Fossilization: five central issues

Abstract

Second language acquisition research over the past three decades has generated a wide spectrum of different interpretations of “fossilization”– a construct introduced by Selinker (1972) for characterizing lack of grammatical development in second language learning. These conceptual differences found in the literature, it has become increasingly clear, create confusion rather than offering clarification, thereby obstructing a coherent understanding of the theoretical notion as well as empirical research findings. This article addresses the conceptual differences by raising and discussing five central issues: (1) Is fossilization global or local? (2) Is L2 ultimate attainment isomorphic with fossilization? (3) Is fossilization a product or a process? (4) Is stabilization synonymous with fossilization? (5) Should empirical studies of fossilization span five years or more?

Respecting the Language of Elders: Ideological Shift and Linguistic Discontinuity in a Northern Athapascan Community

“…On the other hand, Robert Moore (1988) presents an ethnographic account of language "fossilization" (cf. Han 2004) where speakers of Kiksht had begun to conceptualize this American Indian language in terms of "words" and "phrases," or linguistic memories that had become disconnected from the morpho-syntactic structure of these forms, and grammatical knowledge more generally. Similar to these two examples, the linguistic scenario in the Yukon shows evidence of comparable language ideological elements, a mismatch between "community-external" and "community-internal" (Hinton 2002) approaches to language revitalization, and an emphasis on documentation and memorization leading toward the iconization (Irvine and Gal 2000) of linguistic forms.…”

Kivinemisnähtusi vene üliõpilaste kirjalikus eesti keeles

“…Selline kivinemiskäsitlus pole siiski laiemalt levinud. ZhaoHong Han (2004) (Schachter 1996) jm, sageli mõistetakse kivinemise all ka võimetust sihtkeelt täiuslikult vallata ning lõplikku taset, mis keeleõppes saavutatakse. Esitatud arvamustes tuleb selgelt esile uurijate püüd kivinemist ja keeleõppijate poolt tehtud vigu omavahel siduda.…”

“…Z. Han (2004) on seisukohal, et stabiliseerumist tuleks käsitleda kivinemisele eelneva protsessina ning et mingite keeleliste struktuuride esmast stabiliseerumist ning sellele järgnevat lõplikku kivinemist saab kindlaks teha ainult samade informantide keelekasutuse pikaajalise jälgimise teel. Kas ühe konkreetse õppija keeles on mingi struktuur püsivalt kivinenud või on edasiminek õpingu-tes ainult ajutiselt peatunud, teisisõnu kas tegemist on tõepoolest kivinemisega või sellele eelneva stabiliseerumisega, pole tegelikku keeleainest analüüsides aga alati sugugi lihtne selgeks teha.…”

The Implementation of English-Only Policy in the Tertiary Efl Context in Taiwan

“…The coercion of using English-only policy, according to Han (2004), may breed some phenomenological effects of fluency in teaching. However, more hidden problems related to lack of accuracy are actually waived from discussion because of the coercion of the policy by the decision makers and policy makers of English education at some institutes.…”

“…However, more hidden problems related to lack of accuracy are actually waived from discussion because of the coercion of the policy by the decision makers and policy makers of English education at some institutes. The disadvantages of insufficient accuracy and lack of idiomatic English expression might become rooted and fossilized (Han 2004) and hard to be negotiated when they were found.…”