Focus-induced variations in prosody and word order in native and non-native Italian and French

The interaction between cross-linguistic influence and universal tendencies in second language acquisition is at the center of growing scientific interest. This study examines the possible effects of both factors on prosody and syntax in L2 learners of Italian and French, languages that are closely related, but feature differences in syntactic flexibility and certain phonological traits. Our work focuses on different focus sub-types (broad, identification, correction) by native and L2 speakers of Italian and French. Our sample consists of four groups: 15 French and 15 Italian speakers, 15 Italian-speaking learners of French L2, 15 French-speaking learners of Italian L2, with varying levels of proficiency. Speakers' productions were collected through a protocol comprising a controlled task and two partially controlled tasks. The results from native speakers confirm what has been observed in the literature, also allowing observations to better describe the category of focus in the two linguistic systems. In L2 speakers, the influence of the L1 positively affects syntax, while the prosodic level proves to be more complex. Learners, indeed, show a similar use of prosody from a functional point of view, but with divergent phonetic implementations; in some contexts, markedness factors seem to also influence the learners' acquisition process. The analysis by proficiency levels indicates a non-linearity in the acquisition path: better morpho-syntactic competence does not imply a more target-like behavior in expressing information structure. The influence of the L1 can emerge in different phases and at different levels, underscoring the complexity of the integration between prosody and syntax in conveying pragmatic information.