The Role of Semantics in Prohibiting the Acquisition of a Native-like Semantic Competence

The Role of Semantics in Prohibiting the Acquisition of a Native-like Semantic Competence PDF Author: Zachary R. L. Dickey
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Second language acquisition
Languages : en
Pages : 35

Get Book Here

Book Description
In second language acquisition, semantics assumes a heightened position of importance in regards to achieving target levels of competence. That being said, assuming that the target competence is equal to a native-speaker's, a non-native speaker will never fully reach a native like level of semantic competence. Pulling data from various articles on semantics in SLA, I argue that because of the interaction between language, thought, and cultural reality, the semantics of the L1 will affect the acquisition of the semantics in the L2. The ways that L1 semantics can affect L2 semantics is an area of interest in both cognitive and generative linguistics. The importance of semantics in cognitive and generative linguistics is vastly different: semantics has a minimal role in the generative grammar but a maximized role in cognitive linguistics. Research from both perspectives is valuable to evaluate semantics at the lexical and syntactic level. On the lexical side, Lardiere's (2009) form/feature mapping research shows that when features from the L2 are not a part of the L1--or coded differently--the acquirer will be hampered in regards to the specific feature. This is echoed by Lowie and Verspoor (2004) with their investigation of lexeme/lemma interaction in the acquisition of English prepositions in Dutch speaking learners. For syntax, Ionin et al (2008) shows that the verbal phrase strategies of the L1 can greatly affect the L2, especially when the two languages exhibit great differences in strategies. Athanasiadou (2004) illustrates that the way an L1 structures its temporal phrases and situates them in time is extremely difficult to reconceptualize to the temporal systems of the L2. Although some of the L2 learners studied often showed a near native level of competence, no study found a non-native speaker who equaled a native level of semantic competence.

The Role of Semantics in Prohibiting the Acquisition of a Native-like Semantic Competence

The Role of Semantics in Prohibiting the Acquisition of a Native-like Semantic Competence PDF Author: Zachary R. L. Dickey
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Second language acquisition
Languages : en
Pages : 35

Get Book Here

Book Description
In second language acquisition, semantics assumes a heightened position of importance in regards to achieving target levels of competence. That being said, assuming that the target competence is equal to a native-speaker's, a non-native speaker will never fully reach a native like level of semantic competence. Pulling data from various articles on semantics in SLA, I argue that because of the interaction between language, thought, and cultural reality, the semantics of the L1 will affect the acquisition of the semantics in the L2. The ways that L1 semantics can affect L2 semantics is an area of interest in both cognitive and generative linguistics. The importance of semantics in cognitive and generative linguistics is vastly different: semantics has a minimal role in the generative grammar but a maximized role in cognitive linguistics. Research from both perspectives is valuable to evaluate semantics at the lexical and syntactic level. On the lexical side, Lardiere's (2009) form/feature mapping research shows that when features from the L2 are not a part of the L1--or coded differently--the acquirer will be hampered in regards to the specific feature. This is echoed by Lowie and Verspoor (2004) with their investigation of lexeme/lemma interaction in the acquisition of English prepositions in Dutch speaking learners. For syntax, Ionin et al (2008) shows that the verbal phrase strategies of the L1 can greatly affect the L2, especially when the two languages exhibit great differences in strategies. Athanasiadou (2004) illustrates that the way an L1 structures its temporal phrases and situates them in time is extremely difficult to reconceptualize to the temporal systems of the L2. Although some of the L2 learners studied often showed a near native level of competence, no study found a non-native speaker who equaled a native level of semantic competence.

Semantic Competence

Semantic Competence PDF Author: Ryo Tanaka
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
The purpose of this dissertation is to answer the following question that falls in the intersection of philosophy of language and epistemology: is there any distinctive kind of knowledge that one might possess, merely in virtue of being a native, competent speaker of a certain natural language? When this is expressed as a question specifically about meaning, intuitions may support an affirmative answer. Philosophers of language often emphasize that human language use is essentially a rational activity and as such it must be rationally controlled by what speakers know about meaning; and competent speakers are often expected to be able to rationalize their choice of words by stating what they take the meanings of relevant words to be. At the same time, however, plausible empirical views of semantic competence tell us that speakers' semantic competence is not in general a matter of possessing reflectively accessible propositional knowledge about meaning; rather, it consists in their knowing how (i.e. possessing practical skills/abilities) to meaningfully use linguistic expressions for various purposes. Semantic competence then may seem to resemble purely practical skills such as knowing how to ride a bicycle, or play a musical instrument. In this dissertation, I propose and defend an account of competent speakers' reflective knowledge of meaning that can reconcile these potentially conflicting views. I argue that the most fruitful approach to this issue is to accept the plausible empirical claim that semantic competence does not in general require reflectively accessible propositional knowledge of meaning, and then show how competent speakers might still derive propositional knowledge of meaning from their semantic competence alone. To show this, I defend a pragmatist thesis that the derivation of knowledge from competence is made possible to competent speakers in virtue of their ability to perform what I call acts of meaning explication. Acts of meaning explication are acts that speakers can, in virtue of their semantic competence alone, perform by using linguistic expressions to express their (potentially tacit) conceptions of meaning. I argue that competent speakers can form reliably true beliefs about the meanings of linguistic expressions in their vocabularies by performing various acts of meaning explication.

