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Aspects of second-language transfer in the oral production of Egyptian and Palestinian heritage speakers

Publication ,  Journal Article
Albirini, A; Benmamoun, E
Published in: International Journal of Bilingualism
January 1, 2014

The nature and extent of the impact of language transfer in majority-minority language contexts have been widely debated in both second- and heritage-language acquisition. This study examines four linguistic areas in three oral narratives collected from Egyptian and Palestinian heritage speakers in the United States (namely, plural and dual morphology, possessive constructions, and restrictive relative clauses), with a special focus on how the second language (English) influences the structure and use of these areas in connected discourse. In addition, the study examines the relationship between second-language transfer and the incompleteness and attrition of heritage Arabic. The findings show that heritage speakers have various gaps in their knowledge of the examined areas, particularly in forms and patterns that diverge from their counterparts in their dominant L2. The results also suggest that transfer effects are restricted to specific forms that are marked (e.g. broken plurals), infrequent (duals), or characterized by processing difficulty (as seems to be the case with the dependencies in the relative clauses). Moreover, transfer effects are intimately related to both the attrition and incomplete acquisition of the speakers' knowledge of the four areas under study. The implications of the study for heritage language research are discussed. © The Author(s) 2012.

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Published In

International Journal of Bilingualism

DOI

EISSN

1756-6878

ISSN

1367-0069

Publication Date

January 1, 2014

Volume

18

Issue

3

Start / End Page

244 / 273

Related Subject Headings

  • Languages & Linguistics
  • 4704 Linguistics
  • 2004 Linguistics
  • 2003 Language Studies
  • 1702 Cognitive Sciences
 

Citation

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Albirini, A., & Benmamoun, E. (2014). Aspects of second-language transfer in the oral production of Egyptian and Palestinian heritage speakers. International Journal of Bilingualism, 18(3), 244–273. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006912441729
Albirini, A., and E. Benmamoun. “Aspects of second-language transfer in the oral production of Egyptian and Palestinian heritage speakers.” International Journal of Bilingualism 18, no. 3 (January 1, 2014): 244–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006912441729.
Albirini A, Benmamoun E. Aspects of second-language transfer in the oral production of Egyptian and Palestinian heritage speakers. International Journal of Bilingualism. 2014 Jan 1;18(3):244–73.
Albirini, A., and E. Benmamoun. “Aspects of second-language transfer in the oral production of Egyptian and Palestinian heritage speakers.” International Journal of Bilingualism, vol. 18, no. 3, Jan. 2014, pp. 244–73. Scopus, doi:10.1177/1367006912441729.
Albirini A, Benmamoun E. Aspects of second-language transfer in the oral production of Egyptian and Palestinian heritage speakers. International Journal of Bilingualism. 2014 Jan 1;18(3):244–273.
Journal cover image

Published In

International Journal of Bilingualism

DOI

EISSN

1756-6878

ISSN

1367-0069

Publication Date

January 1, 2014

Volume

18

Issue

3

Start / End Page

244 / 273

Related Subject Headings

  • Languages & Linguistics
  • 4704 Linguistics
  • 2004 Linguistics
  • 2003 Language Studies
  • 1702 Cognitive Sciences