Chapter 6
Grammatical gender and article use in beginning learners of German
Acquiring nouns’ grammatical gender, corresponding articles, and their morphological variants is
one of the biggest challenges for adult learners of German. In this study, we analyze determiner noun phrases (NPs)
produced orally by Spanish L1/English L2 beginning learners of German L3. We explore the extent to which L3 learners
correctly produce determiner NPs including the appropriately marked grammatical gender, the extent to which they have
become sensitive to nouns’ formal gender cues, and the factors that help them cope with the complexity of the German
article and gender systems. We pay special attention to the possibility of cross-linguistic influence (CLI) in L3
learners’ article/gender choices according to predictions made by the Parasitic Model of vocabulary acquisition. The
results suggest that learners reduce the complexity of the article/gender selection task by resorting to CLI, the
adoption of gender from assumed lexical equivalents, and by over-using the most frequent forms
(ein-masc/neu and die-fem) which also are the phonologically
least complex and most similar forms to equivalents in the L1 and/or L2. Formal gender cues only have a limited effect
on article choice for the learners at this early stage of acquisition. Sensitivity to gender cues emerges only for the
most frequent cue types and in association with definite (not indefinite) article use.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Grammatical gender and articles in German
- 3.The acquisition and processing of gender and articles in German L2/L3
- 3.1Gender processing in advanced learners of German
- 3.2Gender processing in beginning learners of German
- 3.3The Parasitic Model and gender transfer
- 4.Methods
- 4.1Research questions
- 4.2Participants
- 4.3Tasks and procedure
- 4.4Statistical analyses
- 5.Results
- 5.1Gender and indefinite article use
- 5.2Gender and definite article use
- 5.3Learners’ sensitivity to gender cues
- 6.Discussion
- 6.1Accuracy of article use and sensitivity to gender cues
- 6.2CLI and other factors affecting article use and gender assignment
- 7.Conclusion
-
Acknowledgements
-
References
-
Appendix
References
Ayoun, D.
(
2018)
Grammatical
gender assignment in French: Dispelling the native speaker myth.
Journal of
French Language
Studies, 28, 113–148.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bardel, C., & Falk, Y.
(
2007)
The
role of the second language in third language acquisition. The case of Germanic
syntax.
Second Language
Research, 23(4), 459–484.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Baten, K., & Lochtman, K.
(
2014)
Das
deutsche Kasussystem im Fremdsprachenerwerb: Ein
Forschungsüberblick.
Muttersprache, 124(1), 1–25.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bordag, D., Opitz, A., & Pechmann, T.
(
2006)
Gender
processing in first and second languages: The role of noun termination.
Journal
of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and
Cognition, 32(5), 1090–1101.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bordag, D., & Pechmann, T.
(
2007)
Factors
influencing L2 gender processing.
Bilingualism: Language and
Cognition, 10(3), 299–314.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Clyne, M.
(
1987)
Constraints
on codeswitching: How universal are
they? Linguistics, 25, 739–764.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Corbett, G. G.
(
1991)
Gender. Cambridge University Press.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Corpora Collection Leipzig
University
(
2018)
German news corpus based on material crawled
in 2018 with 46,843,422 sentences. Retrieved on 10 June 2021 from:
[URL]
Delisle, H.
(
1985)
The
acquisition of gender by American students of German.
The Modern Language
Journal, 69(1): 55–63.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Diehl, E., Albrecht, H., & Zoch, I.
(
1991)
Lernerstrategien
im Fremdsprachenerwerb: Untersuchungen zum Erwerb des deutschen
Deklinationssystems. De Gruyter.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Diehl, E., Christen, H., Leuenberger, S., Pelvat, I., & Studer, T.
(
2000)
Grammatikunterricht:
alles für der Katz? Untersuchungen zum Zweitsprachenerwerb
Deutsch. Niemeyer.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Duden
(
2021)
Die
Verteilung der Artikel (Genusangaben) im Rechtschreibduden. Retrieved
on 10 June
2021 from
[URL]
Ecke, P.
(
2015)
Parasitic
vocabulary acquisition, cross-linguistic influence, and lexical retrieval in
multilinguals.
Bilingualism: Language and
Cognition, 18, 145–162.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ecke, P., & Hall, C. J.
