The fractal nature of French tense/aspect acquisition
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.v6i1.45Keywords:
aspect, lexical aspect, discourse, SLA, Dynamical Systems TheoryAbstract
This article builds upon previous studies that contrast the Lexical Aspect Hypothesis (LAH) and the Discourse Hypothesis (DH) in order to establish principles of tenseaspect morphology acquisition. Whereas the LAH predicts that (beginning) language learners use verbal morphology to mark situation types (cf. Vendler 1967), the DH maintains that learners use verbal morphology to mark discursive features. I argue that both hypotheses lack sufficient theoretical/empirical evidence to rule out the possibility that verbal morphology is also sensitive to temporal deixis, especially given the widely-attested usage of the present tense in L2 past-time narratives. Therefore, the current study seeks to replicate Salaberry (2011) without controlling for tense. Twenty-eight learners of French as a second language judged the acceptability of various verbal inflections in a cloze narrative task and then engaged in a retrospective protocol. The results were submitted to a repeated measures ANOVA, which revealed a significant interaction among morphology, lexical aspect and discursive environment that are not envisioned by either the LAH or the DH. Moreover, the systematic (and not random or ‘default’) use of the present tense lends support to a fractal model of French morphology acquisition in which learners ‘soft assemble’ their (inter)language with the resources at hand.
References
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Salaberry, R. (1999) The development of past tense verbal morphology in classroom L2 Spanish. Applied Linguistics 20 (2): 151–178. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/applin/20.2.151
Salaberry, R. (2008) Marking Past Tense in Second Language Acquisition: A Theoretical Model. London: Continuum.
Salaberry, R. (2011) Assessing the effect of lexical aspect and grounding on the acquisition of L2 Spanish Preterit and Imperfect among L1 English speakers. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition.
Slabakova, R. (2002) Recent research on the acquisition of aspect: An embarrassment of riches? Second Language Research 18 (2): 172–188. http://dx.doi.org/10.1191/ 0267658302sr202ra
Smith, C. S. (1991) The Parameter of Aspect. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Thelen, E. and Smith, L. B. (1994) A Dynamic Systems Approach to the Development of Cognition and Action. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
van Lier, L. (2000) From input to affordance: Social-interactive learning from an ecological perspective. In J. P. Lantolf (ed.) Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning, 245–260. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Vendler, Z. (1967) Linguistics in Philosophy. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Andersen, R. W. (1991) Developmental sequences: The emergence of aspect marking in second language acquisition. In C. A. Ferguson and T. Huebner (eds) Second Language Acquisition and Linguistic Theories, 305–324. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Andersen, R. W. (1993) Four operating principles and input distributions as explanation for underdeveloped and mature morphological systems. In K. Hyltenstam and A. Viborg (eds) Progression and Regression in Language, 309–339. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Andersen, R. W. and Shirai, Y. (1996) Primacy of aspect in first and second language acquisition: The pidgin/creole connection. In W. C. Ritchie and T. K. Bhatia (eds) Handbook of Second Language Acquisition, 527–570. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Baranger, M. (2009) Chaos, Complexity, and Entropy: A Physics Talk for Non-physicists [pdf document]. Center for Theoretical Physics, Laboratory for Nuclear Science and Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and New England Complex Systems Institute. Retrieved on 2 April 2009 from: http://necsi.org/projects/ baranger/cce.pdf
Bardovi-Harlig, K. (1994) Anecdote or evidence? Evaluating support for hypotheses concerning the development of tense and aspect. In S. Gass, A. Cohen and E. Tarone (eds) Research Methodology in Second Language Acquisition, 41–60. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Bardovi-Harlig, K. (1998) Narrative structure and lexical aspect: Conspiring factors in second language acquisition of tense-aspect morphology. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 20: 471–508.
Bardovi-Harlig, K. (2000) Tense and Aspect in Second Language Acquisition: Form, Meaning, and Use. Oxford: Blackwell.