Semantics

Semantics PDF Author: James R. Hurford
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521289498
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 308

Get Book Here

Book Description
Introduces the major elements of semantics in a simple, step-by-step fashion. Sections of explanation and examples are followed by practice exercises with answers and comment provided.

Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition

Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition PDF Author: Stephen D. Krashen
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Language and languages
Languages : en
Pages : 202

Get Book Here

Book Description


The Cambridge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition

The Cambridge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition PDF Author: Julia Herschensohn
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781108733748
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
What is language and how can we investigate its acquisition by children or adults? What perspectives exist from which to view acquisition? What internal constraints and external factors shape acquisition? What are the properties of interlanguage systems? This comprehensive 31-chapter handbook is an authoritative survey of second language acquisition (SLA). Its multi-perspective synopsis on recent developments in SLA research provides significant contributions by established experts and widely recognized younger talent. It covers cutting edge and emerging areas of enquiry not treated elsewhere in a single handbook, including third language acquisition, electronic communication, incomplete first language acquisition, alphabetic literacy and SLA, affect and the brain, discourse and identity. Written to be accessible to newcomers as well as experienced scholars of SLA, the Handbook is organised into six thematic sections, each with an editor-written introduction.

The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition, Morphosyntax, and Semantics

The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition, Morphosyntax, and Semantics PDF Author: Tania Ionin
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1003823505
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 586

Get Book Here

Book Description
This handbook provides innovative and comprehensive coverage of research on the second language acquisition (SLA) of morphosyntax, semantics, and the interface between the two. Organized by grammatical topic, the chapters are written by experts from formal and functional perspectives in the SLA of morphosyntax and semantics, providing in-depth yet accessible coverage of these areas. All chapters highlight the theoretical underpinnings of much work in SLA and their links to theoretical syntax and semantics; making comparisons to other populations, including child language acquirers, bilinguals, and heritage speakers (links to first language acquisition and bilingualism); dedicating a portion of each chapter to the research methods used to investigate the linguistic phenomenon in question (links to psycholinguistics and experimental linguistics); and, where relevant, including intervention studies on the phenomenon in question (links to applied linguistics). The volume will be indispensable to SLA researchers and students who work on any aspect of the SLA of morphosyntax or semantics. With its coverage of a variety of methodologies and comparisons to other populations (such as child language acquirers, early bilinguals, heritage speakers, and monolingual adults), the handbook is expected to also be of much interest to linguists who work in psycholinguistics, first language acquisition, and bilingualism.

The Role of Semantics in Language Acquisition

The Role of Semantics in Language Acquisition PDF Author: Janene Dobbins
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Language and languages
Languages : en
Pages : 72

Get Book Here

Book Description


Implicatures

Implicatures PDF Author: Sandrine Zufferey
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107125650
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 265

Get Book Here

Book Description
Offers an accessible and thorough introduction to implicatures in pragmatics, and its interfaces with language and cognition.

Understanding Second Language Acquisition

Understanding Second Language Acquisition PDF Author: Lourdes Ortega
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 144411705X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 321

Get Book Here

Book Description
Whether we grow up with one, two, or several languages during our early years of life, many of us will learn a second, foreign, or heritage language in later years. The field of Second language acquisition (SLA, for short) investigates the human capacity to learn additional languages in late childhood, adolescence, or adulthood, after the first language --in the case of monolinguals-- or languages --in the case of bilinguals-- have already been acquired. Understanding Second Language Acquisition offers a wide-encompassing survey of this burgeoning field, its accumulated findings and proposed theories, its developed research paradigms, and its pending questions for the future. The book zooms in and out of universal, individual, and social forces, in each case evaluating the research findings that have been generated across diverse naturalistic and formal contexts for second language acquisition. It assumes no background in SLA and provides helpful chapter-by-chapter summaries and suggestions for further reading. Ideal as a textbook for students of applied linguistics, foreign language education, TESOL, and education, it is also recommended for students of linguistics, developmental psycholinguistics, psychology, and cognitive science. Supporting resources for tutors are available free at www.routledge.com/ortega.

Introducing Second Language Acquisition

Introducing Second Language Acquisition PDF Author: Muriel Saville-Troike
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107010896
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 229

Get Book Here

Book Description
A clear and practical introduction to second language acquisition, written for students encountering the topic for the first time.