scholarly journals Limitations on the role of frequency in L2 acquisition

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-31
Author(s):  
CHRISTIANE VON STUTTERHEIM ◽  
MONIQUE LAMBERT ◽  
JOHANNES GERWIEN
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Target Language ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Motion Event ◽  
Core Components ◽  
Target Languages ◽  
L1 Acquisition ◽  
Event Construal

abstract In the context of theories of statistical learning, frequency of encounter is viewed as a major driving force in L2 acquisition. The present paper challenges this position with respect to core components at the level of language competence which relate to language-specific patterns in cognitive construal. Empirical evidence from very advanced L2 speakers (L1 French, L2 English and L2 German) shows that forms and constructions which are highly frequent in the target languages in the expression of motion events are not used in a target-like form by L2 speakers. The study shows how the basis for language use which is not target-like lies at the level of event construal: conceptual frames, which are language-specific and are deeply anchored in the course of L1 acquisition, drive allocation of attention and the extraction of forms in L2 acquisition. Findings in the domain of spatial cognition show that motion event frames based on the L1 take precedence over frequency of occurrence of forms in the target language as a factor in L2 use.

Learning to Communicate in the Classroom

1992 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rod Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Illocutionary Act ◽  
Sociolinguistic Competence ◽  
Linguistic Repertoire ◽  
Esl Classroom

It is now generally accepted that second language (L2) acquisition can take place as a result of learning how to communicate in the L2. It is less clear, however, whether the kind of communication that occurs in a classroom is sufficient to ensure development of full target language competence. This article examines the extent to which the opportunities for communication in an English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom result in the acquisition of one particular illocutionary act—requests. A total of 410 requests produced by two child learners over 15–21 months were examined. The results suggest that although considerable development took place over this period, both learners failed to develop either the full range of request types or a broad linguistic repertoire for performing those types that they did acquire. The learners also failed to develop the sociolinguistic competence needed to vary their choice of request to take account of different addressees. One explanation for these results is that although the classroom context fostered interpersonal and expressive needs in the two learners, it did not provide the conditions for real sociolinguistic needs.

Second language acquisition of English questions: An elicited production study

2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 1055-1086 ◽  
Author(s):  
LUCIA POZZAN ◽  
ERIN QUIRK
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Target Language ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
L2 Production ◽  
Embedded Clause ◽  
Syntactic Properties ◽  
L1 Acquisition

ABSTRACTThe present study investigates the role of the syntactic properties of the first and the target language on second language (L2) learners’ production of English main and embedded clause questions. The role of the first language (L1) was investigated by comparing the production of L2 learners whose L1s (Chinese and Spanish) differ from English and each other in terms of word order in main and embedded clause questions. The role of the target language was investigated by comparing L2 learners’ production of yes/no and adjunct and argument wh-questions. The results indicate that the L1 is not a predictor of L2 learners’ production patterns for either main or embedded clause questions. The linguistic properties of the target language, on the contrary, predict learners’ accuracy and inversion profiles. In line with data from the English L1 acquisition literature, L2 learners produced higher inversion rates in main clause yes/no than in wh-questions, and particularly low inversion rates with why-questions. In line with data from nonstandard varieties of English and preliminary evidence from L1 acquisition, L2 learners produced higher nonstandard inversion rates in embedded clause wh-questions than in yes/no questions. Taken together, these results highlight that L2 production is affected and constrained by the same factors at play in L1 acquisition and dialectal variation.

scholarly journals State Cultural Policies in Georgia’s Small Book Market. Case of the Translation Grant Programme “Georgian Literature in Translation” (2010–2018)

Knygotyra ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 75 ◽  
pp. 92-113
Author(s):  
Ana Kvirikashvili
Keyword(s):  
Target Language ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
Literary Field ◽  
Frankfurt Book Fair ◽  
Grant Program ◽  
Book Fair ◽  
Policy Program ◽  
Publishing Houses ◽  
Target Languages

This paper analyses translation support in the Georgian literary field by studying the case of the translation grant program “Georgian Literature in Translation” (2010-2018). Accordingly, it offers a quantitative and qualitative study of the selection of translation projects that have received grants from the Georgian National Book Center as of 2010, when the translation policy program was first launched. This study will consider a) which authors are being promoted by the state and which titles are being translated; b) which publishing houses have benefited the most from these subsidies; and c) which target languages are used in said projects, relying on the frameworks of the sociology of translation (Heilbron and Sapiro). The hypotheses of this paper are 1) that there is a strong impact of the Frankfurt Book Fair and an increase of state-supported translations; 2) a great role of German as a target language in these projects; and 3) relatively active translation flows in the region where Georgia is located. Fieldwork from the 2018 Frankfurt Book Fair will serve as a complementary source, as well as the interviews that I have conducted with agents of the Georgian literary field.

