THE ACQUISITION OF ENGLISH DATIVE ALTERNATION BY TURKISH ADULT LEARNERS OF ENGLISH

Abstract

Within the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research, Interlanguage (IL)development has become an important component. In this respect, other relatedissues of IL development as native language factor for transfer situation, and effectsof cross linguistic differences between languages have expanded the interest of theinquiry. This study investigates the IL development of Turkish adult learners ofEnglish in terms of the IL features they employed and L1 effect on their IL, regarding SLA theories. Primary purpose of the study is to examine IL grammar of Turkishadult learners of English considering similarities and differences between learners’acquisition process, the effect of Turkish as native language and learners’ attitudesthat can be accepted as language learning strategies. For this purpose, Dativealternation structures in English have been investigated through various learnerdata elicited from tests and corpus data. Research findings indicated that there isno significant difference in the use of dative structures between learners with different proficiency levels. On the other hand, overgeneralization and undergeneralization of some certain structures have been identified in terms of IL grammar properties and L1 transfer samples

Keywords

• Second Language Acquisition
• Interlanguage
• Dative Alternation in English

İNGİLİZCE’DEKİ DOLAYLI NESNENİN İNGİLİZCE’Yİ İKİNCİ DİL OLARAK EDİNEN TÜRK YETİŞKİNLER TARAFINDAN EDİNİMİ

Öz

İkinci Dil Edinimi (İDE) araştırmaları kapsamında, aradil gelişimi önemli birunsur haline gelmiştir. Bu hususta, aradil gelişimine bağlı diğer etmenler olanaradil üzerinde anadil faktörü ve diller arası dilbilimsel farklılıklar ilgi alanınıgenişletmiştir. Bu çalışma İngilizceyi ikinci dil olarak öğrenen Türk yetişkinlerinaradil gelişimlerini ve sergiledikleri aradil özelliklerini İDE teorilerini dikkatealarak araştırmaktadır. Çalışmanın ana amacı Türk öğrenenlerin aradil gelişiminiöğrenenlerin dil edinimlerindeki benzerlik ve farklılıklar açısından incelemek veanadil olan Türkçe’nin öğrenenlerin aradilleri üzerindeki etkisini bir dil öğrenmestratejisi olarak değerlendirmektir. Bu amaçla İngilizcedeki dolaylı nesne yapıları,testler ve derlem verileriyle elde edilen çeşitli öğrenen verisi yoluyla incelenmiştir.Araştırma bulgularına göre, dolaylı nesne yapılarının kullanımlarında farklıİngilizce seviyelerindeki öğrenenler arasında istatistiki açıdan anlamlı bir farklılıkyoktur. Öte yandan, aradil özellikleri olarak ve anadil aktarımı adına bazı belliyapılarda aşırı genelleme ve yetersiz genelleştirme örneklerine rastlanmıştır

Anahtar Kelimeler

• İkinci Dil Edinimi
• Aradil
• İngilizcedeki dolaylı nesne

References

1. Adjeman, C.& Liceras, J. (1984). Accounting for adult acquisition of relative clauses: Universal Grammar, L1 and structuring the intake. In F. Eckman, et al. (Ed.) The competence performance issue in second language acquisition: a debate. Amsterdam,:Kruwer .
2. Andersen, R. (1983). Transfer to somewhere. In S. Gass and L. Selinker (Eds.) Language transfer in language learning (pp.177-201). MA: Newbury House, Rowley.
3. Ellis, R. (1985). Understanding second language acquisition. Oxford : Oxford University Press.
4. Ellis, R. (1994). The Study of second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
5. Ellis, R. (1997). Second language acquisition. Oxford : Oxford University Press.
6. Elyıldırım, S. (1996). Acquisition of the English dative alternation by Turkish learners, Paper presented in the fifth Manchester Postgraduate Linguistics Conference, Manchester, The University of Manchester.
7. Felix, S. (1991). The accessibility of universal grammar in second language acquisition. In L. Eubank (Ed.) Point counterpoint: universal grammar in the second language. Amsterdam: John Benjamins
8. Gass, S.M.& Selinker, L. (1983). Language transfer in language learning. MA: Rowley, Newbury House.

9. Gass, S.M. (1996). Second language acquisition and linguistic theory: the role of language transfer. In: W.R., Ritchie and T.J. Bhatia (Eds.), Handbook of Second Language Acquisition, (pp:.317-345) San Diego : Academic Press.
10. Granger, S. (Ed.) (1998). Learner English on Computer. London and NY: Longman.
11. Göksel, A.& Kerslake, C. (2005). Turkish.. Routledge: NY.
12. Hawkins, R. (1987). Markedness and the acquisition of the English dative alternation by L2 speakers. Second Language Research 1(3), 20-55.
13. Hilles, S. 1991. Access to Universal Grammar in second language acquisition. In Eubank, L. (Ed.) Point Counterpoint: Universal Grammar in the Second Language (pp.305- 338). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
14. Kellerrman, E.1984. The empirical evidence for the influence of the L1 in interlanguage. In: Davies, A., Criper, C. and Howatt, A. (Eds.) Interlanguage (pp.98-122). Edinburg: Edinburg University Press
15. Kellerrman, C. & Sharwood-Smith, M. (1986). Cross-linguistic influence in second lan- guage acquisition. Pergamon, NY .
16. Larsen-Freeman, D.& Long, M. (1991). An introduction to second language acquisition research. London: Longman.
17. Lightbrown, P.M. & Spada, N. (1999). How languages are learned. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
18. Mazurkewich, I. (1984b). The acquisition of the dative alternation by second language learners and linguistic theory. Language Learning, 34, 91-109.
19. Mazurkewich, I. & White, L. (1984). The acquisition of dative alternation: unlearning over- generalizations. Cognition, 16, 261-283.
20. Selinker, L. (1992). Rediscovering interlanguage. NY: Longman.
21. Selinker, L. (1972). Interlanguage. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 10, pp.209- 231.
22. Tarone, E.E. (1988). Variation and second language acquisition. London: Edward Arnold.
23. White, L. (2000). Second language acquisition: From initial to final state. In J. Archibald (Ed.) (June), Second Acquisition and Linguistic Theory (pp.130-155). Oxford: Blackwell.
24. White, L. (1989). Universal grammar and second language acquisition. Amsterdam : John Benjamins.
25. White, L. (1986). Implications of parametric variation for adult second language acquisi- tion: an investigation of the pro-drop parameter. In V.J. Cook (Ed.), Experimental Approaches to second Language Acquisition ( pp.55-72). Oxford: Pergamon.
26. White, L. & Genesee, F. (1996). How native is near-native? The issue of ultimate attainment in adult second language acquisition. SLA, 12, 238-265.
27. Zobl, H. (1980a). The formal and developmental selectivity of L1 influence on L2 acquisi- tion. Language Learning, 30(1), 43-57.
28. Zobl, H. (1980b). Developmental and transfer errors: Their common bases and (possibly) differential effects on subsequent learning. TESOL Quarterly ,14(4), 469-479.