scholarly journals Linguistic system and sociolinguistic environment as competing factors in linguistic variation: A typological approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaius Sinnemäki
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Relative Effect ◽  
Complex Case ◽  
Linguistic Variation ◽  
Speech Community ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
Generalized Linear Mixed Effects ◽  
The One

AbstractThis paper brings together typological and sociolinguistic approaches to language variation. Its main aim is to evaluate the relative effect of language internal and external factors on the number of cases in the world’s languages. I model word order as a language internal predictor; it is well-known that, for instance, languages with verb-final word order (that is, languages in which both nominal arguments precede the main lexical verb) tend to develop complex case systems more often than languages with SVO word order do. I model population size and the proportion of second language speakers in the speech community as sociolinguistic predictors; these factors have been suggested recently to influence the distribution of the number of cases in the world’s languages. Modelling the data with generalized linear mixed effects modelling suggests an interaction between the number of cases, word order, and the proportion of second language speakers on the one hand, and between the number of cases, word order, and population size, on the other. This kind of complex interactions have not been previously reported in typological research wherefore they call for more complex explanations than previously suggested for cross-linguistic variation.

Lokale en Globale Coherentie in Verhalen van Eerste- en tweede-Taalleerders

1994 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 89-98
Author(s):  
Karin Heesters
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
Global Coherence ◽  
Coherence Relations ◽  
Local Coherence ◽  
Picture Story ◽  
The One ◽  
Dutch Children ◽  
The Way

This article discusses the way in which first and second language learners of Dutch structure their narratives. Subjects in the study presented here were 12 Turkish and 24 Dutch children in Grade 6 of Dutch primary school (mean age 10;3 for the Turkish and 10;2 for the Dutch children). All of the children had been in Dutch schools since they were four. The children told a story on the basis of a wordless picture story. The subjects first saw the whole story and then had to tell the story to the researcher. They had the picture story in front of them as a reference. I wanted to find out if the children made local or global coherence relations to organize their stories. Local coherence refers to the relation between an utterance and the one immediately preceding it. Global coherence means that there is a relation with the global theme of the story, or that there is a connection between larger parts of the text. For this reason, I investigated two points in the story where one could expect global coherence relations, namely the middle and the end of the story. The following questions were asked with regard to these two points: 1. Do the children make global coherence relations here or do they only make local coherence relations? 2. How do they make these relations? Overall, there were no differences between the first and second language speakers in the number of global coherence relations they realized. As for the way in which the subjects realized their local and global coherence relations, some differences were found, however. In addition, it turned out that all children made more global coherence relations at the end of the story than in the middle.

Determinants of cue strength in adult first and second language speakers of French

1991 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet L. McDonald ◽  
L. Kathy Heilenman
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
English Word ◽  
Error Model ◽  
Semantic Cues ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
Order Preference

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the determinants of adult usage of various syntactic and semantic cues in sentence interpretation. Native French speakers and advanced English/French bilinguals were tested for the strength of usage of word order, clitic pronoun agreement, verb agreement, and noun animacy cues in the assignment of the actor role in French sentences. Native speakers showed strong use of clitic pronoun agreement, followed by much weaker use of verb agreement, an even weaker use of noun animacy, and negligible use of word order. This ranking reflects the importance of these cues in naturally occurring French sentences involving conflicts among cues in conjunction with a learning-on-error model. The English/French bilinguals did not manifest English-like strategies of word order preference on the French sentences; rather, they showed a cue ranking very similar to that of native speakers, although detectability may have played a role in their use of verb agreement. The failure of English word order strategies to correctly interpret many naturally occurring French sentences may be responsible for the adaptation of strategies appropriate to the second language.

The effect of language on recognition memory in first language and second language speakers: The case of placement events

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 651-669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dietha Koster ◽  
Teresa Cadierno
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Recognition Memory ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Object Position ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
Recognition Phase ◽  
Time Courses ◽  
The One ◽  
Short Time

Aims and Objectives/Purpose/Research questions: German and Spanish differ in lexicalization of object position in placement events (e.g. They stand/lay-put the binoculars on the shelf). Do native (L1) speakers of these languages show different recognition memory for object position in placement scenes (“Thinking for Speaking” (TFS))? And if so, can learning German as a second language (L2) improve memory accuracy? Originality: There is very little research on the effect of language on memory in L2 speakers and no such studies have focused on placement events. By adopting a short time course (750 ms) between the prime and recognition phase this study makes a methodological advancement. Design/Methodology/Approach: We employed a design with L1 speakers ( N = 54) of German and Spanish, and a group of Spanish L2 learners ( N = 123) of German. Participants were presented with a two-phased memory task with minimum delay, with language and pictures showing placement events. Following the direction indicated by German placement verbs we changed position of objects in the picture recognition phase. L2 German speakers received a form-focused instruction on German placement verbs (stand/lay) before the memory task. Data and Analysis: We analysed recognition accuracy for object position changes. Findings/Conclusions: Results showed that L1 German speakers had more accurate recognition memory for object position changes than L1 Spanish speakers. When Spanish learners of L2 German performed the experiment in German, their accuracy exceeded L1 German speakers’ scores. Significance/Implications: The findings provide support for TFS effects on memory for object position in placement events for L1 speakers and show accuracy advantages for L2 speakers. Future studies should consider employing tasks with short time courses as the one used in this paper, in order to establish a base of controlled and reliable findings to unravel the linguistic relativity literature.

