Morphosyntactic transfer from German and English into Dutch in third language acquisition

This dissertation investigates how previously learned languages influence learning a third language (L3). It focuses on how German-speaking learners of Dutch with English as their second language (L2) and English-speaking learners of Dutch with German as their L2 learn Dutch. Language transfer occurs, for example, when learners apply grammatical rules from their first or second language to their third language. Two main theories predict this transfer: the L2 Status Factor Hypothesis suggests transfer mainly comes from the L2, while the Typological Primacy Model proposes transfer depends on how similar the languages are to the L3.

We tested these theories using superlatives and verb clusters in Dutch. Dutch allows two forms for each construction:

•    Superlative: natuurlijkste and meest natuurlijke ("the most natural")•    Verb cluster: gedroomd heeft and heeft gedroomd ("has dreamed")

By contrast, German allows only natürlichste and geträumt hat, while English allows only most natural and has dreamed.

Experiments on sentence comprehension and production revealed that neither theory fully explains transfer patterns. Instead, transfer seems to depend on factors such as language proficiency, instruction, and construction frequency. This supports an alternative model, the Scalpel Model, which considers multiple influences beyond language similarity or order of language learning.

Our findings show that transfer varies depending on the grammatical structure. We also observed no major differences between how learners process and produce sentences. This research provides insights into teaching Dutch as an L3 in German- and English-speaking regions.

Dissertation: https://hdl.handle.net/11370/2fe1dba3-ea07-4128-8164-3693535231e8