  richieste  in  italiano  e  in  inglese  lingue  straniere,”  Marilisa   Vitale,  Elisa  Pellegrino,  Anna  de  Meo  and  Margaret  Rasulo  offer  a  methodological  contribution:  they  elaborate   a  formula  that  enables  researchers  to  calculate  the  degree  of  similarity  between  two  intonation  contours.  This   formula   compares   two   (or  more)   intonation   contours   in   terms   of   their   frequency   values,   the   durations   of   certain   intonational  events  and  the  number  of   incorrectly  positioned  intonational  peaks.  By  this  means,   the   authors   are   able   to   assess   developmental   sequences   –   considering   the   contours   produced   by   learners   of   different  proficiency  levels  and  the  native  contours  –  and  patterns  of  L1  influence  of  L2  speech  –  comparing   the  learners’  contours  in  their  L1  and  L2.  The  authors  test  the  formula  on  the  production  of  questions  (open,   closed   and   alternative)   in   L2   Italian   (L1   English)   and   L2   English   (L1   Italian).   The   results   show   a   developmental   progression   in   L2   prosody,   especially   in   correspondence   with   closed   questions   in   both   interlanguages.   Moreover,   the   production   of   questions   in   L2   English   is   seen   to   be   more   sensitive   to   L1   influence.       In   “Mentire   in  due   lingue:   la  prosodia  del  parlato   ingannevole   in   italiano  e   cinese  L1/L2,”  Anna  de   Meo   and   Ying   Xu   analyze   deceptive   speech   across   languages   (Italian   vs.   Chinese)   and   interlanguages   (L2   Italian   vs.   L2   Chinese).   The   data  were   elicited   using   a   false   opinion   paradigm:   speakers  were   required   to   discuss  a  certain  social  issue  in  line  with  their  true  opinion  in  some  cases,  and  opposite  to  their  true  opinion   in  others.  The  analysis  is  based  on  various  (potential)  prosodic  indicators  of  deception.  The  results  show  that   some  of  these  indicators  are  sensitive  to  cross-­‐linguistic  difference  between  Italian  and  Chinese  (e.g.,  duration   of  articulated  speech  sequences),  others  to  the  L1  vs.  L2  distinction  (e.g.,  response  latency  in  L1  Chinese  vs.  L2   Italian),  and  still  others  to  the  truth  of  the  conveyed  message  (e.g.,  occurrence  of  pauses   in  L2  Chinese  true   statements  vs.  L2  Chinese  false  statements).       In   “Prosody   and   information   status   in   Italian   and  German   L2   intonation,”   Cinzia   Avesani,   Giuliano   Bocci,   Mario   Vayra   and   Alessandra   Zappoli   investigate   the   prosodic   marking   of   information   structure   (givenness,  newness  and  contrast)  in  L2  German  (L1  Italian)  and  L2  Italian  (L1  German).  While  in  Italian  the   distribution  of  pitch  accents  is  constrained  only  by  metrical  prosodic  structure,  in  German  pragmatic  factors   can  override  metrical  principles:  given  information  can  be  deaccented  even  if  it  occurs  at  the  right  edge  of  a   metrical  domain.  Deaccentuation   can   thus  be   classified  as   a  marked   structure.  The  analysis   in   the  paper   is   based  on  noun-­‐adjective  sequences  as  produced  during  an  alignment  task,  in  which  the  information  status  of   the   noun   and   the   adjective   were   manipulated.   The   results   show   that   L2   Italian   speakers   master   the   distribution  of  pitch  accents  in  Italian  earlier  than  L2  German  speakers  do  in  German.  The  authors  interpret   this  finding  in  light  of  later  acquisition  of  marked  structures  in  German.     In   “La   trascrizione   di   varietà   di   apprendimento   iniziali,”   Jacopo   Saturno   provides   methodological   guidelines  for  the  transcription  of  L2  speech.  In  particular,  the  author  emphasizes  the  limits  of  orthographic   transcriptions,  which  are  usually  adapted  to  the  forms  of  the  target  language  and  are  thus  not  able  to  account   for   regularities   within   interlanguages.   