Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Factors that moderate global similarity in initial L3 transfer Intervocalic voiced stops in heritage Spanish/English bilinguals’ L3 Italian
AU - Cabrelli, Jennifer
AU - Pichan, Carrie
AU - Ward, Jessica
AU - Rothman, Jason
AU - Serratrice, Ludovica
PY - 2023/11/9
Y1 - 2023/11/9
N2 - Much of the formal linguistic research on third language (L3) acquisition has focused on transfer source selection, with the overall finding that (global) structural similarity between the L1/ L2 and L3 is the strongest predictor of initial transfer patterns. Recently, Cabrelli and Pichan (2021) reported data from the production of underlyingly intervocalic voiced stops in L3 Brazilian Portuguese (BP) and L3 Italian that highlight the notion that global similarity is likely moderated by other factors. Specifically, data from heritage Spanish/English bilinguals learning L3 BP reflected reliance on (non-facilitative, but globally more similar) Spanish, while L3 Italian data reflected greater reliance on (facilitative, but globally less similar) English. The current study is a first step towards identifying the source(s) of the disparity, in which we examine the roles of degree of dominance and explicit knowledge in heritage Spanish/English bilinguals. Thirty-four L3 Italian learners completed a delayed repetition task in all three languages. We report English-like patterns that contradict the L3 BP data and cannot be accounted for by degree of dominance or explicit knowledge. We connect these results to existing L3 transfer accounts and the need for further consideration of linguistic and methodological variables, particularly acoustic salience in L3 input and task modality.
AB - Much of the formal linguistic research on third language (L3) acquisition has focused on transfer source selection, with the overall finding that (global) structural similarity between the L1/ L2 and L3 is the strongest predictor of initial transfer patterns. Recently, Cabrelli and Pichan (2021) reported data from the production of underlyingly intervocalic voiced stops in L3 Brazilian Portuguese (BP) and L3 Italian that highlight the notion that global similarity is likely moderated by other factors. Specifically, data from heritage Spanish/English bilinguals learning L3 BP reflected reliance on (non-facilitative, but globally more similar) Spanish, while L3 Italian data reflected greater reliance on (facilitative, but globally less similar) English. The current study is a first step towards identifying the source(s) of the disparity, in which we examine the roles of degree of dominance and explicit knowledge in heritage Spanish/English bilinguals. Thirty-four L3 Italian learners completed a delayed repetition task in all three languages. We report English-like patterns that contradict the L3 BP data and cannot be accounted for by degree of dominance or explicit knowledge. We connect these results to existing L3 transfer accounts and the need for further consideration of linguistic and methodological variables, particularly acoustic salience in L3 input and task modality.
KW - heritage speaker bilingualism
KW - phonology
KW - salience
KW - third language acquisition
KW - transfer
U2 - 10.1075/lab.22062.cab
DO - 10.1075/lab.22062.cab
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85177597784
VL - 13
SP - 638
EP - 662
JO - Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism
JF - Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism
SN - 1879-9264
IS - 5
ER -