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E-book
Author Vainikka, Anne

Title The acquisition of German : introducing organic Grammar / by Anne Vainikka, Martha Young-Scholten
Published Berlin ; Boston : De Gruyter Mouton, 2011

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Description 1 online resource (xi, 407 pages)
Series Studies on language acquisition ; 44
Studies on language acquisition ; 44.
Contents Frontmatter -- Dedication. Acknowledgments -- Contents -- Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Organic Syntax of Adult German -- Chapter 3. Organic Grammar and L1 acquisition -- Chapter 4. Second language acquisition at the VP level -- Chapter 5. Second language acquisition at the IP level -- Chapter 6. Differences in triggering between children and adults -- Chapter 7. The second language acquisition of the CP projection -- Chapter 8. Naturalistic learners and unsolved problems in SLA -- References -- Index
Summary The Acquisition of German: Introducing Organic Grammar brings together work on the acquisition of German from over four decades of child L1 and immigrant L2 learner studies. The book's major feature is new longitudinal data from three secondary school students who began an exchange year in Germany with no German knowledge and attained fluency. Their naturalistic acquisition process -- with a succession of stages described for the first time in L2 acquisition -- is highly similar to that of younger learners. This has important implications for German teaching and for the theory of Universal Grammar and acquisition. Organic Grammar, a variant of generative syntax, is offered as a practical alternative to Chomsky's Minimalism. The analysis focuses on extensive monthly samples of the three students' German development in an input-rich environment. Similar to previous studies, the teenagers build syntactic structure from the bottom up. Two acquired correct word order by the end of the year, the third, who had greater conscious awareness of German grammar, had a divergent route of development, suggesting that language awareness can alter a natural developmental path. The results are addressed in light of recent debates in child-adult differences
Analysis Generative Grammar
German
Language Acquisition
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Subject German language -- Acquisition
Language acquisition.
Grammar, Comparative and general.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDY -- German.
German language -- Acquisition
Grammar, Comparative and general
Language acquisition
Form Electronic book
Author Young-Scholten, Martha
LC no. 2011037582
ISBN 9783110263848
311026384X
3110263769
9783110263763