scholarly journals ROLE OF ENGLISH AFFIXOIDS IN MODERN UKRAINIAN, RUSSIAN AND FRENCH

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olena Samoilenko
Keyword(s):  
Formal Analysis ◽  
Target Language ◽  
French Language ◽  
Primary Meaning ◽  
Structural Parts ◽  
Target Languages ◽  
Character Feature ◽  
Independent Functioning ◽  
Building Level

AbstractBackground. The article is devoted to the influence of borrowed affixoids on the wordbuildingsubsystems of the target languages. Purpose. The aim of the article is to reveal the peculiarities of the influence of borrowingsfrom English on the word-building subsystem of the target languages and namely to define the roleof affixoids in productive ways of modern word-building. The aim preconditions the performing ofthe following tasks: analysis of the nature of affixoids; revealing peculiarities of borrowed affixoidsfunctioning in target languages. Methods. In the article the following methods are used: 1) for detecting the volume andmeaning of the term affixoid the method of the review of the existing literature has been used; 2) forrevealing the constituent parts of the lexical units the method of distributive has been used; 3) fordescribing the peculiarities of quasi-composites and existing word-patterns the methods ofonomasiological and formal analysis have been used. Results. If one analyses the appearance of the affixoid. -gate, it is necessary to take intoconsideration, that it is formed due to the so-called “intercalated” or “telescopic” formation ofnew words, when one word is “inserted” into another, as a result of which an unusual, occasionalformation appears. In modern Ukrainian and Russian we can reveal the development of newmeaning which is absolutely different from the primary meaning. Some people are even sure that -gate is the synonym of the word scandal. Borrowing word-forming models is another character feature of language that causes theappearance of quasi-composites. In French, for example, it is possible to observe the interestingphenomenon of borrowing not structural parts, but word-building samples. The presence of “falseEnglishisms” in the French language proves once again that very often not only separate words areborrowed, but also word-forming material. Discussion. Processes of borrowing influence the target languages in many different ways.The most common of them is direct borrowing, assimilation of concrete lexical units. But recentlythe facts of influence of the source language have become more and more common, so processes ofborrowing have an impact not only on the lexical subsystem of the target language, but also on theword-building level by assimilating productive affixes and affixoids, as well as common wordbuildingpatterns and models. The field of affixoids still requires new linguistic research, especiallyin connection with the processes of borrowing and the tendency of the modern languages tosimplification. It is very important to observe new ways of enriching vocabulary where assimilationof foreign affixoids is becoming more and more productive. The independent functioning ofaffixoids in target languages is also worth describing and analyzing.

scholarly journals Enjambement in the Mounted Lyrical Poetry: the Untranslatable Translated?

2021 ◽  
pp. 254-265
Author(s):  
Dzhanetta M. Dreeva
Keyword(s):  
Target Language ◽  
Special Role ◽  
Dynamic Equivalence ◽  
Translation Strategies ◽  
Intercultural Interaction ◽  
Lyrical Poetry ◽  
Poetic Text ◽  
Target Languages ◽  
The Aesthetic

The article is aimed at studying some features of translation strategies used to convey the expressive potential of a poetic text with elements of mounting techniques, viewed through the prism of the rhythmic-syntactic level of organisation of the poetic text. The subject of analysis is enjambement, or verse (poetic) transference, which is a “dissonance” between the rhythmic division of poetic speech into poetic lines and the syntactic division of verbal material into syntagmas in verse, thereby affecting the rhythmic structure of the text. The poem by H.M. Enzensberger (born in 1929), “verteidigung der wölfe gegen die lämmer”, as well as the translation of the specified poem into Russian (“Protection of wolves from sheep”) made by Lev Ginzburg (1921-1980), are used as the factual material. The original poem is written in free rhythms and includes elements of mounting techniques. To achieve this goal, a complex methodology has been applied, which, in addition to structural-descriptive and comparative analyses, also involves elements of linguopoetic and linguo-stylistic approaches. The relevance of the presented work is primarily due to the translation perspective of the study, which required the involvement of the main provisions of the theory of dynamic equivalence by E. Nida, secondly, – to the fact that translation strategies are considered in terms of intercultural interaction, i.e. taking into account the culturally specific characteristics of the bearers of the source and target languages. Based on the results of the analysis, a conclusion has been made about the special role of verse transferences in the mounted lyrical poetry of H.M. Enzensberger, which are engaged in the creation of the “defamiliarisation” effect at the appropriate micro-level of the lyrical work. A comparative analysis of the texts in the source language and the target language indicates that the application of the main provisions of the theory of dynamic equivalence, as well as the relevant linguistic aspects of intercultural communication when translating poetic works, contributes to a most accurate preservation of the aesthetic effect and of the expressive potential inherent in the original poetic text with elements of mounting techniques.