(
2000)
Lexikalische
Fehler in Deutsch als Drittsprache: Translexikalischer Einfluss auf drei Ebenen der mentalen
Repräsentation.
Deutsch als
Fremdsprache, 37(1), 30–36.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ecke, P., & Hall, C. J.
(
2014)
The
Parasitic Model of L2 and L3 vocabulary acquisition: Evidence from naturalistic and experimental
studies.
Fórum
Linguístico, 11(3), 360–372.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Grauberg, W.
(
1971)
An
error analysis in German of first-year university
students. In
G. E. Perren &
J. L. M. Trim (Eds),
Applications
of
linguistics (pp. 257–263). Cambridge University Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hall, C. J.
(
2002)
The
automatic cognate form assumption: Evidence for the parasitic model of vocabulary
development.
International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching
(IRAL), 40(2), 69–87.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hall, C. J., & Ecke, P.
(
2003)
Parasitism
as a default mechanism in L3 vocabulary
acquisition. In
J. Cenoz,
B. Hufeisen &
U. Jessner (Eds),
The
multilingual
lexicon (pp. 71–85). Kluwer.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hall, C. J., Newbrand, D., Ecke, P., Sperr, U., Marchand, V., & Hayes, L.
(
2009)
Learners’
implicit assumptions about syntactic frames in new L3 words: The role of cognates, typological proximity, and
L2 status.
Language
Learning, 59(1), 153–202.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hall, C. J., & Reyes Duran, A.
(
2009)
Cross-linguistic
influence in L2 verb frames: The effects of word familiarity and language
proficiency. In
A. G. Benati (Ed.),
Issues
in language
proficiency (pp. 24–44). Continuum.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hall, C. J., & Schultz, M.
(
1994)
Los
errores de marco sintáctico: Evidencia del modelo parasitario del léxico mental en un segundo
idioma.
Estudios en Lingüística Aplicada, Memorias del II Congreso Nacional de
Lingüística (pp. 376–389). UNAM, INAH and ECM.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hohlfeld, A.
(
2004)
Accessing
grammatical gender in German: The impact of gender-marking
regularities.
Applied
Psycholinguistics, 27, 127–142.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Jackendoff, R.
(
2002)
Foundations
of language: Brain, meaning, grammar, evolution. Oxford University Press.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Jackson, C. N.
(
2007)
The
use and non-use of semantic information, word order, and case markings during comprehension by L2 learners of
German.
The Modern Language
Journal, 91(3), 418–432.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kempe, V., & MacWhinney, B.
(
1998)
The
acquisition of case marking by adult learners of Russian and German.
Studies in
Second Language
Acquisition, 20(4), 543–587.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kempe, V., & MacWhinney, B.
(
1999)
Processing
of morphological and semantic cues in Russian and German.
Language and
Cognitive
Processes, 14(2), 129–171.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Köpcke, K.-M.
(
1982)
Untersuchungen
zum Genussystem der deutschen
Gegenwartssprache. Tübingen: Niemeyer.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Köpcke, K.-M., & Zubin, D. A.
(
1983)
Die
kognitive Organisation der Genuszuweisung zu den einsilbigen Nomen der deutschen
Gegenwartssprache.
Zeitschrift für Germanistische
Linguistik, 11(2), 166–182.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Köpcke, K.-M., & Zubin, D.
(
1984)
Sechs
Prinzipien für die Genuszuweisung im Deutschen: Ein Beitrag zur natürlichen
Klassifikation.
Linguistische
Berichte, 93, 26–50.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kraiss, A.
(
2014)
Taking
the awful out of the German language: A study of a new way to teach German gender and plural
assignment.
Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching
German, 47(1), 23–41.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lemhöfer, K., Schriefers, H., & Hanique, I.
(
2010)
Native
language effects in learning second-language grammatical gender: A training
study.
Acta
Psychologica, 135(2), 150–158.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lemhöfer, K., Spalek, K., & Schriefers, H.
(
2008)
Cross-language
effects of grammatical gender in bilingual word recognition and
production.
Journal of Memory and
Language, 59, 312–330.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Levelt, W. J. M., Roelofs, A., & Meyer, A. S.
