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The Acquisition of English Prepositions by Norwegian L2

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The Acquisition of English Prepositions by Norwegian L2 The Acquisition of English Prepositions by Norwegian L2 Learners - a corpus-based error analysis Vivil Selliseth Bakken Master’s Thesis in English Linguistics Department of Foreign Languages University of Bergen May 2017 ii Abstract Denne masteroppgaven tar for seg engelsk som andrespråk, og utforsker norske 15- og 16-åringers preposisjonsfeil i skriftlig engelsk. Datamaterialet er hentet fra det digitale korpuset CORYL, hvor det har blitt samlet inn tekster som har blitt annotert for ulike typer grammatikkfeil. Jeg har brukt feilanalyse som metodisk rammeverk, og har fokusert på følgende to problemstillinger i arbeidet: 1. Er det gitte syntaktiske og/eller semantiske underkategorier av preposisjoner som er mer problematiske enn andre? 2. Hvordan kan man forklare feilene observert i datamaterialet? I forbindelse med den første problemstillingen, indikerer min analyse at elevene oftere gjør feil med enkelte kategorier innenfor syntaks og semantikk enn andre. I forbindelse med den andre problemstillingen, indikerer min analyse at de aller fleste preposisjonsfeil kan spores tilbake til kognitive aspekter ved morsmålet. Det er imidlertid også bevis for at elevene påvirkes av andre trekk i engelsk som de har tilegnet seg. iii Acknowledgements First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dagmar Haumann, for numerous sessions with thorough feedback and encouraging comments, as well as interesting discussions and lots of laughter. I would also like to thank the compilers of the CORYL corpus, Angela Hasselgreen and Kari Telstad Sundet, for always taking the time to answer my questions thoroughly and giving me helpful pieces of advice along the way. Furthermore, I would like to thank my family in Bergen, Larvik and Notodden for their loving support throughout this process, participants in the Work in Progress- seminars for constructive feedback and Erik for taking the time to proof-read my thesis. A special thanks goes to my Fredrik, for being so incredibly patient, supportive and understanding. Last, but not least, a huge amount of gratitude to my friends at the reading hall, Ann-Mari, Erika and Karoline in particular, who have made this year a blast. You wug my world. iv Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ iv Tables ..................................................................................................................... vii Abbreviations ...................................................................................................... viii 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 2. Theoretical background .................................................................................... 3 2.1 Early theories and models in SLA ....................................................................... 3 2.1.1 Behaviorism ..................................................................................................................... 3 2.1.2 Monitor theory ................................................................................................................. 5 2.2 Contemporary theories and models ..................................................................... 6 2.2.1 Generative approaches .................................................................................................. 6 2.2.2 Usage-based approaches .............................................................................................. 8 2.2.2.1 Cognitive Linguistics ........................................................................................................ 11 2.2.3 Input processing in adult Second Language Acquisition ............................... 13 2.2.4 Processability Theory ................................................................................................. 15 3. Target structure ............................................................................................... 18 3.1 Prepositions and prepositional phrases in English ........................................ 18 3.1.1 Defining prepositions ................................................................................................. 18 3.1.2 The internal and external structure of prepositional phrases ........................ 21 3.1.2.1 Adjunct .................................................................................................................................. 22 3.1.2.2 Complement/modifier in verb phrase .......................................................................... 23 3.1.2.3 Complement/modifier in noun phrase ........................................................................ 25 3.1.2.4 Complement and modifier in adjective phrase ........................................................ 26 3.1.3 The semantics of prepositions ................................................................................. 27 3.1.3.1 Location: (static) position, goal and source .............................................................. 29 3.1.3.2 Prepositional meaning other than locational ............................................................. 30 3.2 Prepositional elements in second language acquisition ................................ 31 3.2.1 Syntactic features in acquisition ............................................................................. 31 3.2.1.1 Special verb + preposition constructions in acquisition ............................. 32 3.2.2 Semantic/conceptual features in acquisition ...................................................... 32 3.2.3 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 34 4. Data and method ............................................................................................. 36 v 4.1 Error analysis ........................................................................................................ 36 4.1.1 Collecting a data sample ........................................................................................... 37 4.1.2 Identifying errors ......................................................................................................... 39 4.1.3 Describing errors ......................................................................................................... 40 4.1.4 Explaining errors ......................................................................................................... 42 4.2 General considerations ........................................................................................ 45 5. Analysis .............................................................................................................. 47 5.1 Distribution of target and non-target prepositions ....................................... 48 5.2 Non-target usage in syntactic and semantic categories ................................ 51 5.2.1 Syntactic categories .................................................................................................... 52 5.2.2 Semantic categories .................................................................................................... 54 5.3 Explaining non-target prepositions .................................................................. 56 5.4 Summary of findings ............................................................................................ 72 5.5 Crosslinguistic influence (transfer) in non-target production .................... 73 5.6 Structural considerations in non-target production ..................................... 77 6. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 78 6.1 Outlook .................................................................................................................... 79 References: ............................................................................................................ 81 vi Tables Table 4.1: Distribution of Non-Target Prepositions in Syntactic Categories..............40 Table 4.2: Distribution of Non-Target Prepositions in Semantic Categories………..41 Table 4.3: Distribution of Target and Non-Target prepositions………………….43-44 Table 5.1: Total Occurrences of Prepositions………………………………………..48 Table 5.2: Distribution of Non-Target Prepositions in Syntactic Categories………..51 Table 5.3: Distribution of Non-Target Prepositions in Semantic Categories………..53 Table 5.4: Distribution of Target/Non-Target Prepositions………………………55-56 vii Abbreviations CORYL – Corpus of Young Learner Language IL – Interlanguage IP THEORY – Input Processing Theory LAD – Language Acquisition Device L1 – First Language L2 – Second Language PP – Prepositional Phrases SLA – Second Language Acquisition UG – Universal Grammar viii 1. Introduction Second language acquisition (SLA) is a branch of research that has attracted much attention from scholars over the years. Researchers have sought to explain a variety of aspects related to the process of acquisition and so, numerous theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches have been developed and applied in order to do so. In the present study, my aim is to contribute to the understanding of the acquisition of a particularly complex and challenging category in English, namely prepositions. As a native speaker of Norwegian
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