On   the   contrary,   phonetic   transcriptions   reflect   the   learners’   production   per   se   and   are   less   sensitive   to   overinterpretations   by   researchers.   For   example,   the   use   of   phonetic   transcriptions   may   be   useful   to   identify   basic   forms   or   observe   the   emergence   of   certain   morphological   oppositions   in   the   early   stages   of   L2   development.   The   author   shows   that   these   methodological   issues   are  particularly   relevant  when   transcribing   early   L2  productions  of  morphologically   complex  languages  like  Polish,  just  as  the  one  collected  in  the  VILLA  Project,  from  which  the  data  discussed  in   the  paper  are  drawn.     “La  periferia   sinistra  nell’interlingua  degli   apprendenti   ispanofoni  di   italiano  L2:   i   temi   sospesi”  by   Margarita  Borreguero  Zuloaga  marks  the  beginning  of  Part  II  and  the  emphasis  of  pragmatic  aspects.  Drawing   on   a   corpus   of   symmetrical   and   asymmetrical   semi-­‐spontaneous   conversations,   the   author   analyzes   the   production  of  hanging  topics  (HT)  by  L2  Italian  speakers  (L1  Spanish)  of  different  levels  of  proficiency.  The   L2   acquisition   of   HTs   exhibits   a   clear   developmental   sequence,  which   takes   into   account   both   the   type   of   constituent  involved  (e.g.,  pronouns  vs.  full  nouns/prepositional  phrases)  and  their  pragmatic  function.  While   in  initial  varieties  HTs  are  mainly  first  person  singular  pronouns,  which  mark  the  speaker  as  a  deictic  center,   intermediate   learners   start   to  make  use  of   full   nouns.  Moreover,   these   forms  are  usually   associated  with  a   raising   intonation,   which   seems   to   indicate   ongoing   language   planning.   Finally,   among   advanced   learners,   HTs  achieve  their  informational  function  of  introducing  a  new  discourse  topic,  thus  approximating  the  native   use.     In  “Ipotesi  di  sviluppo  di  ordini  sintattici  marcati   in  giovanissimi  apprendenti  di   italiano  L2,”  Elena   Nuzzo  studies   the  emergence  of  VS  structures   in   the  oral  production  of   immigrant   children,   ranging   in  age   from   6   to   12   years   old   and   learning   Italian   as   an   L2.   The   analysis   is   based   on   narrative   production.   REVIEW:  L2  SPOKEN  DISCOURSE   E-­‐JournALL  4(2)  (2017),  pp.  140-­‐145   143   Theoretically  couched  within  Processability  Theory,  the  paper  shows  that  the  target  structure  first  emerges   with  monoargumental  verbs  for  which  VS  is  the  canonical  word  order,  and  then  with  monoargumental  verbs   in   which   the   VS   order   is   motivated   by   considerations   of   information   structure.   Lastly,   VS   emerges   in   association  with  biargumental  verbs,  in  which  the  subject  is  focalized  and  the  object  is  either  expressed  by  a   clitic   (or   left-­‐dislocated   clitic   constituent)   or   prosodically  marginalized.   These   structures   have   the   greatest   complexity   because   they   require   the   mastery   of   the   syntax   of   clitics,   the   integration   of   syntax   with   information  structure,  and  the  processing  of  a  greater  number  of  arguments.  Moreover,  the  author  observes   the  emergence  of  VS  in  association  with  the  interphrasal  procedure  in  morphological  development.     In  “La  struttura  informativa  dell’enunciato  in  apprendenti  tedescofoni  di  italiano  L2:  apprendimento   spontaneo  e  guidato  a   confronto,”  Valentina  Repetto  deals  with   the   informational  partitioning  of   sentences   produced   in   Italian   by   intermediate   L2   Italian   speakers   (L1   German),   who   have   learned   Italian   in   two   different   contexts,   i.e.,   spontaneous   vs.   guided   learning.   The   data   consists   of   spontaneous   or   semi-­‐ spontaneous  dialogues  with  native  speakers  either  in  naturalistic  contexts  or  in  language  examinations.  The   results  show  that  all  learners  tend  to  structure  their  utterances  following  a  topic-­‐comment  order,  and  there  is   no  evidence   for  cross-­‐linguistic   inference  of   the  L1  on   the  L2.  