Linguistic relativity in SLA : thinking for speaking

2012

is special issue aims to explore the implications of ' inking for Speaking' framework for second language (L2) acquisition. Papers in the issue address the question as to whether and under what conditions language-speci c ways of thinking and talking about events and situations can be restructured during L2 acquisition. Slobin has coined the expression ' inking for Speaking' to refer to the speci c ways in which thinking is mobilized for language production during the message planning phase. Verbalizing any situation faces the speaker with a series of choices, such as deciding which aspects of the situation to express, how to express them, and in which order. ese choices are, at least partly, constrained by the typological features of each language. Speakers' native language provides them with speci c lexical and grammatical options for the linguistic encoding of the intended message. e interactions found between their choices in language production and the typological constraints o ered by the language spoken has led Slobin to propose the ' inking for Speaking' hypothesis, according to which di erent languages predispose their speakers to view and talk about events di erently.

Annual Review of Cognitive Linguistics, 2009

International Journal of Language & Linguistics

Research into how a universal semantic domain like motion is narrated differently by speakers of typologically different languages (i.e., SATELLITE-FRAMED and VERB-FRAMED) led Slobin (1996a, 1996b, 2000, 2014) and his colleagues (Berman and Slobin, 2004) to make informed predictions about the influence of grammatical categories on the learning of first languages (L1) and second languages (L2): (a) Language-induced thoughts are determined by the typological characteristic of L1 (Slobin, 1996a, p. 89). (b) Language induced-thought processes develop into habits of thinking-for-speaking (TfS) (Slobin, 1996a, p. 89). (c) L1 TfS habits are difficult to change whena typologically distinct L2 is learned in adulthood (Slobin, 1996a, p. 89) Research into how motion events are expressed in different languages lent support to predictions (a) and (b) (e.g.,

System, 2010

When I received an invitation to review the second edition of The Study of Second Language Acquisition, I wondered how I could review a tome of over 1000 pages within 1500 words. However, on reading the book, I realized that its clear organization made it possible for me to highlight the outstanding features of this updated classic. Like many of the author's publications, this new edition is an exceptionally successful synthesis and survey of the developments of SLA research thanks to the reader-friendly penmanship and lucidity in exposition. The book is made of eight clearly divided parts with 17 chapters in all. Although it is a revised and expanded edition of what was already a substantial work, readers will find that it is, in fact, quite accessible.

Review: Meaning and Structure in Second Language Acquisition. In honor of Roumyana Slabakova. Editors: Cho, Iverson, Judy, Leal (2018), 2018

The book "Meaning and Structure in Second Language Acquisition" is a collection of excellent articles from experts/researchers in the field of second and third language acquisition. This collection of essays specifically evaluates and puts forward different models and hypotheses that are crucial to our understanding of key concepts and practices in SLA, including issues surrounding how second and/or third language learners acquire languages. These excellent papers, which are dedicated to the illustrious career of sociolinguist Roumyana Slabakova, are worthy of serious attention, as they examine a number of issues including the Bottleneck Hypothesis, Scalpel model (Slabakova, 2016, 2017) and the Interface Hypothesis (Sorace and Serratrice, 2009). With a variety of new evidence from French, Spanish, Chinese, and English languages, the book presents a broad discussion of the many arguments surrounding the Bottleneck Hypothesis, Interface Hypotheses and the Scalpel Model. The discussions not only provide new evidence testing these models but are also aimed at challenging the readers and scholars to further question these theoretical explanations. For instance, functional morphology, a fundamental concept in SLA research that seeks to examine the relationship between amount of grammatical knowledge and that of ever-changing developmental stages of learners, is sufficiently discussed in the book. Also, this volume shows how this important concept (i.e. functional morphology and its inherent meaning to the acquisition of linguistic systems and features at the structural and discourse levels) can provide significant insights into our understanding of how languages are acquired/learned as second or third language. In doing this, the book does not only describe the process of language acquisition but also exposes the readers to basic and advanced issues and concepts surrounding our understanding of the nature of how the cognitive mind of a language learner with at least two languages, works. In other words, a variety of evidence simplifying the complexity involved in such key issues as transfer effects, proficiency, interference, morphological congruency effect, language dominance,

Multilingual Matters eBooks, 2010

This series brings together titles dealing with a variety of aspects of language acquisition and processing in situations where a language or languages otter than the native language is involved. Second language is thus interpreted in its broadest possible sense. The volumes included in the series all offer in their different ways on the one hand, exposition and discussion of empirical findings and, on the other some degree of theoretical reflection. In this latter connection, no particular theoretical stance is privileged in the series; nor is any relevant perspective -sociolinguistic psycholmguistic, neurolinguistic, etc. -deemed out of place. The intended readership of the series includes final-year undergraduates working on second language acquisition projects, postgraduate students involved in second language* acquisition research, and researchers and teachers in general whose interests ihclude a second language acquisition component. Full details of all the books in this series and of all our other publications can be found on htto://www.multilingual-matters.com, or by writing to Multilingual Matters,

This study presents evidence from an experiment on the interpretation of English manner-of-motion with prepositional phrases complements by native Spanish speakers with different proficiency levels. The manner-of-motion to goal construction in English ( e.g. John danced into the room) is realised through a manner verb with a directional prepositional phrase complement, whereas Spanish uses a verb expressing direction followed by a manner of motion complement (usually a gerundive type) to express change of location (e.g John entered the room dancing). Following an analysis proposed by where English spatial prepositions can encode underlying 'process' and 'result' sub-event phrases this study examines if Spanish speakers can establish these underlying representations. Using an acceptability judgement task with pictures data were collected and analyzed. Results suggest that Spanish speakers initially transfer L1 argument structure realisation properties into their L2 grammars and this tend to disappear as proficiency level of English increases, but Spanish speakers still continue allowing the realisation pattern alongside the English pattern. Those results are consistent with the findings of Alison (2009) in the sense that the positive input does not pre-empt the use of L1.

The Handbook of Bilingualism and Multilingualism, 2012

There have been outstanding attempts within the generative framework for linguistic theory to determine the character of the language faculty and its deployment in language learning. First-language (L1) acquisition studies have provided important insights into how the mind and language work. The pioneering work of Braine (1963), followed by that of Brown (1973), argued for the child developing its grammar using its own rules independent of those of an adult speaker, an assumption that paved the way to instituting L1 acquisition as a research field in its own right. L1 acquisition, however, encounters serious difficulties when attempts are made to explore the interaction of general cognitive and specifically linguistic processes in the learner's mind, because limitations deriving from general developmental (that is, maturational) deficits bear upon the languagelearning process of children. In order to understand language and language learning as a crucial part of human cognitive processes, linguistic theory must accommodate the results provided by second-language (L2) acquisition studies, where L2 refers to a language acquired after infancy, 1 for here maturational issues play practically no role in the process of language development. The issue of access to Universal Grammar in L2 acquisition L2 acquisition research, then, provides an opportunity to examine language development independent of the influence of other developing cognitive processes, a necessary step in setting the basis for an adequate theory of language acquisition and competence (