A CASE STUDY OF NL INFLUENCE IN UNIS FKIP ENGLISH DEPARTMENT STUDENTS' INTERLANGUAGE

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-54
Author(s):  
Irmala Sukendra ◽  
Agus Mulyana ◽  
Imam Sudarmaji
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Similar System ◽  
The One ◽  
L1 Acquisition

Regardless to the facts that English is being taught to Indonesian students starting from early age, many Indonesian thrive in learning English. They find it quite troublesome for some to acquire the language especially to the level of communicative competence. Although Krashen (1982:10) states that “language acquirers are not usually aware of the fact that they are acquiring language, but are only aware of the fact that they are using the language for communication”, second language acquisition has several obstacles for learners to face and yet the successfulness of mastering the language never surmounts to the one of the native speakers. Learners have never been able to acquire the language as any native speakers do. Mistakes are made and inter-language is unavoidable. McNeili in Ellis (1985, p. 44) mentions that “the mentalist views of L1 acquisition hypothesizes the process of acquisition consists of hypothesis-testing, by which means the grammar of the learner’s mother tongue is related to the principles of the ‘universal grammar’.” Thus this study intends to find out whether the students go through the phase of interlanguage in their attempt to acquire second language and whether their interlanguage forms similar system as postulated by linguists (Krashen).

Conclusion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuhui Hu
Keyword(s):  
Historical Development ◽  
The Other ◽  
Linguistic Variation ◽  
Diachronic Change ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Motion Event ◽  
Applicative Constructions ◽  
The One ◽  
Chinese And English

This chapter summarizes the major points developed throughout the book. The theoretical points of the syntax of events proposed in Chapter 2 are listed. The conclusions on the syntax of English and Chinese resultatives, applicative constructions in various languages, and Chinese non-canonical object and motion event constructions are presented, together with the implications for the verb/satellite-framed typology. The explanation of diachronic change and cross-linguistic variation is summarized, including both the historical development of Chinese resultatives, the variation of resultatives between Chinese and English on the one hand, and English and Romance on the other hand. The Synchronic Grammaticalisation Hypothesis is also summarized.

Case morphology and word order in second language Turkish: Evidence from Greek learners

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Despina Papadopoulou ◽  
Spyridoula Varlokosta ◽  
Vassilios Spyropoulos ◽  
Hasan Kaili ◽  
Sophia Prokou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
First Language ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Case Morphology ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
Order Constraints ◽  
On Line

The optional use of morphology attested in second language learners has been attributed either to a representational deficit or to a ‘surface’ problem with respect to the realization of inflectional affixes. In this article we contribute to this issue by providing empirical data from the early interlanguage of Greek learners of Turkish. Three experiments have been conducted, a cloze task, a sentence picture matching task and an on-line grammaticality judgement task, in order to investigate case morphology and its interaction with word order constraints. The findings of all three experiments point towards a variable use of case morphology, which is also observed in previous studies of Turkish as a second language (L2). Moreover, they show clearly that the learners face difficulties with non-canonical word orders as well as with the interaction of word order constraints and Case. On the other hand, the learners performed well on verbal inflections. On the basis of these findings, we argue that the developmental patterns in the early stages of L2 acquisition cannot be attributed to a global lack of functional categories but rather to more localized difficulties, which seem to be related to (a) whether the features in the L2 are grammaticalized in the first language and (b) the way these features are encoded in the morphosyntax of the first language. Moreover, we claim that processing factors and the specific properties of the morphological paradigms affect L2 development.

A semi-hybrid model for malaria with limited superinfection

1998 ◽  
Vol 30 (04) ◽  
pp. 1027-1057 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Picard
Keyword(s):  
Stochastic Model ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Hybrid Model ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Threshold Level ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The One

Modelling malaria with consistency necessitates the introduction of at least two families of interconnected processes. Even in a Markovian context the simplest fully stochastic model is intractable and is usually transformed into a hybrid model, by supposing that these two families are stochastically independent and linked only through two deterministic connections. A model closer to the fully stochastic model is presented here, where one of the two families is subordinated to the other and just a unique deterministic connection is required. For this model a threshold theorem can be proved but the threshold level is not the one obtained in a hybrid model. The difference disappears only when the human population size approaches infinity.