Bhat, D. N. S. (1999) The Prominence of Tense, Aspect and Mood. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Bybee, J. (1985) Morphology: A Study of the Relation between Meaning and Form. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Comrie, B. (1976) Aspect: An Introduction to the Study of Verbal Aspect and Related Problems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
De Bot, K., Lowie, W. and Verspoor, M. (2007) A dynamic systems theory approach to second language acquisition. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 10 (1): 7–21. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1366728906002732
Dowty, D. (1986) The effects of aspectual class on the aspectual structure of discourse: Semantics or pragmatics? Linguistics and Philosophy 9: 37–61.
Fleischman, S. (1990) Tense and Narrativity. London: Routledge.
Gosselin, L. (1996) Le traitement de la polysémie contextuelle dans le calcul sémantique. Intellectica 1 (22): 93–117.
Hopper, P. J. (1979) Aspect and foregrounding in discourse. In T. Givón (ed.) Syntax and Semantics vol. 12, 213–241. New York: Academic Press.
Housen, A. (1993) L2 acquisition of verb morphology: A case study. In B. Kettemann and W. Wieden (eds) Current Issues in European Second Language Acquisition Research, 195– 212. Tübingen: Narr.
Klein, W. (1994) Time in Language. New York: Routledge.
Labeau, E. (2004) Line or circle? The process of past tenses acquisition by advanced learners of French. In J. Cohen, K. McAlister, K. Rolstad and J. MacSwan (eds) ISB4: Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism, 1264–1275. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
Lafford, B. (1996) The development of tense/aspect relations in L2 Spanish narratives: Evidence to test competing theories. Paper presented at the Second Language Research Forum, Tucson, Arizona, October.
Larsen-Freeman, D. (1997) Chaos/complexity: Science and second language acquisition. Applied Linguistics 18 (2): 141–165. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/applin/18.2.141
Larsen-Freeman, D. (2007) Reflecting on the cognitive-social debate in second language acquisition. The Modern Language Journal 91 (s1): 773–787. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ j.1540-4781.2007.00668.x
Larsen-Freeman, D. and Cameron, L. (2008) Complex Systems and Applied Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Liskin-Gasparro, J. (2000) The acquisition of temporal expression in Spanish oral narratives: Exploring the perceptions of advanced learners. Hispania 83: 830–845. http://dx.doi. org/10.2307/346482
Martínez Baztán, A. (1994) Análisis transversal del uso de los tiempos indefinido/ imperfecto por estudiantes holandeses de español L2. In P. Slagter (ed.) Aproximaciones a cuestiones de adquisición y aprendizaje del español como lengua extranjera o lengua segunda, 31–48. Atlanta, GA: Rodopi.
Montrul, S. and Slabakova, R. (2001) Is native-like competence possible in L2 acquisition? In A. Do, L. Domínguez and A. Johansen (eds) BUCLD 25: Proceedings of the 25th Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development, 522–533. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
Robison, R. (1995) The aspect hypothesis revisited: A cross-sectional study of tense and aspect marking in interlanguage. Applied Linguistics 16 (3): 344–370. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ applin/16.3.344
Salaberry, R. (2000) The Development of Past Tense Morphology in L2 Spanish. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Salaberry, R. (1999) The development of past tense verbal morphology in classroom L2 Spanish. Applied Linguistics 20 (2): 151–178. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/applin/20.2.151
Salaberry, R. (2008) Marking Past Tense in Second Language Acquisition: A Theoretical Model. London: Continuum.
Salaberry, R. (2011) Assessing the effect of lexical aspect and grounding on the acquisition of L2 Spanish Preterit and Imperfect among L1 English speakers. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition.
Slabakova, R. (2002) Recent research on the acquisition of aspect: An embarrassment of riches? Second Language Research 18 (2): 172–188. http://dx.doi.org/10.1191/ 0267658302sr202ra
Smith, C. S. (1991) The Parameter of Aspect. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Thelen, E. and Smith, L. B. (1994) A Dynamic Systems Approach to the Development of Cognition and Action. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
van Lier, L. (2000) From input to affordance: Social-interactive learning from an ecological perspective. In J. P. Lantolf (ed.) Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning, 245–260. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Vendler, Z. (1967) Linguistics in Philosophy. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Published
2015-09-14
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Equinox Publishing Ltd.
How to Cite
Lyle, C. (2015). The fractal nature of French tense/aspect acquisition. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice, 6(1), 45-67. https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.v6i1.45
