Accessibility navigation


The relationship between L3 transfer and structural similarity across L3 development: raising across an experience in Brazilian Portuguese

Cabrelli-Amaro, J., Amaro, J. F. and Rothman, J. (2015) The relationship between L3 transfer and structural similarity across L3 development: raising across an experience in Brazilian Portuguese. In: Peukert, H. (ed.) Transfer Effects in Multilingual Language Development. Hamburg Studies on Linguistic Diversity (4). John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam, pp. 21-52. ISBN 9789027214171

Full text not archived in this repository.

It is advisable to refer to the publisher's version if you intend to cite from this work. See Guidance on citing.

To link to this item DOI: 10.1075/hsld.4.02ama

Abstract/Summary

The present study examines three competing models of morphosyntactic transfer in third language (L3) acquisition, examining the particular domain of the feature configuration of embedded T in L3 Brazilian Portuguese (BP) at the initial stages and then through development. The methodology alternates Spanish and English as the L1 and L2 to tease apart the source of transfer to L3 BP. Results from a scalar grammaticality acceptability task show unequivocal transfer of Spanish irrespective of Spanish’s status as an L1 or L2. The data thus support the Typological Primacy Model (Rothman 2010, 2011, 2013a, 2013b), which proposes that multilingual transfer is selected by factors related to comparative structural similarity. Given that Spanish transfer at the L3 initial stages creates the need for feature reconfiguration to converge on the target BP grammar, the second part of this chapter examines the developmental consequences of what the TPM models in cases of non-facilitative initial transfer, that is, the developmental path of feature reconfiguration of embedded T in L3 BP by English/Spanish bilinguals. Given what these data reveal, we address the role of regressive transfer as a correlate of L3 proficiency gains.

Item Type:Book or Report Section
Refereed:Yes
Divisions:Interdisciplinary Research Centres (IDRCs) > Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism (CeLM)
Interdisciplinary Research Centres (IDRCs) > Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics (CINN)
Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Department of Clinical Language Sciences
Interdisciplinary Research Centres (IDRCs) > Centre for Cognition Research (CCR)
ID Code:43686
Publisher:John Benjamins Publishing Company

University Staff: Request a correction | Centaur Editors: Update this record

Page navigation