A Dictionary of Language Acquisition_A Comprehensive Overview of Key Terms in First and Second Language Acquisition

415 Pages·2013·1.57 MB·english

by  Hossein Tavakoli

A Dictionary of Language Acquisition
A Comprehensive Overview of Key Terms in First and Second
Language Acquisition
A Dictionary of Language
Acquisition

A Comprehensive Overview of Key Terms in First and

Second Language Acquisition

Hossein Tavakoli
-1355 ،ﻦﻴﺴﺣ ،ﻲﻠﻛﻮﺗ :ﻪﺳﺎﻨﺷﺮﺳ
Tavakoli, Hossein
A Dictionary of Language Acquisition: A Comprehensive Overview of :روآﺪﻳﺪﭘ مﺎﻧ و ناﻮﻨﻋ
Key Terms in First and Second Language Acquistion/ Hossein Tavakoli
م2012 =1391 ،ﺎﻤﻨﻫر :ناﺮﻬﺗ :ﺮﺸﻧ تﺎﺼﺨﺸﻣ
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...ﺞﻳاﻮﮕﻨﻟ وآ يﺮﻨﺸﻜﻳد :ناﻮﻨﻋ ﻲﺴﻳﻮﻧاوآ
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نﺎﺑﺎﻴﺧ ﺶﺒﻧ ،ﻦﻳدروﺮﻓ نﺎﺑﺎﻴﺧ ،ناﺮﻬﺗ هﺎﮕﺸﻧاد ﻞﺑﺎﻘﻣ :سردآ ،ﺎﻤﻨﻫر تارﺎﺸﺘﻧا :ﺮﺷﺎﻧ ،ﻪﺨﺴﻧ 1000 :ژاﺮﻴﺗ ،1391 :لوا پﺎﭼ
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ژﺎﺳﺎﭘ ناﺮﻬﺗ هﺎﮕﺸﻧاد ﻞﺑﺎﻘﻣ ،ﺎﻤﻨﻫر بﺎﺘﻛ هﺎﮕﺸﻳﺎﻤﻧ ،77482505 :ﻦﻔﻠﺗ ،ﻲﻳاﻮﻫ يوﺮﻴﻧ مﻮﺳ نﺎﺑﺎﻴﺧ ﺶﺒﻧ يزوﺮﻴﭘ نﺎﺑﺎﻴﺧ
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ﺖﺳا ظﻮﻔﺤﻣﺮﺷﺎﻧياﺮﺑ پﺎﭼ ﻖﺣ
To my parents
Introduction

The function of “A dictionary of language acquisition: A comprehensive
overview of key terms in first and second language acquisition” is to collect
and synthesize the knowledge base that is already well accepted and that has
been well researched. Thus, it is a reference guide which offers an authorita-
tive and encyclopedic survey of key terms and concepts in the areas of lan-
guage acquisition and development. The volume is intended as a resource to
elucidate various concepts, issues, approaches, models, and theories of lan-
guage acquisition in an efficient and accessible style. This book makes use of
approximately 1000 alphabetical entries with cross references where neces-
sary. Cross-referencing is achieved in several ways. Within each entry, any
term that is itself a key idea with its own entry is printed in SMALL CAPITAL
LETTERS on first use. There are also in-text entries that are defined within the
body of the paragraph and are printed in bold letters. Other entries that are
related to the term at issue that might be of interest and further investigation
are either provided in the main text or listed at the end of each entry under
‘see’ and ‘see also’ respectively. In this volume, the sign  has also been
used for representing the sources from which the materials have been direct-
ly or indirectly reproduced or adapted.
This volume is designed to appeal to undergraduate and graduate students,
teachers, lecturers, practitioners, researchers, consultants, and consumers of
information across the field of both first and second language acquisition.
I would very much welcome reactions and comments from readers, especial-
ly relating to points where I may have lapsed or strayed from accuracy of
meaning, consistency of style, etc., in the interests of improving coverage
and treatment for future editions.

