Speaker: Romane Pedro (Nantes Université)
Title: The impact of the French wh-in-situ option in the acquisition of L2 English questions: An analysis of transfer
Date: Thursday 3 November
Location: Lipsius 208
Time: 16:15 – 17:30
Abstract
When learning a new language, being able to produce questions is essential. Question formulation and the linguistic similarities and differences it demonstrates across languages is thus becoming a crucial issue to Second Language Acquisition (Omane & Höhle 2021). Studying the case of L1 French learners of L2 English, my study deals with the acquisition of this phenomenon. The two languages under study involve differences in the production of questions, in terms of morpho-syntactic patterns, and in the information structure of questions, especially in the case of wh-questions (Engdahl 2006). While English wh-questions demonstrate an almost obligatory wh-fronting, the French language offers a wh-in-situ option when asking for information (Glasbergen-Plas 2021). In my talk, I will discuss the early stages of my investigation on question formation in L1 French and L2 English with a special focus on wh-in-situ questions, as in (1).
| (1) | Tu | as | acheté | quoi? | French wh-in-situ question | |
| You | have | bought | what | |||
| Intended meaning: ‘What did you buy?’ | English equivalent: wh-movement | |||||
I will discuss primary results of the oral production experiment I conducted on native speakers and learners of the two languages examined. I will argue that the cross-linguistic differences between French and English questions may cause negative transfer from L1 French. I may also introduce the upcoming developments to my research project, including the addition of a third language for a better comparison and conclusion on the effect of the L1 in formulating questions in L2 English.