However,  a  closer  analysis  of   the  constituent   that   serves  as   topic   reveals   that   guided   learners   tend   to  map   topics  onto   subjects,  which   suggests   that   the   structuring  of  their  sentences  is  sensitive  to  grammatical  constraints.  On  the  contrary,  spontaneous  learners   allow  for  a  greater  variation  of  type  of  topic  constituents  (especially  adverbials  of  setting)  and  appear  more   sensitive  to  discourse-­‐pragmatic  principles.       In   “Forme   connettive   nell’italiano   parlato   da   stranieri   e   livelli   di   competenza:   alcune   evidenze   dal   corpus   LIPS,”   Francesca   Gallina   shifts   attention   from   sentences   to   discourses,   and   accounts   for   the   use   of   connectives  by  L2  learners  of  Italian.  The  data  are  drawn  from  the  LIPS  corpus,  which  was  created  based  on   oral  texts  (dialogues  and  monologues)  produced  during  proficiency  exams.  In  particular,  the  author  aims  to   establish  a  developmental  sequence  for  the  emergence  of  connectives  in  the  interlanguage  as  well  as  for  the   functions   that   these  connectives  express.  For  example,   connectives  endowed  with  an   interactional   function   (i.e.,   related   to   the   structuring   of   dialogic   interactions,   such   as   expression   of   agreement,   turn   taking   and   request   of   attention)   emerge   earlier   than   connectives   with   a   metatextual   function   (i.e.,   related   to   the   structuring  of  discourse,  such  as  introductions,  conclusions  or  exemplifications),  and  appear  even  in  the  very   early  stages  of  L2  acquisition.  The  author  discusses  the  pedagogical   implications  of  the  study  and  argues   in   favor  of  an  explicit  focus  on  the  use  of  connectives  during  language  teaching.     In   “La   percezione   e   la   correzione   dell’errore   in   italiano   L2:   l’influenza   della   L1   sulla   riparazione   spontanea  di  errori  pragmatici,”  Manuela  Visigalli  investigates  the  extent  to  which  the  number  and  type  of  L2   self-­‐repairs  are  dependent  on  the  perceived  similarity  between  the  learners’  L1  and  the  target  language.  The   analysis  is  based  on  the  occurrence  of  morphosyntactic  and  pragmatic  repairs  in  the  speech  of  two  groups  of   L2  learners:  L1  German  and  L1  Spanish.  The  participants  took  part  in  a  picture  narrative  task  and  were  asked   to  answer  questions  related  to  the  perceived  degree  of  difficulty  of   learning  Italian.  Although  proficiency   in   Italian   was   the   same   in   both   groups,   German   learners’   self-­‐repairs   were   more   oriented   towards   morphosyntactic  forms,  which  correlated  with  their  perceived  degree  of  difficulty  in  learning  Italian.  On  the   contrary,   Spanish   learners   exhibited   a   stronger   focus   on   pragmatics   (e.g.,   appropriate   use   of   referring   expressions,   register).  The  perceived  similarity  between  the  L1  and  the   target   language  was   found  to   favor   the  automatization  of  L2  morphosyntactic  elements elements,  which  allowed  learners  to  pay  more  attention   to   pragmatics.   The   contribution   “La   difficoltà   interazionale   dei   task:   definizione   operativa   e   risultati   di   ricerca”   by   Gabriele   Pallotti   and   Fabiana   Rosi   opens   Part   III   of   the   volume,   which   explores   interactional   features  in  L2  speech.  The  authors  approach  the  issue  from  a  methodological  point  of  view  by  assessing  the   degree  of  complexity  of  different  interactional  tasks.  The  authors  describe  interactional  difficulty  in  terms  of  a   construct  defined  by  three  main  components:  number  of  turns,  amount  of  initiating  moves  and  presence  vs.   absence  of  visual  access.  The  validity  of  this  construct  is  tested  against  the  oral  production  of  native  and  non-­‐ native   Italian   speakers   in   various   oral   tasks,   including   film   retelling,   interviews,   problem   solving   tasks,   telephone  tasks  and  map-­‐tasks.  