scholarly journals Neuroimaging of language control in bilinguals: neural adaptation and reserve

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 689-698 ◽  
Author(s):  
JUBIN ABUTALEBI ◽  
DAVID W. GREEN
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Structural Data ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Major Focus ◽  
Language Understanding ◽  
Core Components ◽  
Language Control ◽  
The Many ◽  
Control Hypothesis ◽  
The Brain

Speaking more than one language demands a language control system that allows bilinguals to correctly use the intended language adjusting for possible interference from the non-target language. Understanding how the brain orchestrates the control of language has been a major focus of neuroimaging research on bilingualism and was central to our original neurocognitive language control model (Abutalebi & Green, 2007). We updated the network of language control (Green & Abutalebi, 2013) and here review the many new exciting findings based on functional and structural data that substantiate its core components. We discuss the language control network within the framework of the adaptive control hypothesis (Green & Abutalebi, 2013) that predicts adaptive changes specific to the control demands of the interactional contexts of language use. Adapting to such demands leads, we propose, to a neural reserve in the human brain.

Competence and performance in language acquisition

1996 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 730-731
Author(s):  
Mark Hale
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
And Performance ◽  
L1 Acquisition

AbstractThe implications of Epstein et al.'s critical evaluation of much of the existing literature on L2-acquisition extends far beyond the domain they discuss. I argue that similar methodological clarification is urgently needed in analyses of the role of UG in L1-acquisition, as well as in discussions in such seemingly “distant” areas as the study of language change.

Quantity of target language contact in study abroad and knowledge of multiword expressions

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klara Arvidsson
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Repeated Exposure ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Linguistic Development ◽  
Multiword Expressions ◽  
Contact Information ◽  
Cloze Test

Abstract This study takes a Usage-Based approach to the learning of French multiword expressions (MWEs) in Study Abroad (SA). MWEs are conventionalized form-meaning mappings, for example du coup (‘and so’) and en fait (‘actually’), and are assumed to be learned through repeated exposure. Based on this assumption, the study adopted a pretest/posttest design to explore how quantity of out-of-class target-language (TL) contact predicted the development of MWE knowledge among 41 Swedish students during a semester in France. MWE knowledge was assessed by a modified cloze test based on transcriptions of informal language use (www.clapi.fr) and TL contact information was obtained through the Language Engagement Questionnaire (McManus, Mitchell, & Tracy-Ventura, 2014). Contrary to expectations, the findings showed that quantity of out-of-class TL contact did not predict gains in MWE knowledge and add further counterevidence for the role of sheer quantity of TL contact for linguistic development in SA.

Domain-wide or variable-dependent vulnerability of the semantics—syntax interface in L2 acquisition? Evidence from wh-words used as existential polarity words in L2 Chinese grammars

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boping Yuan
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Target Language ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Positive Evidence ◽  
L2 Chinese ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
The Status ◽  
The One ◽  
Do So

Most studies in the second language (L2) literature that deal with interface issues do so in holistic terms. On the one hand, researchers have suggested that interface relations between the syntax and other domains are particularly difficult for adult L2 learners. On the other, it has been argued that such relations can be established in a native-like way, even when no clear positive evidence is readily available in the input. In both cases researchers have treated the issue in a domain-wide fashion. However, the domain-wide approach is not supported by the study reported in this aricle, which examines the role of the semantics—syntax interface in the representation of wh-words as existential polarity words (EPWs) in the L2 Chinese grammars of English and Japanese speakers. The results suggest that the semantics—syntax interface can be established between the EPWs and some of their potential licensers in L2 Chinese grammars, but not others. This indicates that L2 learners’ success or failure in acquiring the interface is not domain-wide. A variable-dependent account is proposed for the results, arguing that success or failure in establishing interface relations in L2 grammars is likely to depend on a number of variables, including the categorial nature of individual elements involved in the interface relationship, the status of these elements in the target language speaker’s grammar, the input that learners are exposed to, and cross-linguistic influence.

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