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 language | English (US) |
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Title of host publication | The Oxford Handbook of the French Language |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Pages | 658-684 |
Number of pages | 27 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9780191897542 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780198865131 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 18 2024 |
Keywords
- Agreement
- Feature Reassembly Hypothesis
- Gender
- Heritage speakers
- Morphosyntax
- Number
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Arts and Humanities
- General Social Sciences