Pronoun interpretation in L1 and L2 English: when native speaker performance is unexpected

We examine pronoun interpretation in an overt subject language (English) by L2 learnersfrom a null subject L1 (Italian), using a task where participants choose potentialantecedents for pronouns in bi-clausal sentences which manipulate presence or absence ofstress on the pronoun and presence or absence of a pause between clauses. Results showthat learners are sensitive to the overturning effect of stress, resulting in a shift away froman antecedent prominent in the discourse, but that native speakers are not. Sensitivity forthe learners may arise from prosodic properties of their null subject L1; lack of sensitivityfor the native speakers may suggest that prosody alone is insufficient to influenceantecedent choice for speakers from overt subject languages and that richer contextual cuesare required.