(
1999)
A
theory of lexical access in speech production.
Behavioral and Brain
Sciences, 22, 1–38.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Levine, G.
(
1999)
Gender
assignment to German nonsense nouns: What does the native speaker know that the non-native speaker
doesn’t? In
A. Greenhill,
H. Littlefield, &
C. Tano (Eds),
Proceedings
of the 23rd Annual Boston University Conference on Language
Development (Vol. 2, pp. 397–406). Cascadilla Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
MacWhinney, B.
(
1978)
The
acquisition of morphophonology. University of Chicago Press.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
MacWhinney, B., Bates, E., & Kliegl, R.
(
1984)
Cue
validity and sentence interpretation in English, German, and Italian.
Journal
of Verbal Learning and Verbal
Behavior, 23, 127–150.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Menzel, B.
(
2003)
Genuserwerb
im DaF-Unterricht.
Deutsch als
Fremdsprache, 40(4), 233–237.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Menzel, B., & Tamaoka, K.
(
1995)
Der?
Die?? Das??? Genuszuweisung bei Anfängern: Zufall, Pauken oder
Strategie.
Deutsch als
Fremdsprache, 1, 12–22.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Mills, A. E.
(
1986)
The
acquisition of gender: A study of English and
German. Springer.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pfaff, C. W.
(
1984)
On
input and residual L1 transfer effects in Turkish and Greek children’s
German. In
R. W. Andersen (Ed.),
Second
languages. A cross-linguistic
perspective (pp. 271–298). Newbury House.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Presson, N., MacWhinney, B., & Tokowicz, N.
(
2014)
Learning
grammatical gender: The use of rules by novice learners.
Applied
Psycholinguistics, 35(4), 709–737.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ritterbusch, R., LaFond, L., & Agustin, M.
(
2006)
Learner
difficulties with German case: Implications from an action research study.
Die
Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching
German, 39, 30–45.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Rogers, M.
(
1987)
Learners’
difficulties with grammatical gender in German as a foreign language.
Applied
Linguistics, 8(1), 48–74.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Rothman, J.
(
2015)
Linguistic
and cognitive motivations for the Typological Primacy Model (TPM) of third language (L3) transfer: Timing of
acquisition and proficiency considered.
Bilingualism: Language and
Cognition, 18(2): 179–190.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Salamoura, A., & Williams, J. N.
(
2007)
The
representation of grammatical gender in the bilingual lexicon: Evidence from Greek and
German.
Bilingualism: Language and
Cognition, 10(3), 257–275.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Thomoglou, P.
(
2007)
Mutterspracheinfluss
beim Genuserwerb: Beobachtungen an griechischen Lernern des Deutschen.
Deutsch
als
Fremdsprache, 44(1), 20–25.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
VanPatten, B., & Borst, S.
(
2012)
The
roles of explicit information and grammatical sensitivity in processing instruction: Nominative-accusative
case marking and word order in German L2.
Foreign Language
Annals, 45(1), 92–109.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Vigliocco, G., Antonini, T., & Garrett, M. F.
(
1997)
Grammatical
gender is on the tip of Italian tongues.
Psychological
Science, 8(4), 314–317.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Walter, D., & MacWhinney, B.
(
2015)
US
German majors’ knowledge of grammatical gender.
Die Unterrichtspraxis: Teaching
German, 48(1), 25–40.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Walter, D. R., & van Compernolle, R. A.
(
2017)
Teaching
German declension as meaning: A concept-based approach.
Innovation in Language
Learning and
Teaching, 11(1), 68–85.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Wegener, H.
(
1999)
German
gender in children’s second language
acquisition. In
B. Unterbeck,
M. Rissanen,
T. Nevalainen, &
M. Saari (Eds),
Gender
in Grammar and
Cognition (pp. 511–544). Mouton de Gruyter.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Williams, S., & Hammarberg, B.
(
1998)
Language
switches in L3 production: Implications for a polyglot speaking model.
Applied
Linguistics, 19(3), 295–333.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cited by
Cited by 1 other publications
Długosz, Kamil
2023.
Processing gender agreement in an additional language: The more languages the better?.
Second Language Research 39:4
► pp. 997 ff.
![DOI logo](//benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 29 may 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.