Hossein Tavakoli 2012
[e-mail]
absolute implicational universals
a term referring to features which are found without exception in languages,
if some other feature is found. For example:

• Phonology. If a language has mid vowels, then it has high vowels. Thus
not all languages have one of /i, u/, but if a language has a mid vowel /e,
o, ɛ, ɔ/, then it has at least one of /i, u/.

• Morphology. If a language distinguishes the categories ‘dual’ (i.e., exact-
ly 2 in number) and ‘singular’ in its pronouns, it distinguishes the catego-
ry ‘plural’ as well. Many languages distinguish singular and plural pro-
nouns, as in English he/she versus they, and I versus we (a distinction ab-
sent in the 2nd person: you singular and plural). But relatively few lan-
guages distinguish singular and dual, as does Arabic, which also has plu-
rals.

• Syntax. If a language has relative clauses, it has relative clauses whose
heads are coreferential with the subject of the clause, as in the first exam-
ple of 1-4, below. In the three other examples, the head of the clause is
coreferential with a direct object, indirect object, and object of a preposi-
tion, respectively.

a) people [who lend their cars to friends for dates]
b) cars [which people lend to friends for dates]
c) friends [who people lend their cars (to) for dates]
d) dates [which people lend their cars to friends for]

Even though all languages have relative clauses (an ABSOLUTE NON-
IMPLICATIONAL UNIVERSAL), not all of the types of relative clauses are found
in all languages. Only the first, subject type, is always found. If one of the
other types is found, the types above it in the hierarchy are also found, as in
the following rankings:

1 2 3 4
Subject < object < indirect object > other propositional object
2 absolute non-implicational universals

If there are relative calluses of type 4, then there are such clauses of type 3,
etc. This hierarchy of possibilities is known as noun phrase accessibility (see
ACCESSIBILITY HIERARCHY)
see also NON-IMPLICATIONAL UNIVERSAL TENDENCIES, IMPLICATIONAL UNI-
VERSAL TENDENCIES
 Hudson 2000

absolute non-implicational universals
a term referring to features which appear to be found without exceptions in
languages. Some of these concern MARKEDNESS, the relationship of relative
expectedness, likelihood, and often, evident simplicity between contrastive
phonological or morphological features of language. For example:

• Phonology. An important type of absolute non-implicational universal of
phonology and morphology concerns markedness between contrastive
phones or features of phones. The phone or phonetic feature which is
more common and has other characteristics expected of the more com-
mon and presumably more basic category is said to be unmarked. The
phone or feature which contrasts with the unmarked phone or feature is
said to be marked. Some unmarked and marked phonological categories
are:

Unmarked Marked
• [-aspirated] stops [+aspirated] stops
• [-voiced] obstruents [+voiced] obstruents
• [+voiced] sonorants [-voiced] sonorants
• labiodental fricatives bilabial fricatives
• [-nasal] vowels [+nasal] vowels
• [+round] back vowels [-round] back vowels

Unmarked categories have some or all of the following characteristics,
which explain their relative commonality:

a) Greater frequency (likelihood of occurrence) across languages
b) Greater frequency within a language
c) Less restricted context of occurrence
d) Presence in contexts where marked categories are absent (e.g., voiceless
obstruents appear word-finally where voiced stops and fricatives are ab-
sent in many languages, including Russian, German, Turkish, etc.)
e) Greater number of variants; thus there are more coronal consonants pho-
nemes than consonants phonemes at the other places of articulations.
(English, for example, has coronal (alveolar) stops and fricatives, a nasal
absolute non-implicational universals 3

/n/, and alveolar /l/; the labials, dorsals (velars), and glottals are consid-
erably fewer)
f) Simpler or lesser form

The term ‘unmarked’ is most appropriate for a category with lesser form,
which may be said to be lesser in form by lacking the mark of a marked cat-
egory. The correlation of greater frequency and lesser form is itself a univer-
sal tendency, known as ZIPF’S LAW. Often unmarked categories are found to
fulfill the additional characteristics of being earlier learned by children. Eng-
lish learning children, for example, often have voiceless obstruents for adult
word-final voiced obstruents.
Among other absolute non-implicational phonological universals are:

a) All languages have consonants and vowels.
b) All languages have at least one voiceless stop, such as [p, t, k].
c) All languages have syllables consisting of a consonant followed by one
vowel (CV syllables).

