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Chapter 29 - Second Language Acquisition of Germanic Languages

from Part V - Language Contact and Nonstandard Varieties

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2020

By
Carrie Jackson
Edited by
Michael T. Putnam  and
B. Richard Page
Michael T. Putnam
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
B. Richard Page
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
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Summary

Second language acquisition research focuses on how people acquire and use a second language (L2), and the underlying mechanisms that support these processes. Key issues include the nature of learners’ L2 linguistic representations, how such representations develop from the L2 input learners receive, and the ways in which features from learners’ two languages interact to influence L2 acquisition and use. These issues address larger debates concerning the extent to which L2 learners <spaced en> and especially adult learners<spaced en>can acquire nativelike L2 proficiency, and whether L1 and L2 acquisition rely on the same underlying mechanisms, or whether fundamentally different mechanisms and strategies are involved. For over 40 years, Germanic languages, especially German and Dutch, have played a central role in L2 acquisition research. The present chapter reviews selected findings from this research and discusses how these findings contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms that drive L2 acquisition and use.

Keywords

second language acquisitionlearner varietiessentence processingpsycholinguisticsword ordercase markinggrammatical genderGermanDutch
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Germanic Linguistics , pp. 689 - 713
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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