Directionality in transfer?

Natascha Müller discusses a question which in recent years – after a period of focus on cross-linguistic principles of language acquisition – has regained its position as a current topic, namely transfer, and here in bilingual children. One of her points is that for transfer to take place, the transferred construction must have some correspondence in the target language, a position similar to the “transfer to somewhere” principle often advocated in the L2 acquisition literature (cf. Gass & Selinker, 1983). The specific structure studied is the lack of Verb-End in the German of a bilingual German-French child.

Download Full-text

Naturalistic second language acquisition: a case of adoption in Italy

Taikomoji kalbotyra ◽

10.15388/tk.2013.17262 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 1-30

Author(s):

Jogilė Teresa Ramonaitė

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

Language Learner ◽

Target Language ◽

Cognitive Resources ◽

Older Children ◽

L2 Acquisition ◽

Second Language Learner ◽

Linguistic Behaviour

The functional approach to the interlanguage of spontaneous learners of L2 helps identify that from the very beginning without yet possessing many resources of the target language the speaker makes a systemic use of them. When acquiring a language in a natural environment the effectiveness of communication is of vital importance to the speaker because he or she must start interacting without yet having acquired many of the elements of the structure of the target language. A second language learner makes use of the cognitive resources already in possession and therefore when beginning to use the new language invokes the universal pragmatic principles for utterance organization such as word order. A very important step in L2 acquisition is the appearance of the predicate in the interlanguage of the learner because then the utterances of the speaker are constructed following also the semantic-syntactic principles. This variety of the learnerʼs interlanguage, called the basic variety, is in principle sufficient for elementary communication and the development of interlanguage in the morphological perspective for some learners fossilizes in this variety. In due time and given favourable conditions, the interlanguage of the learner can move on to the so-called post-basic variety that sees the formation of a system approaching that of the target language and the principles of utterance organization previously used are gradually replaced by syntactic principles characteristic of the specific target language. The situation of international adoption presents favourable conditions for the language acquisition of younger and also older children. The article offers examples and analysis of the linguistic behaviour of an over 11-year-old Lithuanian girl adopted to Italy. Her linguistic behaviour has been meticulously observed and recorded for a year after the adoption starting from the very first contact with the new language. The analysis shows that the structure of the target language is acquired according to the universal model proceeding from simple to more complex forms. However the situation in which the acquisition takes place determines the rapidity of L2 acquisition and a very advanced level after a year in the new country. The observed girl reaches the basic variety after having spent only a month surrounded by the new language and one month later her interlanguage demonstrates clear signs of morphological sensitivity and the interlanguage system heading towards that of the target language. After a year in the country the entire Italian verb system is in place, including the most complex parts of it. Moreover, the girl makes use of those system elements that are optional, in a way that native speakers are able to do.

Download Full-text

Ambiguity and transfer in bilingual first language acquisition?

Bilingualism Language and Cognition ◽

10.1017/s1366728998000339 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 187-188 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

JEANINE TREFFERS-DALLER

Keyword(s):

Language Acquisition ◽

First Language ◽

Target Language ◽

Subordinate Clause ◽

Bilingual Children ◽

First Language Acquisition ◽

Correct Position ◽

Subordinate Clauses ◽

German Child ◽

Finite Verb

Natascha Müller presents a very interesting analysis of the structure of the German subordinate clause in bilingual first language acquisition. The main issue in this paper is to explain the fact that some bilingual children – but not all of them – display non-target language structures in German subordinate clauses. That is, the finite verb does not appear in the final position of the subordinate clause. These non-target structures can in part be explained by transfer, but this cannot be the whole story, because some monolingual children produce these structures as well. Bilingual children, though, appear to have problems with the German subordinate clause more frequently than monolingual children. Interestingly, acquiring the target structures is a slow process for children who produce non-target structures. Ivar, the French-German child Müller discusses in most detail, for example, needs two years to acquire the correct position of the finite verb in German subordinate clauses. Müller argues that the problems arise because the input children receive is ambiguous: the finite verb does not always appear in the finite position in German subordinate clauses in adult speech. The ambiguity of this situation opens the way to transfer. In their uncertainty, the children turn to their other language as a relief strategy.

