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This book takes a hard look at some of the assumptions that are customarily made concerning the role of age in second language acquisition. The evidence and arguments the contributors present run counter to the notion that an early start in second language learning is of itself either absolutely sufficient or necessary for the attainment of native-like mastery of a second language. Another theme of the book is a doubt that there is a particular stage of maturity beyond which language learning is no longer fully possible. In short, the book presents a challenge to those who take it as given that second language learning is inevitably different in its essential nature from language acquisition in the childhood years and that second language knowledge acquired beyond the critical period is in all circumstances and in all respects doomed to fossilize at a non-native-like level.
This volume is a collection of 13 chapters, each devoted to a particular issue that is crucial to our understanding of the way learners acquire, learn, and use an L2 sound system. In addition, it spans both theory and application in L2 phonology. The book is divided into three parts, with each section unified by broad thematic content: Part I, Theoretical Issues and Frameworks in L2 Phonology, lays the groundwork for examining L2 phonological acquisition. Part II, Second Language Speech Perception and Production, examines these two aspects of L2 speech in more detail. Finally, Part III, Technology, Training, and Curriculum, bridges the gap between theory and practice. Each chapter examines theoretical frameworks, major research findings (both classic and recent), methodological issues and choices for conducting research in a particular area of L2 phonology, and major implications of the research findings for more general models of language acquisition and/or pedagogy.
The Handbooks of Applied Linguistics series is based on an understanding of Applied Linguistics as an inter- and transdisciplinary field of academic enquiry. Applied Linguistics deals with the theoretical and empirical investigation of real-world problems in which language and communication are a central issue. The Handbooks of Applied Linguistics provide a state-of-the-art description of established and emerging areas of Applied Linguistics. Each volume gives an overview of the field, identifies most important traditions and their findings, identifies the gaps in current research, and gives perspectives for future directions.
This volume corrects the relative neglect in Second Language Acquisition studies of the quantitative study of language variation and provides insights into such issues as language transfer, acquisition through exposure, language universals, learner's age and so forth. These studies bolster the idea that a full account of SLA development (and, hence, a theory of SLA) must be built on not only detailed accounts of interlanguage data but also on a wide appeal to factors which govern the psycholinguistic bases of SLA. An important addition to the volume is a comprehensive guide to both the DOS and Macintosh versions of the VARBRUL statistical program used by variationists.
The essays in this volume explore the field of contrastive rhetoric--the study of how a person's first language (L1) and culture influence the acquisition of another language. Contrastive rhetoric encourages inquiry into various levels of discourse and text, examining the conventions and rhetorical structures of L1 and their influence on the use of another language. It also studies the cognitive dimensions of transfer in relation to both writing and speech. The four sections of this volume--focusing on writing and translation, diglossia, second language acquisition, and pragmatics--cover a broad spectrum of studies in the field of contrastive rhetoric, with essays by some of its leading scho...
What is most strikingly new about the transcultural is its sudden ubiquity. Following in the wake of previous concepts in cultural and literary studies such as creolization, hybridity, and syncretism, and signalling a family relationship to terms such as transnationality, translocality, and transmigration, 'transcultural' terminology has unobtrusively but powerfully edged its way into contemporary theoretical and critical discourse. The four sections of this volume denote major areas where 'transcultural' questions and problematics have come to the fore: theories of culture and literature that have sought to account for the complexity of culture in a world increasingly characterized by globa...
Highlights the complexity of contact-induced language change throughout the history of English by bringing together cutting-edge research from historical linguistics, variationist sociolinguistics, pidgin/creole linguistics and language acquisition. With contributions from leading experts, the book offers fresh and exciting perspectives as well as an up-to-date overview of the respective fields.
Optimality theory has rapidly become the dominant framework in formal phonological theory. OT fundamentally revises the basic notions of generative grammar, replacing rules and derivations with a system of interacting constraints. Early work in OT tended to concentrate mainly on prosodic phonology and the phonology-morphology interface, and it was not initially clear how the theory could attack the rich range of phenomena found in segmental alterations. However, there is a body of work that concentrates on working out the details of featural phonology with OT, and this work shows that the theory allows superior explanations of the typological possibilities and the underlying motivations for these phenomena. This volume, first published in 2001, brings together work by some of the influential researchers in this area, ranging from the authors of influential dissertations to prominent senior faculty.
The first book to apply the latest methodological analysis to the languages of South Asia, The Teaching and Acquisition of South Asian Languages provides a much needed examination of learners and their learning patterns, language materials and their delivery, classroom environments, and learning conditions beyond the classroom. The contributors, accredited researchers and experienced teachers, test important universal learning hypotheses on "less commonly taught languages" and find that those circumstances have significant implications for theory and practice. The book brings into focus a variety of issues related to linguistic theory, second language acquisition research, non-verbal communication, discourse appropriateness, learner variation, and strategies for developing speaking, listening, and reading skills. It is also a valuable addition to the general body of knowledge in the field of adult language acquisition. A carefully prepared index and an extensive bibliography covering both the South Asian field and general literature enhance the book's usefulness as a reference guide.
Preliminary Material /John P. Kimball --Ambiguity Tests and How to Fail Them /Arnold M. Zwicky and Jerrold M. Sadock --Some Universals for Quantifier Scope /Georgette Ioup --Cause and Control: On the Semantics of Interpersonal Manipulation /Talmy Givón --On Assertive Predicates /Joan B. Hooper --Verbs of Hedging /Per Lysvåg --Predictive Analysis and Over-the-Top Parsing /John P. Kimball --Semantics and Syntax of Motion /Leonard Talmy --Bully for Us /John Grinder and Suzette Haden Elgin --Small Clauses in English /Edwin S. Williams --Subject Index /John P. Kimball.