scholarly journals Null and overt subject pronouns in topic continuity and topic shift: An investigation of the narrative productions of Italian Natives, Greek Natives and near-native second language speakers of Italian with Greek as a first language

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 117
Author(s):  
Elisa Di Domenico ◽  
Ioli Baroncini ◽  
Andrea Capotorti
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Subject Pronouns ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
Topic Shift

Lexical preference in second dialect acquisition in a second language

2021 ◽  
pp. 136700692110369
Author(s):  
Ksenia Gnevsheva ◽  
Anita Szakay ◽  
Sandra Jansen
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Social Constraints ◽  
Second Languages ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
Dialect Acquisition ◽  
Second Dialect Acquisition ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Australian English

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: How does second dialect acquisition in a second language compare to that in a first language in terms of rates and predictors of second dialect vocabulary use? Design/methodology/approach: A lexical preference task was completed by four groups of participants residing in Australia: first language speakers of Australian (L1D1) and American (L1D2) English, and first language speakers of Russian who acquired Australian (L2D1) and American (L2D2) English first. The participants named objects which are denoted by different words in American and Australian English (e.g. bell pepper vs capsicum). Data and analysis: The response was coded as either American or Australian, and percentage of use of Australian items was calculated for each group. Findings/conclusions: L1D1 used Australian words the most and L1D2 the least. L2D1 and L2D2 fell between the two L1 groups. L1D2 rate of use was predicted by proportion of life spent in Australia. L2D1 were more likely to choose Australian words if they had lived in Australia longer and had positive attitudes toward Australia. L2D2 were less likely to use Australian words the longer they had lived in the USA. Similar, but not identical, factors predict second dialect acquisition in the first and second languages. Originality: The research is innovative in considering second dialect acquisition in second language speakers and creates a bridge between second language and second dialect acquisition research. Significance/implications: The finding that second language speakers may be more flexible in second dialect acquisition than first language speakers has important implications for our understanding of cognitive and social constraints on acquisition.

Identities and linguistic varieties in Japanese

Pragmatics ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chie Fukuda
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Language Ideologies ◽  
First Language ◽  
Membership Categorization Analysis ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Analytic Tool ◽  
Membership Categorization ◽  
Second Language Speakers

This study explores categorization processes of people (identities) and language (linguistic varieties) in interactions between L1 (first language) and L2 (second language) speakers of Japanese and the language ideologies behind them. Utilizing Conversation Analysis (CA) in combination with Membership Categorization Analysis (MCA), the present study focuses on how participants apply these categories to self and other where identities and language ideologies emerge in the sequences of ordinary conversations. The study also illuminates how the participants react to such ideologies, which is rarely documented in previous studies of L2 Japanese interactions. It is controversial to use CA and MCA as methodologies for inquiries into ideology due to different epistemological and theoretical frameworks. Yet, joining the emerging trend of CA studies that address ideological issues, this study will also demonstrate the compatibility between them. Methodological integration of CA and MCA has been proposed since the 1970s, but has started to be adopted only recently. Because few studies employ this combination in the area of language ideologies, it serves as a novel analytic tool in this body of research. Thus, this study makes a methodological contribution to the study of language ideologies, illustrating the production of language ideologies and reactions to it as participants’ accomplishments.

Making sense of polysemy relations in first and second language speakers of English

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 400-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott A Crossley ◽  
Stephen Skalicky
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Target Word ◽  
First Language ◽  
English Word ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
Lexical Relations ◽  
Subsequent Target

The aim of this study is to compare priming effects for polysemous word senses among English first language (L1) and advanced second language (L2) speakers in order to better understand the development of the mental lexicon. Using polysemy values from WordNet, a lexical decision task was designed with three different target word conditions: dominant polysemy (i.e., closely related senses), subordinate polysemy (i.e., distantly related senses), and unrelated words. Participants first saw a prime word and then selected whether a subsequent target word was a valid English word or not. For example, SURVEY was followed by STUDY (dominant polsysemy) or VIEW (subordinate polysemy) or FLASH (unrelated) or SMOO (nonword). Forty-one L1 speakers and 45 advanced L2 speakers each completed 120 decisions. Results from linear mixed effects models suggest dominant senses were responded to significantly faster than unrelated senses ( t = −3.119, p = .002, marginal R2 = .066) for L1 participants, but there were no other significant differences among word conditions. No significant priming effects were found for L2 participants. These results suggest that, unlike other lexical relations, advanced L2 speakers do not form similar connections in the bilingual lexicon when compared to L1 speakers.

scholarly journals Speed, breakdown, and repair: An investigation of fluency in long-term second-language speakers of English

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 228-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornelia Lahmann ◽  
Rasmus Steinkrauss ◽  
Monika S Schmid
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Age Of Onset ◽  
First Language ◽  
Aging Effect ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
Syllable Duration ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
The Mean

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: The present study investigated which factors would best predict second-language (L2) fluency in a group of long-term L2 speakers of different English varieties with German as their first language. Design/methodology/approach: L2 fluency was conceptualized in terms of utterance fluency for which speed, breakdown and repair fluency were distinguished. Data and analysis: Multiple measures of utterance fluency were applied to four-minute speech fragments originating from 102 spontaneous oral interviews. Interviewees’ ages of onset ranged from 7 to 17, whereas their ages at interview ranged from 57 to 87. Multifactorial analyses yielded significant effects of age at interview. Findings/conclusions: Whereas the mean number of silent pauses and repairs increases, syllable duration decreases. This leaves room for interpretation as to why we find an aging effect. Overall, the evidence suggests that the usual, L2 acquisition-specific factors, such as age of onset or length of residence, are no longer at play to predict L2 fluency. Originality and significance/implications: To this point L2 fluency in very advanced, highly proficient L2 speakers has received little attention. The results point to the need for more research into highly proficient L2 users.

