Acquiring a Variable Structure: An Interlanguage Analysis of Second Language Mood Use in Spanish

This investigation connects issues in second language (L2) acquisition to topics in quantitative sociolinguistics by exploring the relationship between native‐speaker (NS) and L2 variation. It is the first large‐scale analysis of L2 mood use (the subjunctive‐indicative contrast) in Spanish. It appli...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Language learning 2012-06, Vol.62 (2), p.373-402
Main Author: Gudmestad, Aarnes
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults. Performance, acquisition
Correlation
English (Second Language)
Grammar
Interlanguage
L2 development
Language acquisition
Language Usage
Language Variation
Linguistics
mood distinction
Native Speakers
Predictor Variables
Production and comprehension processes
Psycholinguistics
Psychological Patterns
Psychology of language
Second Language Learning
Semantics
Sociolinguistics
Spanish
Spanish language
subjunctive
Task Analysis
Time
variation
Verbs
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Summary:This investigation connects issues in second language (L2) acquisition to topics in quantitative sociolinguistics by exploring the relationship between native‐speaker (NS) and L2 variation. It is the first large‐scale analysis of L2 mood use (the subjunctive‐indicative contrast) in Spanish. It applies variationist findings on the range of linguistic and extralinguistic factors (form regularity, semantic category, time reference, hypotheticality, and task) shown to influence NSs’ mood use to an interlanguage analysis of L2 development and shows that analyses of frequency and predictors provide revealing details about how learners acquire the ability to vary their use of verbal moods in Spanish. Variationism, it is concluded, can foster rich descriptions and explanations of interlanguage and its evolution.
ISSN:0023-8333
1467-9922
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-9922.2012.00696.x