The  authors  order  these  tasks   in  terms  of   their   interactional  difficulty  (film   retelling  <  interview  <  problem  solving  <  map  task  <  telephone  task),  and  show  that  the  outlined  hierarchy   applies  across  the  two  groups  of  speakers  considered  in  the  study  (natives  and  non-­‐natives).  The  results  are   discussed  in  terms  of  implications  for  language  testing.         In  “Procedure  conversazionali  e  strategie  comunicative  nell’interazione  nativo/non-­‐nativo  in  italiano   L2:   il   caso   di   apprendenti   cinesi,”   Luisa   Salvati   accounts   for   L2   production   of   argumentative   texts.   The   starting  point  for  the  author’s  considerations  is  the  analysis  of  the  oral  production  of  L2  Italian  speakers  (L1   TORREGROSSA   E-­‐JournALL  4(2)  (2017),  pp.  140-­‐145  144   Chinese)   involved   in   a   public   debate   with   native   Italian   speakers   on   a   socially   relevant   topic.   The   author   notices   that   the   L2   speakers   resort   to   a   simpler   style   of   argumentation   than  monolingual   native   speakers,   which   is   the  result  of  both   limited  communicative  resources  as  well  as   the  avoidance  of  contradiction  with   one’s  opponents  –  in  line  with  a  behavioral  norm  existing  in  the  culture  of  origin.  The  results  of  the  study  are   discussed  in  light  of  the  fundamental  role  of  intercultural  practices  in  L2  acquisition.  The  author  argues  that   successful   L2   communication   should   be   informed   by   awareness   of   the   L2   cultural   grammar,   including,   for   example,  an  understanding  of  how  argumentative  texts  are  structured  in  the  target  language,  which  inference   rules  are  admitted,  and  which  linguistic  and  extra-­‐linguistic  behaviors  are  usually  expected.     In   “Cooperare   in   L2.   Le   conversazioni   tra   bambini   italofoni   e   non   italofoni   in   alcune   situazioni   di   apprendimento   cooperativo,”   Silvia   Sordella   shows   how   interactional   tasks   can   be   used   as   tools   for   facilitating   language   learning   in   multilingual   elementary   classes.   In   particular,   the   author   provides   some   examples  of   the  negotiation  of  meaning  among  native  and  non-­‐native  speakers  during  cooperative   learning   activities.  In  these  activities,  children  work  in  groups  and  each  child  is  responsible  for  the  achievement  of  a   learning   goal.   All   children   (including   those   with   limited   language   proficiency)   are   thus   encouraged   to   optimize  their  communicational  strategies,  modelling  their  production  on  the  input  from  their  peers,  and  thus   (co-­‐)constructing  meaning   in   interaction.   The   contribution   is   based   on   the   analysis   of   a   child’s   L2-­‐speech   across  different  classroom  activities  (such  as  vocabulary  or  reading  tasks).  The  author  shows  that  cooperative   learning  enhances  the  child’s  linguistic  production.       As   previously   noted,   the   volume   edited   by   Marina   Chini   reflects   a   collaborative   effort   among   researchers  working  on  interlanguage  prosody  and  pragmatics.  The  contributions  address  central  questions   in  L2  acquisition  research,   in  particular,  what   it  means   for  a   learner   to  be  proficient   in  a  L2,  how   language   proficiency  can  be  operationalized,  which  factors  affect  L2  development,  and  which  teaching  practices  more   effectively   foster   L2   acquisition.   These   topics   are   investigated   from   a   variety   of   perspectives   and   with   diversity   in   expertise   (including   expertise   from   researchers   and   teachers),   and   they   are   analyzed   within   different   theoretical   frameworks   (such   as   Processability   Theory   and   the   complexity,   accuracy   and   fluency   model   of   L2   acquisition).   On   the   one   hand,   this   wealth   of   information   provides   a   very   good   overview   of   studies  on  L2  acquisition  and  opens  up  new  domains  of  research.  