Oldal 33 [33]
Cross-LINGUISTIC INFLUENCES
2.5 STRATEGY USE
Interference-like errors are not always due to negative L1 transfer, as claimed
by classical CA. Learners may deliberately borrow elements from their L1 or
form sentences using the patterns of their native language to bridge gaps in
their L2 knowledge. In this case they use strategies based on their L1 to express
something that they do not (yet) know in their L2. E.g., if the learner does not
know the word harangvirág or hóvirág, they may try to translate it literally
(and in the case of harangvirág they will end up with the right solution: bell¬
flower). There is a fair chance that literal translation will work even if it yields
anon-existing English word or phrase, but its meaning can be recovered from
the context: given the right circumstances, *snowflower instead of snowdrop
might be understood. Learners may also try to translate a Hungarian phrase
into English even when they know that it is probably not transferable. Ihey
may or may not succeed, but in a given context literal translations like It is like
throwing peas against a (brick) wall, or Lets be thankful that we have a hole
in our bottoms might be understood. Corder (1973, 1981) says that learners are
actively involved in the process of L2 acguisition, and the first language can
serve as one of the inputs in the process of hypothesis generation.
Not all strategies are L1-based. E.g., ifthe learner uses the phrase *a large
yellow fly to describe a wasp, the strategy used is unrelated to his/her L1. In
the choice of strategies, however, individual variability is also an important
factor. Some learners are more likely to use L1-based strategies than others
(see, e.g., Singleton 1999), and under certain conditions most learners may
tend to choose L1-based strategies.
Strategies may lead to correct or incorrect L2 forms, but - since they are used
consciously to solve a communication problem - they cannot be regarded as in¬
terference errors.
2.6. TRANSFER AND STRATEGY
Transfer, in its literal meaning, is the use of L1 elements in L2. According to
this narrow definition only phonological and lexical transfer is possible, since
grammatical morphemes or constructions are rarely borrowed. In a broader
sense, however, transfer includes cases where L1 patterns of meaning are
transferred into L2 on the basis of perceived similarity of certain structures
or lexical items. It is this broader sense (allowing grammatical transfer, too)
that is more current, as reflected in Odlin’s definition:
Transfer is the influence resulting from similarities and differences between the
target language and any other language that has been previously (and perhaps
imperfectly) acquired (1989: 27).
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