Title

Typological transfer: a factor in the learner language of Hong Kong students?

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

1991

Abstract

In this study, we investigate the role of language typology and its relationship to language transfer in Hong Kong Cantonese-speaking learners of English following the method developed by Rutherford (1983). Thirty Cantonese-speaking F.2 students were first tested in elicited production of complex sentences on a pre-defined topic. In the next test, fifty Cantonese-speaking Chinese students ranging from F.1 to F.5 were tested for elcited production of complex sentences on the same topic. The tests results are used to argue that first language (L1) topic-prominence serves to produce topic-comment structures in the early stages of second language acquisition (SLA).

Source Publication

Institute of Language in Education Journal

Volume Number

2

First Page

52

Last Page

61

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