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The Development of Aspect in a Second Language: What Role for the First Language?

The Development of Aspect in a Second Language: What Role for the First Language?
The Development of Aspect in a Second Language: What Role for the First Language?
This book presents an empirical study on the acquisition of aspect by second language learners of French. Kevin McManus provides a critical assessment of previous research on the acquisition of aspect, turning both to conceptual and empirical work. As a consequence, this book sheds new light on the long-standing question of the contribution of a learner's first language (L1) on their acquisition of a second. Alongside the role of the L1, language universals are also addressed in this study, in which the claims of the Aspect Hypothesis are carefully examined. Data are collected from 75 English- and German-speaking university learners of French. Participants undertook three tasks: two production tasks and a sentence interpretation task. The results show that L1 form-meaning pairings for aspect significantly influence acquisition at the early stages of development. However, as proficiency increases L1 influence begins to recede. Prototypical effects appear to increase with proficiency, contrary to the Aspect Hypothesis.
3845473142
Lambert Academic Publishing
McManus, Kevin
dc5e7ff5-5fc0-4190-a6e7-8bc9ade73c03
McManus, Kevin
dc5e7ff5-5fc0-4190-a6e7-8bc9ade73c03

McManus, Kevin (2011) The Development of Aspect in a Second Language: What Role for the First Language? Saarbrücken, DE. Lambert Academic Publishing 272pp.

Record type: Monograph (Project Report)

Abstract

This book presents an empirical study on the acquisition of aspect by second language learners of French. Kevin McManus provides a critical assessment of previous research on the acquisition of aspect, turning both to conceptual and empirical work. As a consequence, this book sheds new light on the long-standing question of the contribution of a learner's first language (L1) on their acquisition of a second. Alongside the role of the L1, language universals are also addressed in this study, in which the claims of the Aspect Hypothesis are carefully examined. Data are collected from 75 English- and German-speaking university learners of French. Participants undertook three tasks: two production tasks and a sentence interpretation task. The results show that L1 form-meaning pairings for aspect significantly influence acquisition at the early stages of development. However, as proficiency increases L1 influence begins to recede. Prototypical effects appear to increase with proficiency, contrary to the Aspect Hypothesis.

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More information

Published date: September 2011
Organisations: Modern Languages

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Local EPrints ID: 197437
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/197437
ISBN: 3845473142
PURE UUID: 7f4b1ea4-9d78-49e2-8f96-f1c31e4d1a22

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Date deposited: 23 Sep 2011 09:33
Last modified: 10 Dec 2021 19:43

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Contributors

Author: Kevin McManus

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