The role of typology and formal similarity in third language acquisition (German and Spanish)

Nikolina Božinović,Barbara Perić

doi:10.22210/strjez/50-1/1

Abstract

The focus of this study is the role of previously acquired languages in the acquisition of a third language (L3). It is focused on cross-linguistic influences (CLI) in German/Spanish third lan- guage acquisition (TLA) by learners with Croatian first language (L1) and English second language (L2). Participants in this study were third-year undergraduate students at Roch- ester Institute of Technology’s subsidiary in Croatia (RIT Croatia). All the participants had exclusively Croatian as L1, English as L2, and were learning German and Spanish as L3 at the time of the study. The present study investigates the relationship between language typology and formal similarity and transfer/error production, since many studies have demonstrated that typology plays a determining role in cross-linguistic transfer (Cenoz, Hufeisen & Jess- ner 2001; Hammarberg 2001; Rothman 2010). There are various areas of similarity and dis- similarity between Croatian, English, German, and Spanish. A significant portion of English vocabulary comes from Romance and Latinate sources. Due to these facts, we argue that the strongest L2 (English) influence will be found in the area of lexicon. On the other hand, Cro- atian, German, and Spanish are more similar in the area of morphology, due to the fact that these languages have a higher degree of inflection than English. Accordingly, we argue that the strongest L1 (Croatian) influence will be found in the area of morphology. The results of this research confirmed our initial hypothesis that the type of transfer episodes observed may be related to language typology and formal similarity between specific features of languages. Similarities at the level of lexis and grammar between L2 English and L3 German and Spanish can influence the acquisition process of German and Spanish.

Highlights

Third language acquisition is a relatively new area of research that has expanded rapidly in recent years
Many researchers have taken the position that third language acquisition (TLA) is another case of adult second language acquisition (SLA) and differences between SLA and TLA have been neglected in SLA research and in studies on bilingualism
The present study has examined the production of Cross-linguistic influence (CLI) in trilingual learners, all of whom are L1 Croatian speakers and long-term L2 English speakers, and who are in the process of acquiring either German or Spanish as a third language

Summary

Introduction

Third language acquisition is a relatively new area of research that has expanded rapidly in recent years. Recent research has made clear that interlanguage development of an L2 is not necessarily identical to that of an L3, especially with regard to potential sources of transfer (Cenoz, Hufeisen & Jessner, 2001; Cenoz, 2003; Leung, 2005; Rothman & Cabrelli Amaro, 2010). Our study is situated within the field of TLA and looks at learners who have acquired a second language (L2) – English – in the past and are presently in the process of acquiring a third language (L3) – German or Spanish. Cross-linguistic influence (CLI), defined as a field of study concerned with native and non-native language influence, has traditionally focused on L1 influence and L2 learner behavior. The purpose of the study is to examine Croatian and English CLI

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