L1 transfer in article selection for generic reference by Spanish, Turkish and Japanese L2 learners

Authors

  • Neal Snape Gunma Prefectural Women's University
  • María del Pilar García Mayo Universidad del País Vasco
  • Ayşe Gürel Boğaziçi University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.6018/ijes/2013/1/138701
Keywords: L1 transfer, L2 acquisition, NP-level generics, sentence-level generics, articles, English, Spanish, Turkish, Japanese

Supporting Agencies

  • Spanish Ministry of Education and the Basque Government. The Turkish Academy of Science and the Boğaziçi University Scientific Research Fund.

Abstract

This study examines second language (L2) acquisition of English generic noun phrases (NPs) by Spanish, Turkish and Japanese learners. The aim is to identify the role of the first language (L1) in the L2 acquisition of definite NP-level generics and indefinite sentence-level generics with singular, bare plural, and mass generic nouns. The four languages in this study differ in the way they express generic interpretations: English and Spanish have article systems, Turkish has an indefinite article, but no definite article, and Japanese lacks an article system. Advanced and upper intermediate L2 learners were tested via a forced choice elicitation task. The results reveal different patterns of article selection across the three groups of L2 learners, which correspond with L1 transfer effects. Our findings suggest that L2 article choice is largely determined by the way the L1 realizes generic reference.

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Author Biographies

Neal Snape, Gunma Prefectural Women's University

Neal Snape works as an Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics at Gunma Prefectural Women’s University, Japan. He holds a B.A. in Language Studies, an M.A. in Applied Linguistics and a Ph.D in Language and Linguistics from the University of Essex. After graduating in 2006, he was employed as a post-doctorate researcher for one year at the University of Calgary. Most of his published work has been on the L2 acquisition of English morpho-syntax (from a generative perspective).

María del Pilar García Mayo, Universidad del País Vasco

María del Pilar García-Mayo is Full Professor of English Language and Linguistics at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). Her research interests include the acquisition of L2/L3 English morphosyntax, the analysis of cognitive factors in L2 learning, task-based language learning and bilingual/multilingual education. She is currently the director of the Language and Speech (www.laslab.org) research group and the MA and Ph.D. programs on Language Acquisition in Multilingual Settings.

Ayşe Gürel, Boğaziçi University

Ayşe Gürel holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from McGill University, Montréal, Canada. She is currently working as an Associate Professor at the Department of Foreign Language Education at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, Turkey. Her research interests include second language acquisition and first language attrition of morpho-syntax, psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic aspects of language acquisition and pathological language loss. Her teaching experience involves courses she has taught at Boğaziçi University, Department of Foreign Language Education and McGill University, Department of Linguistics.

Published
01-04-2013
How to Cite
Snape, N., García Mayo, M. del P., & Gürel, A. (2013). L1 transfer in article selection for generic reference by Spanish, Turkish and Japanese L2 learners. International Journal of English Studies, 13(1), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.6018/ijes/2013/1/138701
Issue
Vol. 13 No. 1 (2013): Open Issue
Section
Articles

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