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Typological Universals and Second Language Acquisition

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Universals of Language Today

Part of the book series: Studies in Natural Language and Linguistic Theory ((SNLT,volume 76))

Abstract

In the first part of this paper I deal with some points concerning the relationship between typology and Second Language research that were touched upon by Joseph Greenberg in his 1991 article: the contribution of L2 research to linguistic theorizing, the nature vs. history dichotomy, the relation between second languages and pidginization processes. Next, I point out the relevance of typological universals to accounts of learner behavior. Finally, the issue of tense and aspect marking in second languages is addressed in the light of the theoretical proposal known as the “Primacy of aspect hypothesis”. The explanatory power of this hypothesis is discussed by drawing on the notion of prototype, which is in turn argued to be in need of further refinements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Pavia, Italy

    Anna Giacalone Ramat

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  1. Anna Giacalone Ramat
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  1. Università di Bologna, via Cartoleria, 5, 40124 Bologna (BO), Italy

    Sergio Scalise , Elisabetta Magni  & Antonietta Bisetto ,  & 

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Ramat, A.G. (2009). Typological Universals and Second Language Acquisition. In: Scalise, S., Magni, E., Bisetto, A. (eds) Universals of Language Today. Studies in Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, vol 76. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8825-4_13

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