The aim of the paper is to find out whether grammatical contrasts between German and English imply the frequent occurrence of errors with regard to tenses, aspect, and relative pronouns/clauses. The work is based on the assumption that contrasts between the two languages do cause frequent errors, although there are also others factors contributing to it, such as age, years of exposure, language aptitude, and motivation.
The first part of the paper deals with the concept of language ‘transfer’ in general, touching issues, such as the description of the highly discussed concept, the role it plays in language learning, differences between positive and negative ‘transfer’, some variant forms of negative ‘transfer’, namely the production of non-target-like forms, overproduction, and avoidance as well as two different views of transfer, which are CA and EA. The second part of the paper includes a data analysis, which focuses exclusively on selected grammatical differences. Contrasting categories considered in the analysis are tenses, aspect, and relative pronouns/clauses. Unlike contrastive analysis, grammatical differences between the two languages will not only be considered theoretically, but also authentically produced learner utterances will be examined in terms of the errors which can be attributed to contrasts between German and English. For this purpose, samples of learner language by German learners of English collected in the ICLE will be made use of – with particular regard to expected errors due to contrasts between the two languages. In this vein, both qualitative and quantitative analyses of the errors will be applied.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. What is Language ‘Transfer‘?
2.1 The Concept and its Origins
2.2 Positive ‘Transfer’ vs. Negative ‘Transfer’
2.3 Different Forms of Negative ‘Transfer’
3. Methodology and Procedure in Data Analysis
4. Contrasts between German and English as Potential Sources of Errors
4.1 Tenses
4.2 Aspect
4.3 Relative Pronouns/Clauses
5. Conclusion
6. References
7. Appendix
7.1 Table 1: Tenses in English and German
7.2 Table 2: Problems with ‘Present Perfect’ vs. ‘Past’
7.3 Table 3: Correct vs. Incorrect Use of the ‘to Be Going to Future’
7.4 Table 4: Aspect Marking of the Verbs to Make and to Hear
7.5 Table 5: Relative Pronouns in German and English
7.6 Table 6: Problems in the Distinction between Non-defining and Defining Relative Clauses
Research Objectives and Themes
The primary aim of this work is to determine whether grammatical contrasts between German and English lead to frequent errors among German learners of English, specifically regarding tenses, aspect, and relative pronouns/clauses. By employing both qualitative and quantitative analyses based on the International Corpus of Learner English (ICLE), the study moves from a theoretical framework to authentic evidence of cross-linguistic influence.
- Examination of language 'transfer' and its controversial status in second language acquisition.
- Comparative analysis of grammatical systems: Tenses, Aspect, and Relative Clauses.
- Investigation of negative 'transfer' and interference as primary sources of learner errors.
- Validation of contrastive predictions through corpus-based data analysis.
Excerpt from the publication
4.1 Tenses
Tense is a category to place a situation in time, a rough “three-term distinction between ‘past tense’, ‘present tense’ and ‘future tense’, depending on whether a situation is located before, around or after the moment of speech” was established (König/Gast 20092: 80, cf. Quirk et al. 1985: 175-176). In both English and German six major tenses can be further distinguished (Table 1, p. 25). The tenses in German are labeled ‘Präsens’, ‘Präteritum’, ‘Futur I’, ‘Perfekt’, ‘Plusquamperfekt/Präteritumsperfekt’, and ‘Futur II/Futurperfekt’ (cf. Duden 20067), each having roughly its equivalent in English, namely ‘present’, ‘past’, ‘future’, ‘present perfect’, ‘past perfect’, and ‘future perfect’. In this classification of the English tenses, the suggestion of König and Gast will be followed, as most English grammars regard the progressive forms also as tenses, which they are only to a limited extent, since they are markers of aspectuality as opposed to tenses, which will be discussed later.
The six tenses in both languages provide us with a common ground as the basis for the comparative analysis. However, as König and Gast rightfully remark, the formal categories may be the same, but their meaning and use are very different as to ‘Perfekt’ vs. ‘present perfect’ and regarding the future tenses. The other tenses as well as the passive and conditional forms need not be considered further at this point, as they display no major differences resulting in errors between English and German.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Presents the scope of the research and argues that grammatical differences between German and English contribute significantly to learner errors, which are analyzed using the ICLE.
2. What is Language ‘Transfer‘?: Provides a theoretical foundation for the concept of 'transfer,' discusses its evolution from behaviorist roots, and explains key subcategories like positive and negative transfer.
3. Methodology and Procedure in Data Analysis: Describes the approach used to validate theoretical predictions through both quantitative and qualitative examination of learner errors found within the German subcorpus of the ICLE.
4. Contrasts between German and English as Potential Sources of Errors: Performs a detailed comparative analysis focusing on three specific linguistic areas: tenses, aspect, and relative clauses, illustrating observed errors with corpus examples.
5. Conclusion: Synthesizes the findings, confirming that while some predictions about learner errors were verified, the influence of the native language remains complex and dependent on various factors.
6. References: Lists the academic literature and corpora used to support the theoretical and analytical arguments of the study.
7. Appendix: Contains comprehensive statistical tables detailing the results of the corpus queries for each grammatical area investigated.
Keywords
Language transfer, cross-linguistic influence, learner errors, German learners of English, ICLE, tenses, aspect, relative clauses, contrastive analysis, error analysis, negative transfer, morphosyntax, corpus linguistics, interlanguage, grammatical interference.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this research paper?
The paper examines the phenomenon of cross-linguistic influence, specifically how the German mother tongue impacts the learning and production of English grammar among advanced German students.
Which linguistic fields are prioritized in this study?
The research focuses on three major grammatical areas: tenses (particularly the use of 'present perfect' vs. 'past'), aspect, and the formation of relative pronouns and clauses.
What is the central research question?
The study asks whether grammatical differences between German and English correlate with a frequent occurrence of errors in the learners' output, aiming to validate this via corpus data.
Which methodology is employed to analyze the learner data?
The author uses a 'weak' version of Contrastive Analysis (CA) combined with Error Analysis (EA) to test theoretical predictions against actual produced learner data from the ICLE corpus.
What is covered in the main body of the work?
The main body bridges theory and practice; it defines the concept of 'transfer', outlines the methodology, and then conducts a deep comparative analysis of specific grammatical categories with supporting corpus evidence.
Which keywords best characterize this research?
Key terms include Language Transfer, Cross-linguistic Influence, ICLE, Contrastive Analysis, Error Analysis, Tenses, and Relative Clauses.
How does this document distinguish between ‘Positive’ and ‘Negative’ transfer?
Positive transfer leads to a convergence between native and non-native speaker behaviors, while negative transfer results in linguistic errors, interference, and divergence from target language norms.
What specific problem does the analysis identify with relative clauses?
The study identifies frequent errors in comma placement for relative clauses, which the author attributes to the lack of a clear distinction between defining and non-defining relative clauses in the German language.
What is the significance of the ‘Present Perfect’ findings?
The author finds a high error rate where learners use the 'present perfect' when the 'past tense' is required, identifying the German 'Perfekt' as a primary source of this interference.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Anonym (Autor:in), 2010, The Role of the German Mother Tongue for the Acquisition of Grammatical Structures of English, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1360143