Download Full-text

THE UNACCUSATIVE TRAP IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Studies in Second Language Acquisition ◽

10.1017/s0272263101002078 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 23 (2) ◽

pp. 279-304 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Hiroyuki Oshita

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

Natural Language ◽

Developmental Stages ◽

Target Language ◽

Structural Constraints ◽

L2 Acquisition ◽

Natural Languages ◽

Intransitive Verbs

The distinction of two types of intransitive verbs—unergatives (with underlying subjects) and unaccusatives (with underlying objects)—may not exist at early stages of L2 acquisition, both being syntactically represented as unergatives. This idea, referred to here as the Unaccusative Trap Hypothesis, provides an elegant developmental account for a variety of seemingly unrelated syntactic phenomena in L2 English, Japanese, and Chinese. Target language input, structural constraints on natural language linking rules, and linguistic properties of a learner's L1s shape stages in the reorganization of the lexical and syntactic components of interlanguage grammars. Although nonnative grammars may initially override the structural constraints postulated as the Unaccusative Hypothesis (Burzio, 1986; Perlmutter, 1978) and the Uniformity of Theta Assignment Hypothesis (Baker, 1988), at later developmental stages some may still achieve conformity with the norms of natural languages.

Download Full-text

Effects of second-language acquisition on character introductions in 5- and 7-year-old bilingual and monolingual children’s Frog story narratives

First Language ◽

10.1177/01427237211024219 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 014272372110242

Author(s):

Aslı Aktan-Erciyes ◽

Burcu Ünlütabak ◽

Betül Firdevs Zengin

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

First Language ◽

Narrative Discourse ◽

Bilingual Children ◽

L2 Acquisition ◽

Article System

This study investigates the effects of early second-language (L2) acquisition on introduction of characters in narrative discourse by comparing 5- and 7-year-old monolingual (first-language [L1] = Turkish) and bilingual (L1 = Turkish, L2 = English) children. Turkish does not have a grammaticalized article system like English which enables to investigate specific influences. The findings revealed that monolingual and bilingual children used similar forms while introducing characters; however, for the Frog character, bilingual children used more appropriate referencing compared to monolinguals. These findings were discussed within the effects of L2 on L1 in terms of introducing characters as well as the amount of exposure to L2.

Download Full-text

macrostructure of elicited narratives by bilingual children: an analysis of the factor age of onset

ZAS Papers in Linguistics ◽

10.21248/zaspil.62.2019.441 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 62 ◽

pp. 7-31

Author(s):

Kristin Haake

Keyword(s):

Quantitative Analysis ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

Age Of Onset ◽

Bilingual Children ◽

Narrative Ability ◽

Language Promotion ◽

A Current ◽

Over Time ◽

Turkish German

In this paper, data from a current study on bilingual language acquisition and language promotion of children is presented. 96 narratives from 32 Turkish-German and Russian-German bilingual children were examined with regard to the acquisition of narrative ability in three rounds of tests. The macrostructure of each narrative was evaluated based on the theories of Westby (2005), Stein and Glenn (1977) and Gagarina et al. (2012). In the quantitative analysis, the factor age of onset (AoO) was considered and therefore, two hypotheses were introduced: 1) There is an influence of AoO on the narrative ability of L2 German bilingual children. And 2) The narrative ability will converge over time and after three years there will be no difference between the groups. Neither of those hypotheses could be confirmed by the examined narrative data. Hence, other influences on narrative ability were discussed in the last chapter and prospects for further research were given. In sum, the article shows that more narrative data of these children should be collected to make a comprehensive conclusion about the influence of AoO on narrative ability.

Download Full-text

Does Linguistic Similarity Affect Early Simultaneous Bilingual Language Acquisition?

Journal of Language Contact ◽

10.1163/19552629-13030001 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 482-500

Author(s):

Anja Gampe ◽

Antje Endesfelder Quick ◽

Moritz M. Daum

Keyword(s):

Language Acquisition ◽

Bilingual Children ◽

Facilitative Effect ◽

L2 Acquisition ◽

Vocabulary Size

Abstract It is well established that L2 acquisition is faster when the L2 is more closely related to the learner’s L1. In the current study we investigated whether language similarity has a comparable facilitative effect in early simultaneous bilingual children. The similarity between each bilingual child’s two languages was determined using phonological and typological scales. We compared the vocabulary size of bilingual toddlers learning different pairs of languages. Results show that the vocabulary size of bilingual children is indeed influenced by similarity: the more similar the languages, the larger the children’s vocabulary.

Download Full-text

Development of object clitics in child L2 French

Language Interaction and Acquisition / Langage Interaction et Acquisition ◽

10.1075/lia.3.1.08gra ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 140-162 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jonas Granfeldt

Keyword(s):

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

First Language ◽

Bilingual Children ◽

L2 Acquisition ◽

Developmental Sequences ◽

Object Clitics ◽

L2 Learners ◽

L2 Development ◽

Specific Proposal

It has been argued that the study of child L2 development can inform different maturational accounts of language acquisition. One such specific proposal was put forward by Meisel (2008), arguing for a cut-off point for monolingual or bilingual first language acquisition — (2)L1 — type of development at 3–4 years. The paper analyses the longitudinal development of object clitics in child L2 French (L1 Swedish) and compares the developmental sequence in child L2 learners (n = 7) with different Ages of Onset of Acquisition (AoA) (from 3;0 to 6;5) to the adult L2 sequence that was found in previous studies (Granfeldt & Schlyter 2004). The study also includes age-matched simultaneous bilingual children (n = 3) and monolingual controls (n = 5). The results show that some of the child L2 learners with an AoA over 4 years display structures that are typical of adult L2 acquisition, whereas these structures were not found in the simultaneous bilingual children or in the child second language acquisition (cL2) children with an AoA under 4 years. It is suggested that differences in developmental sequences are due to a combination of AoA and the level of L1 linguistic development at the onset of L2 acquisition.