The  discussion  can  be  extended  in  several   directions   to   include,   for   instance,   the   assessment   of   developmental   sequences   at   the   syntax-­‐discourse-­‐ prosody  interface  or  the  validation  of  the  analyses  reported  in  the  volume  with  acquisitional  data  from  other   languages.   On   the   other   hand,   the   prodigious   amount   of   variety   found   in   the   volume   may   render   the   exposition  dense  at  times,  especially  for  readers  who  are  not  familiar  with  the  topics  covered.  Nevertheless,   each   contribution   is   effective   in   providing   a   detailed   state-­‐of-­‐the-­‐art   survey   of   the   research   questions,   previous   findings   and   employed   methodologies.   In   addition,   the   tripartite   structure   (prosodic   and   phonological   aspects,   pragmatic   aspects   and   aspects   of   interaction   and   conversation   in   L2)   as  well   as   the   introduction  by  Marina  Chini  ensure  that  the  volume  is  in  general  clearly  organized  and  very  readable.   References       Andorno,   Cecilia   (2000).   Focalizzatori   tra   connessione   e   messa   a   fuoco.   Il   punto   di   vista   delle   varietà   di   apprendimento.  Milano,  Italia:  Franco  Angeli.     Bettoni,  Camilla  (2006).  Usare  un’altra  lingua.  Guida  alla  pragmatica  interculturale.  Roma/Bari,  Italia:  Laterza.     Bongartz,   Christiane,   &   Torregrossa,   Jacopo   (2017).   The   effects   of   balanced   biliteracy   on   Greek-­‐German   bilingual   children’s   secondary   discourse   abilities.   International   Journal   of   Bilingual   Education   and   Bilingualism.  DOI:  10.1080/13670050.2017.1355888.     Chini,  Marina  (Ed.).  (2010).  Topic,  struttura  dell’informazione  e  acquisizione  linguistica.  Milano,  Italia:  Franco   Angeli.     Giacalone-­‐Ramat,  Anna  (Ed.).  (2003).  Verso  l’italiano.  Percorsi  e  strategie  d’acquisizione.  Roma,  Italia:  Carocci.     Rasier,   Laurent,   &   Hiligsmann,   Philippe   (2007).   Prosodic   transfer   from   L1   to   L2.   Theoretical   and   methodological  issues.  Nouveaux  cahiers  de  linguistique  française,  28,  41-­‐66.     REVIEW:  L2  SPOKEN  DISCOURSE   E-­‐JournALL  4(2)  (2017),  pp.  140-­‐145   145   Jacopo Torregrossa, University of Hamburg jacopo.torregrossa@uni-hamburg.de EN Jacopo Torregrossa is Professor of Romance Linguistics at the University of Hamburg. His research interests focus on monolingual and bilingual acquisition of linguistic phenomena at the syntax-semantics and syntax-phonology interface and the interaction between language, literacy, and cognitive abilities. Since January 2017 he has worked as the Co- Principal Investigator for the project “Reference management in bilingual narratives” of the Collaborative Research Center 1252 “Prominence in Language” at the University of Cologne,” at the University of Cologne, in collaboration with Professor Christiane Bongartz. ES Jacopo Torregrossa es profesor de Lingüística Románica en la Universidad de Hamburgo. Su línea de investigación se centra en la adquisición monolingüe y bilingüe de fenómenos lingüísticos en la interrelación de sintaxis-semántica y sintaxis-fonología y la interacción entre habilidades cognitivas, literacidad y lingüísticas. Desde enero de 2017 es el investigador principal asociado del proyecto “Reference management in bilingual narratives” del Centro de Investigación Colaborativa 1252 “Prominence in Language” de la Universidad de Colonia, en colaboración con la profesora Christiane Bongartz. IT Jacopo Torregrossa è professore di Linguistica Romanza all’Università di Amburgo. La sua ricerca è incentrata sull’acquisizione monolingue e bilingue di fenomeni linguistici a livello sintattico-semantico e sintattico-fonologico e, sull’interazione tra la lingua, contesti educativi e le abilità cognitive. Da gennaio 2017 è co-responsabile del progetto “Reference management in bilingual narratives” del Centro di Ricerca Collaborativo 1252 “Prominence in Language,” presso l’Università di Colonia, in collaborazione con la professoressa Christiane Bongartz.