An empirical L2 perspective on possessives: German/Norwegian

Anneliese Pauline Pitz,Oliver Bott,Torgrim Solstad,Cathrine Fabricius-Hansen,Bergljot Behrens,Robin Hörnig

doi:10.5617/osla.4765

Abstract

The present paper reports on two empirical studies concerning the acquisition of possessive systems by L2 learners of Norwegian and German respectively. The first study investigates comprehension and production in written translation while the second study is a set of offline experiments testing the interpretation of possessives by both native speakers and German learners of Norwegian. Norwegian distinguishes between reflexive and irreflexive possessives, while German does not. The reflexive stem form si* is phonologically similar to German sein*, but may correspond to ihr*, a feminine or plural possessor, as well. These differences make the acquisition of Norwegian and of German as a foreign language a complex procedure of restructuring both at the phonological and the grammatical level. Results of the study indicate that the only partly overlapping forms and structural constraints on possessives in the two languages are cognitively demanding in L2 acquisition and subject to transfer effects.

Highlights

The present paper reports on two empirical studies concerning the acquisition of possessive systems by L2 learners of Norwegian and German respectively
As shown in the overview paper by Fabricius-Hansen et al (2017), the possessive systems of German and Norwegian exhibit crucial differences that will require a certain amount of cognitive restructuring by the L2 learner in order to be fully acquired
This leads to the assumption that before full restructuring is automatized, transfer effects will result from the L1 or another of the learner’s languages in both comprehension and production of the L2

Summary

Introduction

The present paper reports on two empirical studies concerning the acquisition of possessive systems by L2 learners of Norwegian and German respectively. As shown in the overview paper by Fabricius-Hansen et al (2017), the possessive systems of German and Norwegian exhibit crucial differences that will require a certain amount of cognitive restructuring by the L2 learner in order to be fully acquired. This leads to the assumption that before full restructuring is automatized, transfer effects will result from the L1 or another of the learner’s languages in both comprehension and production of the L2. Section [5] sums up the studies and presents plans for ways in which the results of the present studies can be furthered to get deeper into an understanding of the accommodation and assimilation required to restructure and automatize a grammatical system that diverges from that of a foreign language learner’s mother tongue

Objectives

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Conclusion