Oordrag van sintaktiese aspekte van die eerstetaal in die tweedetaalverwerwing van Xhosa

[摘要] This thesis reports on an investigation into the possibility of first language (L1) transferin the initial stages of the second language (L2) acquisition of Xhosa by adolescentbeginner learners with, respectively, English and Afrikaans as their L1. Researchers in L2acquisition are still debating about the possible transfer from learners' L1s to theirinterlanguage grammars in the initial stages of L2 acquisition. Some researchers claimthat L1 transfer does indeed occur (the Full Transfer hypothesis – see for exampleSchwartz & Sprouse 1996), while others claim that L1 transfer does not occur (the NoTransfer hypothesis – see for example Clahsen & Muysken 1986). Against thisbackground, two tasks were designed to determine whether or not beginner learners'performance, specifically in terms of verb placement in Xhosa, indicates that L1 transferoccurs in the initial stages of L2 acquisition. It is argued that the results of thisinvestigation provide evidence in support of the Full Transfer hypothesis. Finally, theimplications of the results of this investigation for L2 teaching in a multilingualenvironment are discussed.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University