• Morphology. Among the contrastive morphological contrastive morpho-
logical categories are singular versus plural, masculine versus feminine,
and animate versus inanimate. For each of these, the former is unmarked
and the latter marked. Concerning singular versus plural, for example:

a) Singulars are much more frequent than plurals, across languages.
b) Singulars often occur where plurals are absent; thus in many lan-
guages when a plural number is present the plural form of nouns is
avoided. In English, plurality must ordinarily be marked on plural
count noun; however, when speaking of measurements we say, for
example, a seven foot door and not a seven feet door.
c) Singulars typically have more variants, as in English third-person
pronouns, which distinguish masculine, feminine, and neuter singular
he, she, it versus only they for the plural.
d) Singular nouns are typically unaffixed while plurals are affixed. Ex-
ceptional languages are quite rare, such as Ethiopian Cushitic Sidamo
which has a singular suffix as well as plural suffixes. In all such lan-
guages, noun number may go unexpressed, so the singular suffix is
still less frequent than the plural suffix of other languages.

Among other absolute non-implicational morphological universals are: All
languages have nouns and verbs. That is, all languages have two morpheme
classes with characteristics ordinarily recognized as those of nouns and
verbs—nouns, for example functioning as subjects and objects of verbs,
forming plurals, taking determiners, etc., and verbs expressing tense, aspect
4 academic competence

and modality, often showing agreement with a subject, etc. Also, all lan-
guages have a negative morpheme, whether for verbs or nouns, or both.

• Syntax. All languages have relative clause, clauses within noun phrases
which modify the head noun of the clause.

see also NON-IMPLICATIONAL UNIVERSAL TENDENCIES, ABSOLUTE IMPLICA-
TIONAL UNIVERSALS, IMPLICATIONAL UNIVERSAL TENDENCIES
 Hudson 2000

academic competence
the knowledge needed by learners who want to use the L2 primarily to learn
about other subjects, or as a tool in scholarly research, or as a medium in a
specific professional or occupational field. Learners with such a goal should
concentrate above all on acquiring the specific vocabulary of their field or
subject area, and on developing knowledge that enables them to read rele-
vant texts fluently in that subject area. If language learners plan to study the
subject at an L2-medium university, beyond specific vocabulary knowledge
and reading ability, they must also put a high priority on processing oral L2
input during lectures and class discussions, i.e., on developing the ability to
engage successfully in academic listening. Further, they are likely to need
proficiency in L2 academic writing in order to display their knowledge on
examinations that may be required for university admission and to earn aca-
demic degrees. Many students need to develop L2 writing proficiency for the
academic purposes of producing term papers or theses, and researchers may
need to do so for publishing articles for international information exchange.
Developing L2 academic reading, listening, and writing proficiency, howev-
er, does not necessarily require fluent speaking ability, particularly for learn-
ers studying the L2 in a foreign language context.
see also INTERPERSONAL COMPETENCE
 Saville-Troike 2006

Accessibility Hierarchy
also Noun Phrase Accessibility Hierarchy, NPAH,, AH
a continuum of relative clause types such that the presence of one type im-
plies the presence of other types higher on the hierarchy. According to them,
all languages that form relative clauses form subject relative clauses; all
those that can form direct object relative clauses can also form subject rela-
tives, and so on down the hierarchy. In addition, certain relative clauses will
be more di cult to process and to acquire in certain roles; the variation will
be both systematic and hierarchical. The Hierarchy predicts universal con-
straints on the order of acquisition of relative clauses by means of an impli-
cational scale which expresses the relative accessibility of relativization of