Case within the phrasal procedure stage: Sequences of acquisition in Russian L2

This chapter investigates the acquisition of case in Russian L2 within the VP and the PP, two structures belonging to the same Processability Theory (PT)-based stage of acquisition, namely the Phrasal procedure stage. I claim that a crucial aspect of the intra-stage development is determined by the different nature of case assignments involved in the given structures. The study is conducted with a group of 15 learners of Russian L2 with varied L1 backgrounds. The analysis of their semi-spontaneous speech shows that (1) case within the VP develops from lack of case assignment to configurational, lexical, and eventually grammatical assignment, and (2) case within the PP develops from lack of case assignment to configurational and lexical case assignments. To conclude, the study confirms the cross-linguistic prediction that case develops from no marking to case assignment by position, and eventually to grammatical case assignment.