Processing possessives in French as a foreign language: Design of an experiment

Anneliese Pitz,Bergljot Behrens,Cathrine Fabricius-Hansen

doi:10.5617/osla.8954

Abstract

The paradigm of possessive determiners differs in systematic ways across languages and causes cognitive resolution problems in the interpretation of a foreign language. Based on previous investigations into cross-linguistic influences (CLI) in learners’ interpretation of possessive determiners, this article presents the design of an experiment for testing English, German and Norwegian adult learners of French. We specify two kinds of processing problems: a direction problem (orientation towards possessor vs. possessee) and a problem of lexical parasites (‘false friends’). The experiment is directed at learners’ spontaneous interpretation of the singular possessives "son", "sa" and "ses", on account of a partly false friendship with the possessive determiners in these learners’ first languages.

Highlights

L1 influence is clearer in L2 word processing than in syntactic processing
This does not negate a potential role of L1 influence in syntactic processing: It is possible that reliable evidence will emerge once methodologically reliable comparisons are conducted
What is interesting is that this variability is not observed in L2 word processing

Summary

Possessive son sa ses

Test item Pendant que le père fait les courses, les garçons nettoient son bureau. Pendant que le père fait les courses, les garçons nettoient sa chambre. Pendant que le père fait les courses, les garçons nettoient ses chambres. C4 F+PL+son Pendant que la mère fait les courses, les garçons nettoient son bureau. C5 F+PL+sa Pendant que la mère fait les courses, les garçons nettoient sa chambre. C6 F+PL+ses Pendant que la mère fait les courses, les garçons nettoient ses chambres. C7 PL+M+son Pendant que les garçons font les courses, le père nettoie son bureau. C9 PL+M+ses Pendant que les garçons font les courses, le père nettoie ses chambres. Pendant que les garçons font les courses, la mère nettoie son bureau. Pendant que les garçons font les courses, la mère nettoie ses chambres. This means that each L1 group is split into four sub-groups whose test materials differ systematically with respect to the pairing of condition and item class; cf. Table 4

Condition I

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