The Department of French & Italian presents a Gertrude Force Weathers lecture by
Julia Herschensohn
Transfer, Superficial Morphology and Parameters in Advanced L2 French DP
Monday, November 24, 2008
5:30 pm
Maple Room, IMU
Abstract: This study presents longitudinal data from three advanced L2 learners of French (L1 English) regarding L2 French determiner errors of [-definite] nouns (same as L1) and accuracy of gender/number concord (parametrically different from L1). An ongoing debate concerning the L2 morphosyntax interface involves the acquisition of uninterpretable features of functional categories parametrically distinct from L1 values. We argue that the categorical question of whether or not parameters can be reset in L2 acquisition should be rephrased in gradient terms of processing interference. As for similarities, transfer, even on a superficial level, can only account for one error type. We again look to processing interference, whereby even features that are the same in L1 and L2 may be difficult to realize in the new morphology, resulting in collateral errors and L2 variability.
About the Speaker: Julia Herschensohn is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Washington. Her recent work explores the role of Universal Grammar and the nature of morphological learning in second language acquisition, focusing on French and Spanish. Recent articles expand ideas presented in the 2000 research monograph The Second Time Around: Minimalism and L2 acquisition, in which she argues that second language acquisition may draw on UG constraints, but is accomplished through the progressive mastery of morpho-lexical constructions and with the deployment of a coalition of domain specific resources and cognitive learning strategies. Her latest book Language Development and Age was published by Cambridge University Press in 2007.
Sponsored by the Gertrude Force Weathers Fund of the Department of French & Italian with support from the Department of Linguistics.
If you have a disability and need assistance, accommodations can be made to meet most needs. Please call 855-5458.
