scholarly journals The Acquisition of Prepositional Meanings in L2 Spanish

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Lam
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Transfer Frequency ◽  
Image Schema ◽  
Linguistic Transfer ◽  
Linguistic Models ◽  
Schema Transformation

This study examines how adult second language learners acquire the different meanings of the Spanish preposition a. Cognitive linguistic models predict that spatial meanings are acquired first, as they are conceptually basic and are the source from which other meanings derive via natural cognitive mechanisms such as metaphor and image-schema transformation (Tyler & Evans, 2003). However, there has been little empirical evidence to support this hypothesis. Results from an oral story-telling task conducted with beginner (N = 10), intermediate (N = 10), and advanced (N = 4) learners suggest that the acquisition of prepositional meanings is not driven solely by cognitive mechanisms, but rather that other non-conceptual factors, such as collocational patterns, cross-linguistic transfer, frequency, and saliency, also play a prominent role. These findings imply that learners approach the multiple varied meanings of a preposition by relying on several different mechanisms simultaneously.

Markedness in Right-edge Syllabification: Parallels across Populations

2002 ◽  
Vol 47 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 151-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Goad
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Emergent Property ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
The Right

AbstractThe position that languages require both coda and onset options for the syllabification of word-final consonants is adopted. The latter option is further divided into languages where final consonants are onsets of empty-headed syllables and those where final consonants are syllabified through onset-nuclear (ON) sharing. ON sharing is reserved for languages where final consonants display fortition (overt release): the nucleus hosts the release of the consonant. Empirical evidence from across populations demonstrates that ON sharing is unmarked. It is favoured among the outputs of first and second language learners and individuals with Specific Language Impairment. It is further argued that final onsets are optimal for parsing in end-state grammars, as they demarcate the right word-edge more effectively than codas. Among the two types of onsets, ON sharing is preferred: through the nuclear release, it is better able to host the range of contrasts that right-edge onsets display. The parsing argument serves to illustrate how ON sharing provides an advantage to end-state grammars, beyond being an emergent property from acquisition.

Morphophonemic transfer in English second language learners

2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 423-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
SZE WEI PING ◽  
SUSAN J. RICKARD LIOW
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
English Word ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Transitional Probability ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
English Second Language ◽  
L1 English

Malay (Rumi) is alphabetic and has a transparent, agglutinative system of affixation. We manipulated language-specific junctural phonetics in Malay and English to investigate whether morphophonemic L1-knowledge influences L2-processing. A morpheme decision task, “Does this <nonword> sound like a mono- or bi-morphemic English word?”, was developed by crossing English Transitional Probability (high vs. low) with Malay Transitional Possibility (possible vs. impossible). The data for Malay-L1/English-L2 adults (N = 21) provide clear and reliable empirical evidence of L1-to-L2 morphophonemic transfer: Participants were more accurate at identifying transitional boundaries in English when they are also possible in Malay. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

Transfer of L1 Parameter Settings: Some Empirical Evidence from Polish Metrics

1992 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Archibald
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Parameter Setting ◽  
Second Language Learner

This paper describes an empirical investigation as to the utility of a principles and parameters model of grammar in describing the interlanguage grammars of second language learners. I argue that the framework of parameterized universal grammar is useful in accounting for second language learner knowledge and behaviour. The vast majority of their errors can be accounted for by the transfer of their first language (L1) parameter setting into the second language (L2).

A longitudinal ERP study of language effects in beginning second language learners

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine J. Midgley ◽  
Laura N. Soskey ◽  
Phillip J. Holcomb ◽  
Jonathan Grainger
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Language Effects
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document