Complexity and Conflicting Grammars in Language Acquisition
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| Title: | Complexity and Conflicting Grammars in Language Acquisition |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Westergaard, Marit |
| Source: | Second Language Research. Jan 2014 30(1):85-89. |
| Availability: | SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 5 |
| Publication Date: | 2014 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Evaluative Opinion Papers |
| Descriptors: | Grammar, Second Language Learning, Native Language, Language Acquisition, Linguistic Theory, Language Research, Language Processing, Speech Communication, Bilingualism, Language Universals, Child Language, Cues, Comparative Analysis, Transfer of Training, Language Variation, Norwegian |
| DOI: | 10.1177/0267658313518486 |
| ISSN: | 0267-6583 |
| Abstract: | The article by Amaral and Roeper (this issue; henceforth A&R) presents many interesting ideas about first and second language acquisition as well as some experimental data convincingly illustrating the difference between production and comprehension. The article extends the concept of Universal Bilingualism proposed in Roeper (1999) to second language acquisition. As stated in the Introduction, the idea of Multiple Grammars (MG) is in some sense obvious in the context of second language acquisition. In this commentary, the author focuses on some aspects of the theory that are left somewhat unclear, namely the nature of complexity and the "size" of rules as well as the question of what constitutes conflicting (sub-)grammars. The author also compares the MG theory to her own model of micro-cues (Westergaard, 2009a, 2009b), discussing some similarities and differences, the latter mainly due to the micro-cue model claiming that the rules of early child language are smaller and more specific than has previously been assumed. |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Number of References: | 15 |
| Entry Date: | 2014 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1020530 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | The article by Amaral and Roeper (this issue; henceforth A&R) presents many interesting ideas about first and second language acquisition as well as some experimental data convincingly illustrating the difference between production and comprehension. The article extends the concept of Universal Bilingualism proposed in Roeper (1999) to second language acquisition. As stated in the Introduction, the idea of Multiple Grammars (MG) is in some sense obvious in the context of second language acquisition. In this commentary, the author focuses on some aspects of the theory that are left somewhat unclear, namely the nature of complexity and the "size" of rules as well as the question of what constitutes conflicting (sub-)grammars. The author also compares the MG theory to her own model of micro-cues (Westergaard, 2009a, 2009b), discussing some similarities and differences, the latter mainly due to the micro-cue model claiming that the rules of early child language are smaller and more specific than has previously been assumed. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0267-6583 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/0267658313518486 |
