Acquiring morphology and syntax

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

The morphosyntax of second language (L2) French includes a wide range of properties including verb morphology and usage, the complex pronominal system, and question formation. The present longitudinal study focuses on the acquisition of number and gender, which is crucial since it permeates French morphosyntax, semantics, and the lexicon, and contributes to discourse cohesiveness. The study uses a pre-test, repeated exposure and testing, delayed post-test design to investigate the second language (L2) acquisition of French morphosyntax by instructed learners (n = 16), enrolled in a fourth-year film and fiction college class, who formed three groups-L1 English, French heritage speakers, Spanish heritage speakers-and completed a written gender assignment task (GAT), and a free production task (essays). Results showing an improved performance on the GAT, as well as generally accurate, but inconsistent, gender and number agreement on determiners and adjectives, support the Feature Reassembly Hypothesis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationThe Oxford Handbook of the French Language
PublisherOxford University Press
Pages658-684
Number of pages27
ISBN (Electronic)9780191897542
ISBN (Print)9780198865131
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 18 2024

Keywords

  • Agreement
  • Feature Reassembly Hypothesis
  • Gender
  • Heritage speakers
  • Morphosyntax
  • Number

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Arts and Humanities
  • General Social Sciences

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