Introduction. Beyond the Obvious: Do Second Language Learners Process Inflectional Morphology?

Autor/in	Gor, Kira
Titel	Introduction. Beyond the Obvious: Do Second Language Learners Process Inflectional Morphology?
Quelle	In: Language Learning, 60 (2010) 1, S.1-20 (20 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0023-8333
DOI	10.1111/j.1467-9922.2009.00549.x
Schlagwörter	Morphology (Languages); Second Language Learning; Language Processing; Language Acquisition; Language Research; Language Classification; Linguistic Input; Role; Age Differences; Language Proficiency + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Morphology; Morphologie; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Sprachverarbeitung; Sprachaneignung; Spracherwerb; Sprachforschung; Sprachtypologie; Sprachbildung; Rollen; Age; Difference; Age difference; Altersunterschied; Language skill; Language skills; Sprachkompetenz
Abstract	Given that this special issue is devoted to the acquisition and processing of inflectional morphology by second language (L2) learners, the question in the title may appear redundant. However, recent research on first language (L1) and L2 morphological processing has challenged basic assumptions about the status of inflectional morphology in linguistic processing that had long been taken for granted. This issue demonstrates how experimental paradigms and theoretical positions developed in L1 and L2 research result in a new synergy and advance one's understanding of the complex mechanisms implicated in morphological processing. The goal of this paper is to briefly review the main theoretical positions vis-a-vis inflectional morphology and to identify points of convergence between research on L1 and L2 morphological processing. Three points are relevant for the issue's agenda. First, debates between the extreme positions expressed by the dual-system and single-system approaches to inflectional morphology, which hinge on a categorical distinction between regular and irregular inflection and a no less categorical interpretation of the role of frequency, have highlighted the strengths and weaknesses in both approaches. Apparently, more often than not, there is a continuum between regular and irregular processing. Second, crosslinguistic comparisons signal significant differences in the processing of inflection among languages ranging in morphological richness. Third, and crucially for this research, the discussions of purely SLA-driven issues in morphological processing, such as differences in early and late L2 learning, the role of L1 background, and the relative distance between L1 and L2, as well as the type of input received by L2 learners, are moving to the forefront. (Contains 12 notes.) (ERIC).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10