Tense And Aspect In Itu Mbon Uso
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Tense And Aspect In Itu Mbon Uso
ABSTRACT
Over the last two decades, L2 acquisition researchers have investigated a number of hypotheses that provide well-defined predictions regarding the developmental processes involved in L2 acquisition of tense-aspect morphology. These hypotheses include the Lexical Aspect Hypothesis and the Cognitive Saliency Hypothesis.
The Lexical Aspect Hypothesis states that the lexical semantics of verbal predicates determine the pattern of acquisition of verbal morphology at the early stages of interlanguage development (Andersen and Shirai 1995; Ayoun and Salaberry 2008; Bardovi-Harlig 2000), whereas the Cognitive Saliency Hypothesis states that the perceptual saliency of verbal predicates determines the pattern of acquisition of verbal morphology (Salaberry 2000; Hawkins and Lizska 2003).
Our goal was to investigate the combined effects of these two hypotheses on the interlanguage of Ibibio learners of English as a second language (ESL). Ibibio is a southeastern Nigerian language spoken by around five million people.
We argue that the development of inflectional endings in a second language involves two distinct but related cognitive processes: lexical-based learning, which operates at lower levels of proficiency, and rule-based learning
which operates at higher levels of proficiency. We extracted written narratives from 171 participants organised into six groups sampled from primary, secondary, and universities using three sets of image stories.
Each package is designed for a specific level of schooling. Participants were asked to tell the narrative shown in the photos. The data analysis revealed a significant relationship between lexical aspect and past tense morphology acquisition (x2 = 196.92, df = 6, N = 1664, p = <.0001).
Lexical saliency significantly affects past tense acquisition (x2 = 23.54, df = 2, N = 1664, p = <.0001), demonstrating a high dependency on lexical saliency.
However, the effect of lexical aspect was more noticeable among learners with higher levels of proficiency, whereas the opposite was true for the effects of lexical saliency. Positive impacts of instruction and L1 use were also reported.
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction.
The primary goal of this study is to evaluate the extent to which second language learners’ articulation of temporality through inflectional morphology is determined or impacted by lexical semantics and/or lexical saliency of verbs.
This study is at the intersection of syntax and semantics since it focusses on the second language learning of tense-aspect morphology by ESL learners who speak Ibibio, a Lower Cross language spoken in southern Nigeria.
To accomplish this goal, we will discuss the following preliminary issues in this chapter: the research background, a statement of the research problem, a discussion of the study’s major objectives, the study’s significance, the research questions, and the proposed methods for answering the questions.
This chapter also includes background information about the Ibibio1 people and their language, as well as a description of linguistic time2 in this language, such as the tense-aspect system. It is also crucial to explore some elements of the English language as it is domesticated in the Nigerian setting, resulting in Standard Nigerian English;
the variation of English taught in schools and utilised in the research region; and the type to which participants in this study are exposed. Finally, this chapter will explain the study’s overall organisation.
1 The name Ibibio refers to a people and language spoken by around 5 million people in southern Nigeria (Akwa Ibom State). Itu mbon uso, or Ibibio people who learn English as a second language, are the study’s research subjects.
2 Other researchers have used this word, like Ayoun and Salaberry (2008), to describe the combination of tense, grammatical aspect, and lexical aspect in a language.
1.2 Research Background
The discovery of the link between form and function in language is a major challenge for all language learners, including those in first language acquisition, second language acquisition, and foreign language acquisition situations (though such discovery is always intuitive) (Weist 2002, for example).
This challenge appears to be common to all learners, though specific manifestations of the problem may vary depending on the learners’ specific learning conditions, age, L1-L2 combination, level of proficiency, amount of instruction, and contents of the instructional material to which the learners are exposed, among other factors.
Ibibio learners of English as a second language (ESL) in the classroom encounter the same issue, but in different ways due to the particular characteristics of their learning environment, such as the L1-L2 combination and the other reasons listed above.
One of the goals of this research is to find, characterise, and explain how Ibibio ESL learners approach the process of determining the relationship between morphological forms and the functional idea of temporality3.
Since Saussure and his colleagues’ early days, linguists of all levels and ideologies have been concerned with the relationship between form and function. That is, linguists working at all levels of linguistic analysis and with all models of analysis have been faced with the challenge of describing and explaining this link.
The link between form and function in L2 acquisition of temporal-aspectual elements has been examined in a variety of methods over the last two decades, yielding two primary strands of research. One
of the strands focusses on the morphological components or markers that L2 learners use.
3 I shall use the term “temporality” interchangeably with the phrase “time reference,” which refers to all of the tools that students utilise to demonstrate the relationship between situation time and the moment of speech or speech time.
This is distinct from the term “tense,” which I will use to refer to the morphological markings on verbs that indicate the link between situation time and speech time.
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