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In:L3 Development After the Initial State
Edited by Megan M. Brown-Bousfield, Suzanne Flynn and Éva Fernández-Berkes
[Studies in Bilingualism 65] 2023
► pp. 8–28

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Grammatical mapping in L3 acquisition

A theory of development

 | University of Applied Sciences Burgenland
 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Published online: 9 October 2023
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https://doi.org/10.1075/sibil.65.01fer
Abstract
In this chapter, we focus on the question of how development may take place in multilingual (L3) acquisition and the role of prior knowledge in this process. The theoretical paradigm called Grammatical Mapping (GM) (Lust, 2012 for L1 acquisition) supposes an active, albeit unconscious, creative involvement of the learner in the construction of the specific language grammar constrained and guided by Universal Grammar (UG). We propose that the GM paradigm provides a valid and principled account of the process of multilingual acquisition as well. By means of presenting concrete examples from our previous experimental research, we will illustrate how the three essential predictions deriving from this paradigm also bear out in the multilingual scenario. Similar to L1 acquisition, UG’s structure-dependent and invariant principle(s) are shown to be at work in multilingual development. Moreover, based on error analyses of multilingual learners’ errors and reformations in elicited productions, we present tangible indications that multilingual learners draw upon previously known language grammars while engaged in linguistic computation – analysis, dissociation and integration – of target language-specific components. Our contribution to the GM paradigm is the specification of the manner in which multilingual learners draw upon previous knowledge in the construction of new target grammar, thus extricating explicit from implicit linguistic knowledge. We expect that the application of this paradigm onto multilingual experimental data may shed light on the degree to which domain-specific innate principles guide and constrain language acquisition in general.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Toward a comprehensive theory of language acquisition
  • 3.Grammatical mapping (GM) (Lust, 2012)
    • 3.1GM for multilingual acquisition: What constitutes the initial state
    • 3.2GM for multilingual acquisition: What constitutes development and the role of previous linguistic experience
    • 3.3GM for multilingual acquisition: Empirical predictions
  • 4.Discussion of supporting evidence
  • 5.Final remarks
  • Notes
  • References
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