Resumo

VILLANUEVA, Ana María. Effects of the Typological Distance between Languages and of the Number of Known Languages on the Acquisition of the Syntax of Spanish as a Foreign Language. Núcleo [online]. 2011, vol.23, n.28, pp.217-251. ISSN 0798-9784.

This empirical study focuses on the cross-linguistic influence of previously known languages on the acquisition of the syntax of Spanish as a foreign language. The central objective is to observe if acquired languages promote the acquisition of Spanish syntax as a third or fourth language. The subjects in this study are French-speaking students of Spanish in a university environment at the undergraduate level in an exchange program. The instrument used was a Grammatical Judgment Test to control certain syntactic structures of three languages: French (students’ native language), English (foreign language) and Spanish (target language). The analysis focuses on data from two study groups: those for whom Spanish is the L3 and those for whom Spanish is the L4. Results showed a major transfer from French (L1) than English (L2) in both language groups due to typological similarities and both groups performed similarly; this is partially consistent with a similar study in the acquisition of French as a foreign language (Villanueva, in press).

Palavras-chave : third language acquisition; cross-linguistic influence/transfer; French (L1); English (L2); Spanish (L3).