Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T20:53:19.015Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Interlanguage Variability in Narrative Discourse: Style Shifting in the Use of the Past Tense

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2008

Rod Ellis
Rod Ellis
Affiliation:
Ealing College of Higher Education
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study examines style shifting in the use of three past tense morphemes (regular past, irregular past, and past copula) by 17 intermediate L2 learners of English. It differs from previous studies in that style shifting is examined within a single discourse mode—narrative discourse—according to the amount of planning time made available. Data were collected under three conditions: (a) planned writing, (b) planned speech, and (c) unplanned speech. Different patterns of style shifting were observed for three morphemes, suggesting that the nature of the linguistic feature under investigation is a determining factor. For regular past, greatest accuracy was most evident in planned writing and least evident in unplanned speech, with planned speech intermediate. Little style shifting took place in irregular past, whereas style shifting for past copula occurred only between planned speech and unplanned speech. The three conditions produced different accuracy orders for regular and irregular past, suggesting that the so-called “natural” order may not be a stable phenomenon. The paper concludes with a number of important questions requiring further investigation.

Type
Research Article
Information
Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , February 1987 , pp. 1 - 19
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Beebe, L. (1980). Sociolinguistic variation and style shifting in second language acquisition. Language Learning, 30, 433–447.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bickerton, D. (1981). Discussion of “Two perspectives in pidginization as second language acquisition.” In Andersen, R. (Ed.), New dimensions in second language acquisition research (pp. 202–212). Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar
Brown, R. (1973). A first language. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cancino, H., Rosansky, E., & Schumann, J. (1978). The acquisition of English negatives and auxiliaries by native Spanish speakers. In Hatch, E. (Ed.), Second language acquisition (pp. 207–230). Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar
Dickerson, L. (1975). Interlanguage as a system of variable rules. TESOL Quarterly, 9, 401–407.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dickerson, L., & Dickerson, W. (1977). Interlanguage phonology: Current research and future directions. In Corder, S. P. & Roulet, E. (Eds.), The notions of simplification, interlanguages and pidgins. Actes du 5eme Colloque de Linguistique Appliquée de Neufchatel.Google Scholar
Dulay, H., & Burt, H. (1974). Natural sequence in child second language acquisition. Language Learning, 24, 37–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eisenstein, M., Bailey, N., & Madden, C. (1982). It lakes two: Contrasting tasks and contrasting structures. TESOL Quarterly, 16, 381–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, R. (1982). The origins of interlanguage. Applied Linguistics, 3, 207–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, R. (1984). Classroom second language development. Oxford: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Frawley, W., & Lantolf, J. (1985). Second language discourse: A Vygotskyan perspective. Applied Linguistics, 6, 19–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Godfrey, D. (1980). A discourse analysis of tense in monologues. In Larsen-Freeman, D. (Ed.), Discourse analysis in second language research (pp. 92–110). Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar
Hakuta, K. (1974). A preliminary report of the development of grammatical morphemes in a Japanese girl learning English as a second language. Working Papers on Bilingualism, 3, 18–43.Google Scholar
Hatch, E. (1983). Psycholinguistics: A second language perspective. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar
Heaton, J. (1975). Beginning composition through pictures. Harlow: Longman.Google Scholar
Hulstijn, J., & Hulstijn, W. (1984). Grammatical errors as a function of processing constraints and explicit knowledge. Language Learning, 34, 23–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hyltenstam, K. (1984). The use of typological markedness as predictor in second language acquisition: The case of pronominal copies in relative clauses. In Andersen, R. W. (Ed.), Second languages. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar
Kellerman, E. (1983). U-shaped behaviour in advanced Dutch EFL learners. Paper presented at the Tenth University of Michigan Conference on Applied Linguistics, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Krashen, S. (1981). Second language acquisition and second language learning. Oxford: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Labov, W. (1970). The study of language in its social context. Stadium Generale, 23, 20–87.Google Scholar
Larsen-Freeman, D. (1975). The acquisition of grammatical morphemes by adult learners of English as a second language. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Ochs, E. (1979). Planned and unplanned discourse. In Givon, T. (Ed.), Syntax and semantics Vol. 12: Discourse and semantics (pp. 51–80). New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Perdue, C. (Ed.). (1982). Second language acquisition by adult immigrants: A field manual. Strasbourg: European Science Foundation.Google Scholar
Rosansky, E. (1976). Methods and morphemes in second language acquisition research. Language Learning, 26, 409–425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sato, C. (1983). Task variation in interlanguage phonology. Paper presented at the Tenth University of Michigan Conference on Applied Linguistics, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Sato, C. (1984). Phonological processes in second language acquisition: Another look at interlanguage syllable structure. Language Learning, 34, 43–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, R. (1977). Sociolinguistic variation and language transfer in phonology. Wording Papers on Bilingualism, 12, 79–95.Google Scholar
Tarone, E. (1983). On the variability of interlanguage systems. Applied Linguistics, 4, 142–163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tarone, E. (1985). Variability in interlanguage use: A study of style shifting in morphology and syntax. Language Learning, 35, 373–403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar