Vulnerable Domains for Cross-linguistic Influence in L2 Acquisition of Greek


Book Description

This book investigates adult L2 acquisition, the role of Universal Grammar, and possible cross-linguistic transfer in L2 acquisition. It investigates all the domains vulnerable to cross-linguistic interference in L2 Greek by L1 Russian adult speakers who all reside in the Republic of Cyprus.




Cross-linguistic Influence in Bilingualism


Book Description

This book presents a current state-of-affairs regarding the study of cross-linguistic influence in bilingualism. Taking Hulk and Müller’s (2000) and Müller and Hulk’s (2001) hypotheses on cross-linguistic influence as a starting point, the book exemplifies the shift from the original focus on syntax proper to interfaces and discourse phenomena in the study of bilingualism. It also reflects the enormous increase in different language combinations (including dialects) being investigated, and the use of new methodologies. Moreover, the volume illustrates the growing interdisciplinarity of cross-linguistic influence research, considering extra-linguistic cognitive and social factors besides linguistics. It demonstrates that the time is ripe for a more integrated approach from different disciplines such as theoretical linguistics, psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics to obtain a better understanding of bilingual child acquisition. As such, it is of interest to (psycho/socio)linguists, psychologists and education specialists who study or want to learn about (child) bilingualism.




Developments in the Acquisition of Clitics


Book Description

The present volume presents new theoretical and empirical findings on the acquisition and development of clitics in and across different languages. It features ten chapters that largely emerged from the CYCL1A Workshop on the Acquisition of Clitics held in Nicosia, Cyprus, in May 2012. These chapters explore issues pertaining to the first (L1) and second language (L2) acquisition of clitic pronouns. There is an emphasis on Greek, with the first four chapters discussing mono- and bilingual acquisition of clitics in Cypriot Greek and the next two chapters on Standard Modern Greek. Three contributions focus on Albanian, Serbo-Croatian, and European Portuguese, respectively. The last chapter of this volume is an invited contribution by Ken Wexler on the Unique Checking Constraint as an explanation of clitic omission in normal and SLI development. This volume will constitute a valuable reference guide for current work on the acquisition of clitic pronouns.




Crosslinguistic Influence and Crosslinguistic Interaction in Multilingual Language Learning


Book Description

Which strategies do multilingual learners use when confronted with languages they don't yet know? Which factors are involved in activating prior linguistic knowledge in multilingual learning? This volume offers valuable insights into recent research in multilingualism, crosslinguistic influence and crosslinguistic interaction. Experts in the field examine the role of background languages in multilingual learning. All the chapters point to the heart of the question of what the «multilingual mind» is. Does learning one language actually help you learn another, and if so, why? This volume looks at languages and scenarios beyond English as a second language – Italian, Gaelic, Dutch and German, amongst others, are covered, as well as instances of third and additional language learning. Research into crosslinguistic influence and crosslinguistic interaction essentially contributes to our understanding of how language learning works when there are three or more languages in contact.




Heritage Language Education in Greece and Cyprus


Book Description

Amid the growing trend of preserving ethnic languages within diverse ethnolinguistic communities in Greece and Cyprus, our understanding of heritage language education in these countries remains limited. The chapters in this collection undertake a thoughtful exploration of language education in the world’s two majority-Greek-speaking contexts. The volume brings together empirical studies that exhibit the array of heritage language education options available in Greece and Cyprus today, including community/complementary schools operating on weekends or after regular school hours, providing language and culture classes in a range of languages (e.g., Albanian, Czech, Armenian, Russian), day schools (such as Italian and Hebrew schools), and 'family language schools' developed within the UNICEF framework. Collectively, these chapters establish a novel evidence base describing the diversity of the heritage language education landscape, which could act as a catalyst for further research and potentially drive change in both policy and practice. Importantly, the volume renders heritage language education initiatives in Greece and Cyprus visible – mainly to scholars, but potentially also to practitioners, policymakers, and other stakeholders in this evolving social, educational, and linguistic domain.




