LEARNABILITY AND THE LEXICON by Alan Juffs ( 9789027224781 ) - Books & Audio Books at Pickabook.co.uk

Item Details

Title:

LEARNABILITY AND THE LEXICON
THEORIES AND SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION RESEARCH

By:

Alan Juffs

Format:

Hardback

List price:

£88.00

Our price:

£79.20

Discount:

10% off

You save:

£8.80

ISBN 10:

9027224781

ISBN 13:

9789027224781

Availability:

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Stock:

Currently 1item in stock

Publisher:

JOHN BENJAMINS PUBLISHING CO

Pub. date:

23 August, 1996

Series:

Language Acquisition and Language Disorders 12

Pages:

294

Description:

Divided into seven sections, this work covers such topics as: linguistic theory; generative approaches to and acquiring semantics-syntax correspondences; semantic structure; testing knowledge of semantics-syntax correspondences in foreign languages; and analysis and discussion.

Synopsis:

This book provides a critical review of recent theories of semantics-syntax correspondences and makes new proposals for constraints on semantic structure relevant to syntax. Data from several languages are presented which suggest that semantic structure in root morphemes is subject to parametric variation which has effect across a variety of verb classes, including locatives, unaccusatives, and psych verbs. The implications for first and second language acquisition are discussed. In particular, it is suggested that different parametric settings may lead to a learnability problem if adult learners do not retain access to sensitivity to underlying semantic organization and morphological differences between languages provided by Universal Grammar. An experiment with Chinese-speaking learners of English is presented which shows that learners initially transfer L1 semantic organization to the L2, but are able to retreat from overgeneralisations and achieve native-like grammars in this area. Suggestions for further research in this rapidly developing area of theory and acquisition research are also made.

Illustrations:

index, references

Publication:

Netherlands

Imprint:

John Benjamins Publishing Co

Returns:

Non-returnable

Some other items by this author:

ACADEMIC VOCABULARY BUILDING IN ENGLISH, INTERMEDIATE (PB)

ASPECTS OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT IN AN INTENSIVE ENGLISH PROGRAM

LEARNABILITY AND THE LEXICON