- Home
- e-Journals
- Language, Interaction and Acquisition
- Previous Issues
- Volume 7, Issue, 2016
Language, Interaction and Acquisition - Volume 7, Issue 1, 2016
Volume 7, Issue 1, 2016
-
Confirming or asserting?
Author(s): Cecilia Andorno and Fabiana Rosipp.: 17–43 (27)More LessYes and no allow an easy management of talk-in-interaction and, unlike other classes of discourse markers, occur from early stages of L2 acquisition onwards (Perdue 1993; Bernini 1996, 2000; Andorno 2008a for L2 Italian). However, problems in their use can arise in replies to negative utterances such as “Didn’t you hear the news?”, “You didn’t read the news, did you?”, as in this case speakers have to choose one of the two conflicting values possibly encoded by the particles — either asserting a positive/negative polarity for the proposition at issue or confirming/reversing the negative polarity conveyed by the previous speaker. Since Pope (1973), a distinction has been drawn between languages with polarity-oriented particles, such as English yes/no, and languages with agreement-oriented particles, such as Japanese hai/iie. The study compares the use of Italian sì/no and other routines such as echo-constructions in native speakers and L2 learners with either a polarity-oriented or an agreement-oriented L1. Results show that cross-linguistic influence can affect the use of sì/no in L2, as pointed for other domains of pragmatic competence (Gass & Selinker 1992; Kasper 1992; Jarvis & Pavlenko 2008). Results further show that, even when learners lack pragmalinguistic competence in the use of particles, they treat replies of confirmation or rejection differently, thus revealing sociopragmatic sensitivity similar to that of native speakers in recognising the markedness of disagreement replies.
-
Learners and reformulative discourse markers
Author(s): Elisa Corinopp.: 44–66 (23)More LessBuilding on the results of a previous study on reformulative discourse markers (Corino 2012), this paper examines the different functions and semantic features of the Italian discourse marker cioè in the hope of elaborating a clear framework for its many functions and uses. The outcomes will enable us to answer three main research questions: 1) Is there a relevant relationship between the learner’s mother tongue and the use of cioè? 2) What points in Italian as a second language (ISL) need to be taught to learners in order to improve the use of DMs? 3) What functions of cioè are used more or less by learners of ISL with respect to native speakers? To this end, the distribution of this DM will be analyzed in texts written by ISL learners, collected in the learner corpora VALICO and ADIL2, in search of regularities in acquisition vs. evidence of influence of the learners’ mother tongues.
-
The use of discourse markers in L2 Italian
Author(s): Anna De Marcopp.: 67–88 (22)More LessThis exploratory study intends to investigate the use of discourse markers (DM) in Italian L2 by learners with different L1s and different levels of competence (three at A2/B1 level and two at B2/C1 level). The analysis aims to describe the functions, the distribution, and some acoustic features of three DMs (però ‘but’, allora ‘then’, quindi ‘therefore’) in semi-spontaneous conversations between the learners and two native speakers. The purpose is to determine the possible uses and the relationship between the forms and functions of the DMs in native and non-native speakers distinguishing three main macro-functions (interactional, cognitive and metadiscursive) activated by speakers on the basis of the characteristics of the cotext (acoustic profiles), the context and the communicative situation. Such an analysis suggests a possible sequence in the emergence of DMs in the speech of L2 learners with different levels of competence in the target language. This exploratory study adopts a functional approach (Bazzanella 1995a, b; 2006; Fisher 2006). The outcomes of the analysis show that learners use a variety of DM forms and functions, and that some functions only emerge in more proficient speakers. The structural context and, to a lesser degree, the acoustic profile prove to be reliable indicators of the spectrum of functions performed by DMs in verbal interaction.
-
Pointing backward and forward
Author(s): Franco Pauletto and Camilla Bardelpp.: 89–116 (28)More LessIn this study, we analyze the kind of actions L1 and L2 speakers of Italian perform by prefacing their responsive turns with the discourse marker be’. As a baseline, the article begins with an analysis of how native speakers of Italian use be’. We then carry out quantitative and qualitative analyses of the use of be’ in a number of L2 learners at different proficiency levels from three data sets of different types of interactions between students and native speakers of Italian. In the qualitative analysis, we adopt a conversation analytic perspective. The results suggest that both native speakers and L2 speakers, from intermediate to advanced level, perform a variety of social actions by be’-prefacing their responsive turns.
-
Turn openings in L2 French
Author(s): Britta Thörlepp.: 117–144 (28)More LessIn this contribution we will analyze a corpus of telephone conversations between German students of French and native speakers from an interactional linguistic point of view. The study is based on a corpus of ten formal conversations performed as role play between German university students and native speakers of French. Taking an interactional approach, the use of discourse markers will be described as a situated activity of learners who use the resources at their disposal to accomplish conversational tasks. The analysis will concentrate on the accomplishment of turn openings and point out the dynamic nature of the use of discourse markers in exolingual interaction. During the conversations, learners employ forms already available in their repertoire as discourse markers, they use the interlocutor’s example as a model, and they develop their own routines. Against this background, certain characteristics of discourse markers in L2 can be described as the result of communication and acquisition strategies that allow learners to maintain the conversation as well as to build, expand or adjust their repertoire.
Most Read This Month