Speech Perception and Production in L2


Book Description

This book is concerned with studying speech perception and production in an L2. It deals with segments, syllables, and features above syllable level (the suprasegmental level). The volume brings together careful theoretical and empirical research conducted in different countries, including the United States of America, Greece, Northern Cyprus, Canada, the Republic of Cyprus, Israel, and Spain.




Handbook of Research on Multilingual and Multicultural Perspectives on Higher Education and Implications for Teaching


Book Description

Multilingualism, multiculturalism, and internationalization in higher education is a contemporary reality worldwide. Because of the importance of multilingualism in learning policy, special professional and education training should be provided both to teachers and students. Multilingual education can promote linguistic and cultural diversity, inclusion, and social development. The Handbook of Research on Multilingual and Multicultural Perspectives on Higher Education and Implications for Teaching focuses on both top-down and bottom-up perspectives on multilingual and multicultural education based on conceptual and empirical studies. This book provides evidence in support of sustainable multilingualism and multiculturalism in higher education. Covering topics such as dialectic teaching, multilingual classrooms, and teacher education, this major reference work is an essential resource for pre-service teachers, educators of higher education, language policy experts, university administration, scholars, linguists, researchers, and academicians.




Biliteracy and Multiliteracies


Book Description

This volume introduces the reader to ongoing research on the study of biliteracy, and highlights recent trends in the promotion of biliteracy and multiliteracies in education. Literacy issues have come under the microscope of researchers in recent decades. The very concept of literacy includes skills such as understanding, interpreting, and managing different text types in different sociocultural environments. Therefore, the pioneers in the study of literacy characterize it as one multidimensional concept with social and cultural components, or go even further by talking about pluriliteracies/multiliteracies, which emerge through the complex linguistic and value practices adopted by speakers of multilingual societies in the 21st century. The contributions gathered here will give the reader a general idea of where research is heading in the areas of biliteracy and multiliteracies, especially in view of multilingualism and its ever-changing conditions. The authors situate their research within current debates in terms of theory and empirical data. In this volume, the reader will find several chapters discussing issues of biliteracy and multiliteracies in a wide variety of settings, countries, and orientations, including Brazil, Cyprus, Greece, Iceland, Malta, Portugal, and the USA.




Proceedings of GALA 2017


Book Description

This volume is a comprehensive, state-of-the-science treatment of the acquisition of different Indo- and Non-Indo-European languages in different contexts (i.e., L1, L2, L3/Ln, bi/multilingual language, heritage languages, pathology and language impairment and sign language acquisition) conducted within the generative framework. It also encompasses the diversity of methodologies and issues that can be found with contemporary research in the field. The different chapters contain original research from several different angles and provide a basis for dialogue between researchers working on diverse projects with the aim to further our understanding of how languages are acquired and, at the same time, refine and propose new theoretical constructs, such as complexity of linguistic features as a relevant factor forming children’s, adult’s and bilingual’s acquisition of syntactic, morphological, lexical and phonological structures.




The Value of English in Global Mobility and Higher Education


Book Description

This book offers a unique insight into the dynamics of the English language in higher education in Cyprus through the lens of universities situated on both sides of its geopolitical division. It takes an original perspective on 'value' in the context of the sociolinguistics and political economy of English as a global language and as an apparent commodified entity. The problematic issues of value as they apply to language are dealt with from Marxist and Bourdieusean perspectives. The book also offers a helpful critique of the claims of alternative paradigms of English expansion, such as ELF, and their shortcomings in respect of the concept of value. Manuela Vida-Mannl puts forth a critique of the marketization of English and the complicity of higher education in the reproduction of linguistic hierarchies and social inequalities in Cyprus and, by implication, more generally. She presents a conception of English as a marketable attribute that does not necessarily require competence, which points to the ongoing imbrication of English in the reproduction of global structural and social inequality, as it exposes the myth of class advancement through English. Building on an extensive study (based on 205 questionnaires and 25 subsequent in-depth ethnographic interviews) and by focusing on the value of English within the unique context of divided Cyprus, this book uncovers an intriguing perspective on the neoliberal role and significance of the English language in our globalized world.