English Inversion in Second Language Acquisition of German Native Speakers

An Empirical Approach

Magisterarbeit , 2007 , 109 Seiten , Note: 3,0

Anglistik - Linguistik

On the basis of questionnaire data, this study seeks to find a tendency for native language
influence in the judgement of German-speaking learners of English. Seeing that the concept
of language transfer has received diverse weight in the history of second language acquisition
(SLA), the present account illuminates the issue anew, with a specific linguistic concern.
Inversion structures, though not canonical, are very frequent in the German language,
whereas the English language offers comparatively rare environments which trigger or allow
for inversions. As previous studies found, language transfer, in regard to word order,
emerged when the native language exhibited flexible word order, and the language to be
learnt, in contrast, had a rather fixed one. This gave rise to the assumption that German
natives would generally accept subject-verb inversion in declarative sentences in English,
even if for a native speaker of English the structure would not be acceptable. Thus, the
second language learners are expected to score high on the acceptability rate for the
majority of instances of inversion in English, since the German equivalents of the test items
are basically quite acceptable in German.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• ABSTRACT
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• LIST OF FIGURES
• LIST OF TABLES
• ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS
• I INTRODUCTION
• I. Preamble
• 1.2 Review of related studies
• 1.3 Explicit Hypotheses and scope of the study
• 2 SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
• 2.1 History and theories of SLA
• 2.1.1 The Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis
• 2.1.2 Error Analysis
• 2.1.3 The Interlanguage Hypothesis
• 2.1.4 The Monitor Model
• 2.2 Reappraising transfer
• 3 TOWARDS AN UNDERSTANDING OF INVERSION
• 3.1 Inversion types in English
• 3.2 Theoretical preliminaries
• 3.3 Inversion in English and in German
• 3.4 Summary
• METHOD
• 4.1 Participants
• 4.1.1 Learner-based factors
• 4.1.2 Language-based factors
• 4.2 Material
• 4.2.1 Questionnaire I
• 4.2.2 Questionnaire 2
• 4.2.3 Questionnaire 3
• 4.3 Procedure
• 4.4 Coding issues
• 5 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS
• 5.1 Learner judgements of negative inversion
• 5.2 Learner judgements of locative inversion with different semantic values of its initial PP
• 5.3 Learner judgements of locative inversion with varying degrees of subject complexity
• 5.4 Discussion
• 6 CONCLUSION
• REFERENCES
• APPENDIX
• DEUTSCHE ZUSAMMENFASSUNG DER ARBEIT

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This study investigates the influence of the native language on the judgements of German-speaking learners of English, focusing on the concept of language transfer. Specifically, it examines the acceptability of inversion structures in English, which are less frequent than in German, where they are common. The study aims to understand how learners perceive and judge these structures, and to analyze the potential influence of their native language background.

• Language transfer and its influence on second language acquisition
• The role of inversion structures in English and German
• The perception and acceptability of inversion structures by German-speaking learners of English
• The impact of learner factors (e.g., proficiency level, learning experience) on judgements of inversion structures
• The relationship between the frequency of inversion in the native and target language

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

The study begins with an introduction that reviews existing research on language transfer and provides a detailed overview of inversion structures in English and German. It outlines the study's hypotheses and methodology. Chapter 2 delves into the history and theories of second language acquisition (SLA), including the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis, Error Analysis, the Interlanguage Hypothesis, and the Monitor Model. Chapter 3 focuses on understanding inversion structures in both English and German. It provides a comprehensive analysis of different types of inversion in English and examines their theoretical underpinnings. The "METHOD" section outlines the research design, including the participants, materials, procedure, and coding issues. The "ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS" section presents the findings of the study, examining learner judgements of negative inversion, locative inversion with varying semantic values and subject complexities. Finally, the conclusion summarizes the key findings and discusses the implications of the study.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

This study focuses on the key concepts of second language acquisition, language transfer, inversion structures, grammatical judgments, and learner proficiency. It examines how these concepts interact and influence the learning process, specifically in the context of German native speakers learning English. The study utilizes empirical data from questionnaires to analyze learner perceptions of inversion structures and the potential impact of their native language background. This research delves into the complexities of language learning and the role of cross-linguistic influence in shaping grammatical judgments.

• Hochschule: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
• Note: 3,0
• Autor: M.A. Theresa Schmidt (Autor:in)
• Erscheinungsjahr: 2007
• Seiten: 109
• Katalognummer: V121012
• ISBN (eBook): 9783640249350
• ISBN (Buch): 9783640249442
• Sprache: Englisch
• Schlagworte: English, Inversion, Second, Language, Acquisition, German, Native, Speakers