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Last update:
9 February 2010

© John Benjamins
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Child Second Language Acquisition

A bi-directional study of English and Italian tense-aspect morphology

Sonia Rocca
Lycée Français de New York

Studies in Bilingualism 35

2007. xvi, 240 pp.
Publishing status: Available

Hardbound – In stock
978 90 272 4146 7 / EUR 105.00 / USD 158.00
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e-Book – Available from e-book platforms
978 90 272 9188 2 / EUR 105.00 / USD 158.00
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As one of the first books in child second language acquisition (SLA), this book focuses on the core area of tense-aspect morphology, reporting on three L1-Italian children learning L2 English vs. three L1-English children learning L2 Italian. An innovative longitudinal/bidirectional research design, where two languages represent both source and target, show effects of language transfer in learners that, because of their age, still have potential to become native-speakers of the target. An unusual feature of this book is that relevant studies of acquisition of L2 Italian, some heretofore only in Italian, are reviewed, incorporated into the study and made available to a more general audience. Though the main focus is on child SLA, crucial comparisons to both first language acquisition vs. adult SLA are presented. This approach will thus be of interest more generally to readers in first and second language acquisition and child development.

Table of contents

Acknowledgements
ix
List of tables
xi–xii
List of figures
xiii
Abbreviations
xv–xvi
Introduction
1–3
Chapter 1. Theoretical approaches to tense-aspect
5–53
1.1 Grammatical aspect
6
1.2 Lexical aspect
21
1.3 Grammatical and lexical aspect: The interaction
39
Chapter 2. The acquisition of tense-aspect
55–99
2.1 First language acquisition
55
2.2 Second language acquisition
71
Chapter 3. Methodological procedures
101–118
3.1 Research questions and hypotheses
101
3.2 Participants
104
3.3 Data collection procedure
105
3.4 Data analysis
109
Chapter 4. Analyses and results
119–210
4.1 L2 English data
119
4.2 L2 Italian data
149
4.3 L2 English and L2 Italian data: A comparison
207
Chapter 5. General discussion
211–220
5.1 Child L2 acquisition of tense-aspect morphology
211
5.2 Child L2 acquisition and L1 acquisition
215
5.3 Child L2 acquisition and adult L2 acquisition
218
Conclusion
221–223
References
225–235
Subject index
236–240

“Sonia Rocca's study offers a fascinating account of how child bilinguals employ forms in the service of meaning. It will impress many people interested in first and second language acquisition, especially since her research shows the mutual relevance of these two fields.”
Terence Odlin, Ohio State University

“This book reflects a deep and unusual understanding of the theory of children learning a second language perfectly aligned with solid and innovative empirical work. The conclusions presented here on tense-aspect development and on language transfer are innovative and central to child cognition and development.”

Larry Selinker, New York University

“Sonia Rocca is to be applauded for the logical and skilful argumentation that she brings to bear on issues central to how second languages develop during the childhood years. The book's bidirectional and crosslinguistic perspective, coupled with its grammatical focus at the crossroads between morphosyntax and semantics, makes it a unique contribution to the field of child second language acquisition in particular and language acquisition in general.”

Usha Lakshmanan, Southern Illinois University

Subject classification

Linguistics
Applied linguistics
Bilingualism
Language acquisition