scholarly journals ACQUIRING L2 PRONOUN INTERPRETATION BIASES

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Carla Contemori ◽  
Sabrina Mossman ◽  
Alba K. Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Implicit Learning ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
First Language ◽  
Exposure Phase ◽  
Pronoun Resolution ◽  
Null Subject ◽  
Subject Pronouns ◽  
Interpretation Biases

Abstract Learners of a nonnull subject language (e.g., English) whose first language (L1) is a null subject language (e.g., Spanish) can show some optionality in the interpretation of overt subject pronouns in the second language (L2). By exposing L2 learners to nativelike interpretations of pronouns in discourse, we aim at understanding how exposure can promote implicit learning of pronoun comprehension biases in a L2. A sentence comprehension task was used with intermediate-proficiency English L2 speakers (L1 Spanish) that included a pretest, an exposure phase using the priming technique, an immediate posttest, and a delayed posttest administered 6–10 days later. English learners showed a significant increase in nativelike pronoun interpretations both in the immediate posttest and in the delayed posttest, in comparison to the pretest. The results show that exposure through priming can be effective in changing L2 participants’ interpretations and that effects of exposure are persistent and may aid in the successful acquisition of pronoun resolution biases.

Motion Lexicalization in Chinese among Heritage Language Children in Canada

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 272-296
Author(s):  
Youran Lin ◽  
Elena Nicoladis
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
Heritage Language Speakers ◽  
Two Age Groups

Heritage language speaking children often show signs of attrition, particularly as they get older and are educated in the majority language of the society where they live. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that simplification is one process of attrition for heritage language speakers. We tested this hypothesis on the expression of motion events among children who are first language speakers of Mandarin Chinese and early second language speakers of English, the majority language in this community. We compared their motion expressions to those of monolingual Mandarin-speaking children living in mainland China. Two age groups were included: younger children (4-6 years, not yet in school) and older children (8-10 years; in school for two to five years). The children watched a cartoon and recounted the story. We coded the motion expressions used in their retellings. The results showed that the older bilingual children showed clear signs of attrition, particularly simplification, but also some signs of cross-linguistic influence from English. These results suggest that attrition in a heritage language can quickly follow the onset of schooling in the majority language.

Effects of reading span and plausibility in the reanalysis of wh-gaps by Chinese-English second language speakers

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 443-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola E. Dussias ◽  
Pilar Piñar
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Gap Analysis ◽  
First Language ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Reading Span ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
Wh Questions ◽  
The Individual

This study utilizes a moving window technique to investigate how individual cognitive resources (operationalized in terms of reading span scores) might modulate the extent to which native English speakers and Chinese second language (L2) learners of English utilize plausibility information to recover from an initial misparse in the processing of long-distance wh-questions. Consistent with findings in the previous literature, both groups postulated a filler-gap dependency at the earliest possible position. This was evidenced by subject—object extraction parsing asymmetries that were indicative of an initially incorrect filler-gap analysis. Additionally, it was found that plausibility did not prevent initial misparses, but affected how fast participants recovered from misanalysis, with implausible analyses facilitating recovery. However, only the English L2 participants in the higher span group resembled English native readers in their ability to exploit plausibility information in this way. We conclude that the individual cognitive resources of the learner are an important factor in determining the extent to which sentence processing might be qualitatively similar or different in a first language (L1) and a second language.

Taboo words and reprimands elicit greater autonomic reactivity in a first language than in a second language

2003 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 561-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
CATHERINE L. HARRIS ◽  
AYŞE AYÇIÇEĞI ◽  
JEAN BERKO GLEASON
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Skin Conductance ◽  
First Language ◽  
Autonomic Arousal ◽  
Autonomic Reactivity ◽  
Subjective Experiences ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
Taboo Words

Second language speakers commonly acknowledge that taboo terms can be uttered with greater ease in their second language (L2) than in their first language (L1). To investigate this phenomenon psychophysiologically, 32 Turkish–English bilinguals rated a variety of stimuli for pleasantness in Turkish (L1) and English (L2) while skin conductance was monitored via fingertip electrodes. Participants demonstrated greater autonomic arousal to taboo words and childhood reprimands (“Shame on you!”) in their L1 compared to their L2. This finding provides quantifiable support for the subjective experiences of L2 speakers.

scholarly journals Speaking and Hearing With an Accent

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Archibald
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Natural State ◽  
The Unconscious ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Japanese Speaker ◽  
Muscular Coordination ◽  
Do So

When we speak a second language, we tend to do so with an accent. An accent is a change of the sounds of the second language, often the result of the influence of the first language. For example, an English speaker might produce French with English “r” sounds. Accents result from more than just poor muscular coordination. Second-language speakers are drawing on the unconscious rules that they already know about their first language. This body of knowledge influences not only how people speak a second language but also how they hear it. If a Japanese speaker is not accurately producing a distinction between an “l” and “r” sound, it is likely that the same individual will have difficulty accurately hearing the difference between the two sounds. Ultimately, bilingualism is a natural state for the human brain, even when we are speaking or listening with an accent.

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