2015

Paavilainen, Marika

This dissertation examines the learning of Swedish grammar by formal L2-learners. The structures in focus are: verbal morphology (the present tense, auxiliary verb + infinitive and the perfect tense), adjective agreement (attributive and predicative adjectives) and the placement of negation in main and subordinate clauses. The data used in the analysis is elicited oral material produced by 40 pupils who learn Swedish in formal instruction. The objective of this study is to investigate if the development of the L2 follows the predictions proposed by Processability Theory (PT, Pienemann 1998). Furthermore, the mastery of these grammatical structures is examined. PT predicts that the learning of both morphology and syntax follows a fixed sequence. Both quantitative methods and implicational scales are applied in the analyses. The analyses of verbs show that the use of infinitives after auxiliaries (Aux) is mastered best. Next comes the present tense, followed by the perfect tense.The most common error type is the use of infinite forms instead of finite ones. The implicational analysis suggests that the learning begins with Aux + infinitive followed by the present and perfect tenses. The analyses of adjectives show that uter gender is mastered in a higher degree than plural and neuter gender; this concerns both attributive and predicative adjectives. The analyses also show that number is acquired before gender and the base form (uter) is frequently overused. The study of the placement of the negations shows that main clauses are mastered better than subordinate clauses. The verbal context (main verb vs. Aux + infinitive) affects how correctly the learners place the negation. When all the structures were analysed, the implicational scales didn’t result in valid scales. Since the analyses based on the emergence criterion often yielded poor scales, the 50 % criterion was used to define the learning sequence. This sequence implies that Aux + infinite is acquired before the present and perfect tenses. The acquisition of predicative and attributive agreement is simultaneous with each other and with the perfect tense. The placement of negation is acquired last. The result supports Processability Theory only partially.