Word-order change in progress: the case of Slovene and Serbo-Croat and its relevance for Germanic

1987 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Verb Second ◽  
Related Language ◽  
Slavonic Language ◽  
History Of ◽  
Order Change ◽  
The One ◽  
Word Order Change ◽  
Germanic Languages ◽  
Fresh Insight

It will be suggested in this article that Slovene, a South Slavonic language, is on the way to acquiring verb-second (V2) word order. In providing evidence in support of this view I shall compare Slovene, on the one hand, with the closely related language Serbo-Croat and, on the other hand, with relevant details from the history of the Germanic languages. The point of comparing it with Serbo-Croat is to discover the respects in which the word order of these two languages has diverged. Taken together with what is known about the word order of Common Slavonic, the facts emerging from this comparison allow us to identify one major respect in which Slovene has changed and two respects in which it is still changing. At the same time, they reveal a major respect in which Serbo-Croat word order is also changing. The point of comparing Slovene with the Germanic languages is twofold. First, since all the present-day Germanic languages either have or have had V2 word order (Haiman, 1974), it is possible that their history can help us to understand the changes currently taking place in Slovene and to predict how Slovene might change in the future. Secondly, where details of the history of the Germanic languages are poorly understood, the possibility exists of gaining fresh insight into them in the light of the changes that have taken place more recently, or indeed are still taking place, in Slovene. In this connection we shall assess the plausibility of two theories concerning the adoption of V2 word order by the Germanic languages, those of Vennemann (1975) and Wackernagel (1892).

scholarly journals Honorifics: A sociocultural verb agreement cue in Japanese sentence processing

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 551-569 ◽  
Author(s):  
YUKI YOSHIMURA ◽  
BRIAN MACWHINNEY
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Role Assignment ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Case Marking ◽  
New Type

ABSTRACTCase marking is the major cue to sentence interpretation in Japanese, whereas animacy and word order are much weaker. However, when subjects and their cases markers are omitted, Japanese honorific and humble verbs can provide information that compensates for the missing case role markers. This study examined the usage of honorific and humble verbs as cues to case role assignment by Japanese native speakers and second-language learners of Japanese. The results for native speakers replicated earlier findings regarding the predominant strength of case marking. However, when case marking was missing, native speakers relied more on honorific marking than word order. In these sentences, the processing that relied on the honorific cue was delayed by about 100 ms in comparison to processing that relied on the case-marking cue. Learners made extensive use of the honorific agreement cue, but their use of the cue was much less accurate than that of native speakers. In particular, they failed to systematically invoke the agreement cue when case marking was missing. Overall, the findings support the predictions of the model and extend its coverage to a new type of culturally determined cue.

Kemahiran Bertutur Bahasa Melayu oleh Murid Cina: Teori Analisis Kontrastif

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-55
Author(s):  
Nor Zulaiqha Rosli ◽  
Nur Farahkhanna Mohd Rusli ◽  
Norfaizah Abdul Jobar ◽  
Norazimah Zakaria
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Chinese Students ◽  
Contrastive Analysis ◽  
Library Research ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
Analysis Theory ◽  
Grammatical Errors ◽  
Oral Speech ◽  
Mandarin Language ◽  
Speaking Skill

The acquisition of Malay as a second language, either verbally or non verbally among the non-Malay students, is still in question. It is observed that the problems of pronunciation is still prevalent among the non-Malay students. Hence, the objectives of this study are twofold; (i) to identify the level of proficiency of the speaking skill of Malay language among Chinese students, and (ii) to analyse the errors made in the speaking skill of Malay language by Chinese students based on contrastive analysis theory. The respondents were 27 Chinese Form 1 students in SMK Ampang Pecah, Kuala Kubu Baharu, Selangor. The initial design of the study was spurred by library research and observation. The instruments used in data collection included notebooks, questionnaire, recorder and texts for speech test. The data were analyzed by contrastive analysis theory by Robert Lado (1957). The findings showed that there were four aspects of pronunciation errors related consonants produced by the respondents. They were (i) sound replacement, (ii) sound addition, (iii) sound abortion, (iv) and grammatical errors. This study also shows that the pronunciation errors were due to the influence of their native language, which is Mandarin language, and the interlingual factors of the respondents that have caused them to be weak in the mastery of Malay language. In terms of implication, this study provides some understanding on the importance of mastering oral speech in Malay language through appropriate grammatical usage and pronunciation , especially among the second language speakers of Malay.

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