Download Full-text

The acquisition of determiners in child L2 German

Folia Linguistica ◽

10.1515/flin.2014.006 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 169-224 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Manuela Schönenberger

Keyword(s):

Language Acquisition ◽

Data Collection ◽

Age Of Onset ◽

Free Play ◽

Bilingual Children ◽

L2 Acquisition ◽

Sensitive Phase ◽

L2 Learners ◽

German Children ◽

L1 Acquisition

Abstract The object of this study is to test Meisel’s (2009) hypothesis that there is a sensitive phase in language acquisition that ends around age 4. Early L2 acquisition may therefore already show differences from L1 acquisition. To test this hypothesis, determiner production in the naturalistic speech of four successive bilingual Turkish-German children recorded during free-play situations was compared to that of monolingual German children discussed in the literature. The successive bilinguals had an age of onset of German between 3 and 4 years and were studied over a period of 20 months. Determiner production was examined because Turkish, as opposed to German, does not have an article system. Determiner omission and incorrect article use were considered. A clear difference emerged in determiner omission, but not in article misuse. After some initial variability in determiner production, determiner omission by the monolingual children was found to gradually fall below 10 per cent, while a plateau effect could be observed in the bilingual children. There was no clear evidence for article misuse in either the L1 or the child L2 data. Our findings about determiner omission suggest that early L2 acquisition differs from L1 acquisition. It is unclear, however, whether the child L2 learners will persist in omitting determiners from obligatory contexts, since data collection was ended while the children were still in the process of acquiring German

Download Full-text

On determining developmental stages in natural second language acquisition

Studies in Second Language Acquisition ◽

10.1017/s0272263100004137 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 109-135 ◽

Cited By ~ 234

Author(s):

Jürgen M. Meisel ◽

Harald Clahsen ◽

Manfred Pienemann

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

Learning Process ◽

Developmental Stages ◽

Target Language ◽

L2 Acquisition ◽

Source Language ◽

The Past ◽

Linguistic Structures

Research on Second Language (L2) Acquisition, over the past ten years, has undergone substantial changes by shifting its focus of interest away from an analysis of linguistic structures alone, concentrating more on the learner himself or, rather, on the process of learning. It had become obvious that one of the major shortcomings in contrastive studies as well as in the usual kind of error analysis is that they lack thorough investigation of factors which determine the kind of approach a learner may take to acquire a second language. This again implies that it is more fruitful to study the process of learning itself instead of merely analysing its outputs. It is by now widely accepted that the learner takes an active part in the learning process and does not merely get trapped in structural gaps which linguists may find when comparing the source language (the learner's L1) and the target language (L2).

Download Full-text

Discourse Markedness and Structural Markedness

Studies in Second Language Acquisition ◽

10.1017/s0272263100008731 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 43-64 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Craig Chaudron ◽

Kate Parker

Keyword(s):

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

Noun Phrase ◽

Noun Phrases ◽

Structural Form ◽

Elicited Imitation ◽

Current Topic ◽

Japanese Learners ◽

A Current ◽

English Noun

This study investigates second language acquisition of English noun phrases in discourse, examining the effect of discourse markedness and structural markedness on the development of noun phrase use. English L2 noun phrase forms are examined within three universal discourse contexts: current, known, and new reference to topics. The targeted noun phrases forms include ø anaphora, pronouns and nouns with markers of definiteness and indefiniteness, including left dislocation and existential phrases. Based on expectedness within discourse, the least marked discourse context is reference to a current topic, and the most marked context is the introduction of a new referent as topic. Based on formal complexity, ø anaphora is the least marked structural form, and left-dislocated and existential noun phrases are the most marked. Free production and elicited imitation recall tasks, involving picture sequences that manipulated the three discourse contexts, were used to test Japanese learners' acquisition of noun phrase forms. They were evaluated by comparison with NS production. The results support predictions that L2 learners distinguish between discourse contexts, acquiring more targetlike forms in the least marked context first, and that they acquire the least marked structural forms earlier than the more marked ones.

Download Full-text