Transfer of variable grammars in third language acquisition

ABSTRACT

Research on linguistic variation suggests that usage patterns are deeply embedded in native and non-native speakers’ knowledge of grammar. This study explores the transfer of these variable sociolinguistic patterns at the initial stages of third language acquisition. We elicited narratives in Portuguese from two mirror-image groups of sequential Spanish-English bilingual early learners of Portuguese. Their production of variable subject pronoun expression was analysed. When comparing the two groups with regards to the linguistic factors that constrain subject pronoun expression, evidence of transfer from Spanish and not from English is consistent for both groups. We conclude that variable linguistic information is accessible in L3 transfer at beginning stages of acquisition and it is successfully predicted by holistic models of L3 acquisition.

KEYWORDS:

• Language transfer
• third language acquisition
• third language use
• crosslinguistic influence
• multilingualism

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to express their gratitude to Dr Ana Carvalho for her support, to Dr Ryan Bessett for his comments on earlier versions of this manuscript, and to two anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback that served to improve the content of this article. The authors are also grateful to the instructors and students of the Portuguese Program at The University of Arizona for their help and collaboration.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Ramses Ortin http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0894-1852