Lexicale Transfer bij Tweede-Taalverwerving: Een onderzoek op het gebied van kleuren

This research focuses on lexical transfer the transfer of word meanings from LI to L2. Firstly, the relationship between prototypicity (here: descriptiveness) and transferability was examined in the field of colour words. Secondly, the influence of the target language and of the language level of L2 learners on transfer was investigated. Three groups of colour words were composed, decreasing in prototypicity, from descriptive (a blue door), to semi-descriptive (blue with cold), and non-descriptive (a blue note). Students of three language levels were asked to judge the descriptiveness of colour words and their translatability in French/German.This research provides evidence of the relationship between prototypicity and transferability. The target language and the language level of the L2 learners appeared to be significant The learners of German transferred more than learners of French, but the development of the transferability judgements was comparable for the two languages.