The Use of English Articles in Adjective-Modified Contexts

Autor/in	Alzamil, Abdulrahman
Titel	The Use of English Articles in Adjective-Modified Contexts
Quelle	In: Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 12 (2021) 4, S.9-14 (6 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2203-4714
Schlagwörter	Language Usage; Semitic Languages; Nouns; Phrase Structure; Form Classes (Languages); Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; English (Second Language); Morphemes; Foreign Countries; Native Speakers; Native Language; Task Analysis; Contrastive Linguistics; Transfer of Training; Language Tests; Undergraduate Students; Majors (Students); Saudi Arabia; Test of English as a Foreign Language + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Sprachgebrauch; Arabisch; Hebräisch; Phrasenstruktur; Analytischer Sprachbau; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Fremdsprachenunterricht; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Morphem; Ausland; Muttersprachler; Aufgabenanalyse; Linguistics; Kontrastive Linguistik; Training; Transfer; Ausbildung; Language test; Sprachtest; Saudi-Arabien
Abstract	English articles are thought to be complex, ambiguous and not salient in spoken language, which is why second language (L2) learners of English exhibit usage variability. Much of the L2 acquisition literature seems to agree that L2 learners are affected, one way or another, by their first language (L1). However, the debatable and controversial issue is whether there are other factors that affect article use, independent of potential L1 effects. The present study examines whether the presence or absence of adjectives in noun phrases influences article choice among Saudi Arabic learners of English. Both Arabic and English have articles, but Arabic adjectives are different from English adjectives to the extent that they agree with nouns in definiteness, case and gender. The study was conducted with 24 L1 Saudi Arabic speakers and 6 native English speakers. A 42-item fill-in-the-blanks task was administered. The results showed that a) native speakers of English outperformed L2 Arabic speakers in all contexts except indefinite plural contexts not modified by adjectives; and b) L2 Arabic speakers were more accurate in indefinite contexts that were not modified by adjectives than those that were. These findings show that L1 Arabic speakers are sensitive to the presence or absence of adjectives in noun phrases. (As Provided).
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Update	2024/1/01