Language Transfer

Dr. VMS
Language Transfer
speakers or writers applying knowledge from their
native language to a second language.

The effect can be on any aspect of language: grammar,

vocabulary, accent, spelling and so on.
Transfer (Odlin 1989:27)
Influence resulting from the similarities and
differences between the target language and any other
language that has been previously(and perhaps
imperfectly) acquired.
Positive and Negative Transfer
Positive: unit or structure of both languages is the
same, linguistic interference can result in correct
language production. EX: cognates.

Negative: when speakers and writers transfer items

and structures that are not the same in both
languages. EX: False cognates.
Transfer
Speakers apply knowledge from their native language.
It can occur in any situation when someone does not
have a native level command of a language, as when
translating into a second language.
The grater the differences between the two languages,
the more negative the effects of interference are likely
to be
It will inevitably occur in any situation where someone
has an imperfect command of a second language.
Transfer posited by Various Authors

• Mother tongue influence (Corder, 1967)

• Native language influence (Gass, 1996)
• Cross-linguistic influence (Kellerman and Sharwood-
Smith, 1986; Odlin, 1989)
• Cross-linguistic generalization (Zobl, 1984)
Learners Interference
Learners approach the second language
systematically; they attempt to formulate linguistic
rules with the information they have:

 from the native language

from the second language
from teachers and classmates
Conscious and Unconscious Behaviour

Conscious: Learners or unskilled translators may

sometimes guess when producing speech or text in a
second language.

Unconscious: Learners may not realize that the

structures and internal rules of the languages in
question are different.
Adults learning

Adults learning a second language manifest some of

the same errors found in children learning their first
language.
Children's’ Learning
children are better at learning foreign
languages; nevertheless, concerning
literacy, vocabulary, pragmatics,
schematic knowledge and syntax.
Multilingual Acquisition Factor

Transfer can also occur between

acquired languages, when people are
learning two language simultaneously
they may assume that a structure or
internal rule from one language is the
same in the other language.
Comprehension and Production

There is a universal distinction

between comprehension and
production. Learning a second
language usually means learning to
speak it and to comprehend it.
Nature or Nurture
Learners have the capacity to acquire a
second language at any age. What nature does
is to rule out the acquisition of authentic
accent.
 If an adult does not acquire a second
language successfully it is probably because of
cognitive or affective factors not to the
absence of innate capacities.
 Contrastive Analysis
Contrastive analysis is a way of comparing languages
in order to determine potential errors for the ultimate
purpose of isolating what needs to be learned and
what does not need to be learned in a second language
learning situation..” Gass & Selinker
;...those elements that are similar to his native
language will be simple for him, and those elements
that are different will be difficult. Lado (1957)
Nature of Language Transfer
 1. Transfer strategies are not used by all
learners.
2. It depends on the learning phase they are
going through.
3. Strategy to discover the L2 structure & to
help in communicative performance.
Constraints on Transfer

Language factors
pronunciation, lexical items,
discourse, and grammar.
Sociolinguistic factors
the social context: focused (e.g., classroom
settings) vs. unfocused contexts (e.g., natural
settings)
 macro-sociolinguistic perspective
the relationship between the speaker and
the addressee: careful vs. vernacular styles
 micro-sociolinguistic perspective
Prototypicality (Kellerman 1977; 1978;1979; 1986; 1989)

native speakers’ intuitions to determine the

unmarkedness or prototypicality of lexical
items

learners resist transferring non-

prototypical meanings
Language distance and psychotypology

(learners’ perceptions about language

distance)

the actual language distance affects positive transfer

learners’ psychotypology governs what they actually
transfer
Developmental factors

The learner’s general level of development

 restructuring continuum: L1 (starting point
ofL2)

Natural principles of language acquisition

interlanguage not necessarily a
restructuring continuum, except phonology
Encouraging Positive transfer

Provide opportunities to practice

applications
Teach subject matter in meaningful.
Promote positive attitudes toward
subject matter
THANK YOU