Syntax Matters: Exploring the Effect of Linguistic Similarity in Third Language Acquisition

• Published in: Language learning Vol. 73; no. 2; pp. 374 - 402
• Main Authors: Jensen, Isabel Nadine, Westergaard, Marit
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley 01.06.2023; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Acceptability; artificial language learning; Artificial languages; Bilingualism; Contrastive Linguistics; crosslinguistic influence; Declarative sentences; English (Second Language); English language; Grammar; Language Acquisition; Learning transfer; Norwegian; Norwegian language; property by property; Second Language Learning; Syntactic phases; Syntax; third language acquisition; Third language learning; wholesale transfer; Word Order
• ISSN: 0023-8333; 1467-9922; 1467-9922
• DOI: 10.1111/lang.12525

Over the last two decades, the question of to which linguistic cues learners pay attention when they decode a new language has been subject to controversy in the field of third language (L3) acquisition. In this article, we present an artificial language learning experiment that investigated how lexical and syntactic similarities between an artificial L3 and preexisting grammars impact crosslinguistic influence at the very beginning of the acquisition process. We exposed four groups of 30 Norwegian–English bilinguals each to one of four L3s and gave them training in that L3. The participants gave forced‐choice acceptability judgments on pairs of nonsubject‐initial declarative clauses that differed in word order, one grammatical in English, the other grammatical in Norwegian. The participants had not been exposed to nonsubject‐initial declaratives during the exposure and training phases to avoid confounds with learning. The results showed that both lexical and syntactic similarities affect crosslinguistic influence. We discuss this result considering contemporary accounts of L3 acquisition. A one‐page Accessible Summary of this article in non‐technical language is freely available in the Supporting Information online and at https://oasis‐database.org