Language Transfer in Language Learning

246 Pages·1992·21.65 MB·English

by  Susan M. Gass

LANGUAGE TRANSFER IN LANGUAGE LEARNING
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION & LANGUAGE DISORDERS
EDITORS
Harald Clahsen William Rutherford
Universität Düsseldorf University of Southern California
EDITORIAL BOARD
Melissa Bowerman (Max Planck Institut für Psycholinguistik, Nijmegen)
Patricia Clancy (University of Southern California)
Werner Deutsch (Universität Braunschweig)
Kenji Hakuta (University of California at Santa Cruz)
Kenneth Hyltenstam (University of Stockholm)
Peter Jordens (Free University, Amsterdam)
Barry McLaughlin (University of California at Santa Cruz)
Jürgen Meisel (Universität Hamburg)
Anne Mills (University of Amsterdam)
Csaba Pleh (University of Budapest)
Michael Sharwood Smith (University of Utrecht)
Catherine Snow (Harvard University)
Jürgen Weissenborn (Max Planck Institut für Psycholinguistik, Nijmegen)
Lydia White (McGill University)
Helmut Zobl (Carleton University, Ottawa)
Volume 5
Susan M. Gass and Larry Selinker (eds)
Language Transfer in Language Learning
LANGUAGE TRANSFER
IN
LANGUAGE LEARNING
REVISED EDITION
Edited by
SUSAN M. GASS
Michigan State University
LARRY SELINKER
University of Michigan
JOHN BENJAMINS PUBLISHING COMPANY
AMSTERDAM/PHILADELPHIA
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences — Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Language transfer in language learning / edited by Susan M. Gass and Larry Selinker.
p. cm. -- (Language acquisition and language disorders, ISSN 0925-0123; v. 5)
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Language transfer (Language learning) 2. Interlanguage (Language learning) 3. Sec­
ond language acquisition. I. Gass, Susan M. II. Selinker, Larry, 1937- . III. Series.
P118.25.L36 1992
401'.93 -- dc20 92-23741
ISBN 90 272 2469 2 (Eur.) / 1-55619-241-X (US) (Hb.; alk. paper) CIP
ISBN 90 272 2476 5 (Eur.) / 1-55619-248-7 (US) (Pb.; alk. paper)
© Copyright 1993 - John Benjamins B.V.
Reprinted with corrections: 1994
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or
any other means, without written permission from the publisher.
John Benjamins Publishing Co. • P.O. Box 75577 • 1070 AN Amsterdam • The Netherlands
John Benjamins North America • 821 Bethlehem Pike • Philadelphia, PA 19118 • USA
To the memory of S. Pit Corder
whose contributions have greatly influenced this book as well as much of the
thinking in the field of Second Language Acquisition

CONTENTS
List of Contributors
Preface
1. Introduction 1
Susan Gass, Larry Selinker
2. A Role for the Mother Tongue 18
S Pit Corder
3. A New Account of Language Transfer 32
Jacquelyn Schachter
4. Verification of Language Transfer 47
Josh Ard, Taco Homburg
5. Transfer and Universal s in Second Language Epenthesis
Ellen Broselow 71
6. Language Transfer and the Acquisition of Pronouns 87
Jeanette K. Gundel, Elaine E. Tarone
7. Rhetorical Transfer in Apachean English 101
H. Guillermo Bartelt
8. Interethnic Conversation and Second Language Acquisition:
Discourse Accent Revi sited 109
Robin C. Scarcella
9. The Cognitive Function of Case Marking in German as a Native
and a Foreign Language 138
Peter Jordens
10. Prior Linguistic Knowledge and the Conservation of the Learning
Procedure: Grammaticality Judgments of Unilingual and Multilingual
Learners 176
Helmut Zobl
11. Language Transfer And Fossilization: The "Multiple Effects Principle" 197
Larry Selinker, Usha Lakshmanan
12. Universal Grammar: Is it Just a New Name for Old Problems? 217
Lydia White
Afterword
List of Contributors
Josh Ard, Okemos, Michigan
Guillermo Bartelt, California State University, Northridge
Ellen Broselow, SUNY-Stony Brook
S. Pit Cordert
Jeanette Gundel, University of Minnesota
Taco Homburg
Peter Jordens, University of Amsterdam
Usha Lakshmanan, Southern Illinois University
Robin Scarcella, University of California, Irvine
Jacquelyn Schachter, University of Oregon
Larry Selinker, University of London, Birkbeck College
Elaine Tarone, University of Minnesota
Lydia White, McGill University
Helmut Zobl, Carleton University
Preface
This volume of studies on Language Transfer presents an array of ap­
proaches to this important subarea of second language acquisition. As is de­
tailed in the introduction to this book, the study of the influence of the native
language has undergone significant changes over the past few decades. Yet,
despite the changes in importance attached to language transfer, it has
emerged as an area of study central to the entire discipline of second language
acquisition.
A prior book on Language Transfer (1983) formed the impetus for this
volume. At the time that book appeared, some major rethinking in the field
regarding the concept of language transfer was beginning to take place. Since
that time, we have seen that same reconceptualization of language transfer
take an important place in the field and form the basis for current thinking.
This book, through a mix of reprinted papers from the earlier edition of
Language Transfer studies (Corder, Schachter, and Ard and Homburg), re­
vised and updated papers (Broselow, Gundel and Tarone, Bartelt, and
Scarcella) and new papers (Jordens, Zobl, Selinker and Lakshmanan, and
White), presents the reader with a 'run through history' culminating in a focus
on current issues and current theoretical models. The Afterword pulls
together many of the concepts current in second language thinking.
There are many to whom thanks are due for their contribution and as­
sistance in putting this volume together. First, we would like to thank the se­
ries editors for their faith and encouragement in this project. It is their vision
which helped us in our thinking and rethinking of the makeup of this book.
Cornells Vaes from John Benjamins was ever so prompt and patient in his re­
sponses to our mundane questions. Our ever-trusting fax machines allowed
Mr. Vaes to answer transatlantic questions in a matter of minutes. Finally, In­
dia Plough has been the backbone of this project. She has played the major
role in getting some of the details worked out both in the content of individual
papers and the format for producing this volume. We are indebted to her
competence, good naturedness and sense of humour from beginning to end.