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.
Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 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
4 METHOD
4.1 Participants
4.1.1 Learner-based factors
4.1.2 Language-based factors
4.2 Material
4.2.1 Questionnaire 1
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
Objectives and Research Focus
This study investigates whether German-speaking learners of English demonstrate native language influence when evaluating the acceptability of various English inversion structures. By utilizing questionnaire data, the research explores whether the higher frequency and productive nature of inversion in German lead these learners to accept English structures that might otherwise be considered unacceptable by native English speakers.
- Impact of native language transfer on the judgement of English inversion.
- Role of cross-linguistic differences in markedness concerning inversion.
- Influence of locative inversion semantics on learner judgements.
- Effect of subject complexity (end-weight) on inversion acceptability.
- Analysis of learner strategies in a classroom setting without explicit instruction.
Excerpt from the Book
1.1 Preamble
Anyone who has ever learned a foreign language is familiar with a range of uncertainties when it comes to situations in which actual confrontation with this language is required. A frequently observed (often in language teaching environments) habit of insecure language learners is to fall back on their native language by transferring (phonological, syntactical, etc.) knowledge to the language which is learnt. Although the influence of the mother tongue in second language acquisition has to be seen as only one amongst a variety of factors which have an impact on the learning process, it is an effective strategy for learners to compensate, for instance, communicative gaps (which are caused by a lack of second language knowledge). In teaching, for instance, knowledge of specific transfer phenomena can help to explicitly detect major sources of error.
In their practical guide for teachers of English, Swan and Smith (1988) explicitly point out which errors are typical of German learners, who are learning English as a foreign language, and which are said to be directly related to native language influence. Particularly illustrative for the central purpose of this study is the following example demonstrating an error in word order:
If the subject of a main clause is preceded by anything other than a conjunction, the subject and verb are inverted [in German, T.S.]:
*On Tuesday have we a holiday. [emphasis in the original]
(Swan and Smith 1988:36)
The grammatical structure exhibited here (erroneously!) is called inversion of subject and verb – although in German inversion principally represents a deviance from the basic word order, namely SVO (though this is not completely accepted), it is much more productive than in English, a language which is more fixed in terms of word order. Inversion per se is a highly complex phenomenon, and numerous attempts have been made (at least in English) to elucidate its purpose.
Summary of Chapters
1 INTRODUCTION: Outlines the motivation for the study, specifically focusing on how German learners perceive word order variations in English, and provides a review of relevant studies.
2 SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: Provides a theoretical overview of SLA, covering the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis, Error Analysis, Interlanguage, and the Monitor Model.
3 TOWARDS AN UNDERSTANDING OF INVERSION: Discusses various types of inversion in English, theoretical frameworks like the Ground-before-Figure model, and contrasts English and German word order.
4 METHOD: Describes the study's design, including participant selection, the use of acceptability judgement questionnaires, and the coding of collected data.
5 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS: Presents the findings from the questionnaires regarding negative and locative inversion, analyzing the data in relation to the initial hypotheses.
6 CONCLUSION: Summarizes the study's findings, notes practical limitations, and suggests directions for future interdisciplinary research on language transfer.
Keywords
Second Language Acquisition, SLA, Inversion, Language Transfer, Contrastive Analysis, Error Analysis, Interlanguage, Acceptability Judgement, Locative Inversion, Negative Inversion, Subject Complexity, Markedness, End-weight, Syntax, Word Order.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary goal of this research?
The study aims to determine if German-speaking learners of English transfer their native language's flexible word order tendencies—specifically regarding inversion structures—when evaluating the acceptability of English sentences.
Which inversion types are specifically examined?
The research focuses on negative inversion and locative inversion, testing learner judgements against varying semantic conditions and subject complexities.
How was the data collected?
Data was gathered through three distinct questionnaires administered to 121 German-speaking students in a classroom environment, utilizing an acceptability judgement task on a 1-4 scale.
Does explicit instruction influence the results?
The study notes that none of the participants received explicit instruction on inversion, suggesting that the observed results are likely driven by broader cognitive strategies like transfer rather than classroom teaching.
What is the role of subject complexity in the findings?
The study confirms that the principle of end-weight applies, with learners showing a higher tendency to accept inversions when the subject is complex ("heavy") compared to when it is a pronoun.
What are the main theoretical foundations of this paper?
The work draws on the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis, Error Analysis, and the Interlanguage Hypothesis to ground its analysis of learner errors and language transfer.
How do German and English differ regarding inversion?
German is characterized by a more flexible word order where inversion is a productive, less marked feature, whereas English is more rigid, making inversion a highly marked phenomenon.
Why did the study categorize results as "indecisive" or "under reserve"?
These categories were used to account for instances where participants identified an error but could not correctly label or fix the syntactic structure, highlighting the uncertainty in learner judgements.
- Quote paper
- M.A. Theresa Schmidt (Author), 2007, English Inversion in Second Language Acquisition of German Native Speakers, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/121012
