A01_RICH4603_04_SE_A01.QXD

and may occur when both the native language and the target language have

the same form. For example, both French and English have the word table,

which can have the same meaning in both languages. Negative transfer,

also known as interference, is the use of a native-language pattern or rule

which leads to an error or inappropriate form in the target language^1.

For example, a French learner of English may produce the incorrect sentence

I am here since Mondayinstead of I have been here since Monday, because

of the transfer of the French pattern Je suis ici depuis lundi(“I am here since

Monday”).

Although L1 to L2 transfer has been investigated most widely, it is also

generally recognized that there can also be transfer from an L2 to one’s

native language, as well as L2 to L3 transfer from one second or foreign

language to another.

see also communicative interference, cross-linguistic influence,

error analysis, interlanguage

language treatment n
any kind of action which people take about language problems. This
includes language planningby governments and government appointed
agencies, but also includes such things as: language requirements for
employment in a private company, company policy on style in business
letters, trade-name spelling, publishers’ style sheets, and the treatment of
language in dictionaries and usage guides (see usage^2 ).

language typology n
see typology

language universal n
(in general linguistic use) a language pattern or phenomenon which occurs
in all known languages. For example, it has been suggested that:
aif a language has dualnumber for referring to just two of something,
it also has plural number (for referring to more than two). This type of
universal is sometimes called an implicational universal.
bthere is a high probability that the word referring to the female parent
will start with a nasalconsonant, e.g. /m/ in English mother, in German
Mutter, in Swahili mama, in Chinese (Mandarin) muqin.
see also bioprogram, universal grammar

language usage n
seeusage

language use n
seeusage

language use