Facilitation of Positive Transfer from Spanish to English: Analysis of Similarities and Differences in Regards to Semantics, Syntax, and Phonology By Rachel Lapo In consideration of the vast variance in syntax, semantics, and phonology among languages, learning a second language may seem daunting or even impossible at times. Although learning English is a challenging task for many Spanish speakers, positive transfer can simplify the process of acquisition. Regardless of the prevalence of similarities or differences between two languages, a person s knowledge of their native language directly impacts their acquisition of a second language. Knowledge of the similarities and differences between Spanish and English is crucial in regards to establishing connections between the languages and in facilitating positive transfer from Spanish to English.
Lapo 2 In consideration of the vast variance in syntax, semantics, and phonology among languages, learning a second language may seem daunting or even impossible at times. For some languages, differences between them may far exceed the similarities. For other languages, similarities may be commonly present but not readily apparent. Regardless of the prevalence of similarities or differences between two languages, a person s knowledge of their native language directly impacts their acquisition of a second language. The cross-linguistic influence between a person s native language and their target language is commonly referred to as transfer. Transfer can be defined as, the carryover of previous performance or knowledge to previous or subsequent learning (Brown 391). This process takes place through the use of sounds, expressions, or structures from the native language when performing in the target language (Yule 167). Transfer can be negative or positive, depending on the similarity of language features. Negative transfer, or interference, occurs when previous learned information hinders the understanding of new information features of the native language are inaccurately applied to the target language. In contrast, positive transfer occurs when knowledge of a native language facilitates the learning of a target language: past knowledge is accurately applied to present subject matter (Brown 102). During any type of second language acquisition, positive and negative transfer are likely to occur. In the case of a Spanish speaker acquiring English, there are many similarities that can be used to facilitate positive transfer. Although Spanish is a Romance language and English is a Germanic language, these two languages have notable similarities in regards to semantics, syntax and phonology because of their common Latin origins (Nicholls). One similarity between English and Spanish is that both languages utilize the Roman alphabet. This provides a basis on which to build a phonemic and phonological foundation. In addition to a common alphabet, thirty to forty percent of English words are cognates, meaning they have a related word in
Lapo 3 Spanish. Excluding the placement of nouns and adjectives, Spanish and English sentences generally have the same basic structure ( Capitalizing on ) and both languages derive meaning from word order as well (Carrier, Falk-Ross). When teaching a Spanish-speaking English Language Learner (ELL), there are some obvious similarities as well as subtle commonalities in regards to semantics that can be emphasized in order to facilitate positive transfer from Spanish to English. One of the most obvious bridges from Spanish to English is cognates. Cognates are words that have similar meaning, spelling and pronunciation in two languages ( Using Cognates ). Positive and negative transfer both occur in relation to cognates due to the fact that even though many genuine cognates exist, there are also many unreliable or false cognates (Nicholls). Some words are inaccurately used in the target language, because although they are cognates, there are additional meanings in one language that do not apply in another language. In Spanish and English, one type of unreliable cognates is Spanish words that include the meanings of their English counterparts but also have meanings that only apply to the Spanish form. Examples of unreliable cognates are the Spanish verbs asistir and admirar. Asistir is similar to the English verb assist, but depending on context, it can also mean to attend. Likewise, admirar can mean to admire, but it can also mean to surprise or to astonish. Other examples of unreliable cognates are the Spanish words historia and discusión. Historia has the additional meanings of story or tale, and discusión can mean argument (Nicholls). In addition to cognates that have multiple meanings, another type of unreliable cognates is words that have a related meaning in another language that differs in intensity. For example, words can have similar meanings, but the negative associations in one language may not be present in the other language. The Spanish word inferior is used to describe a subordinate in the workplace, but there is no negative association as there is in English. Likewise, in English
Lapo 4 notorious means famous for something bad, but the Spanish word notorio refers to general rather than negative fame. In addition, some English words are narrower in meaning than their Spanish counterparts. In English, parent refers to an actual father or mother, but in Spanish pariente may be used to refer to any relative. To native English speakers, a reunion indicates a meeting of people who have not seen each other in a while or a family gathering. To native Spanish speakers, a reunión refers to a meeting or gathering of any kind (Nicholls). Other unreliable cognates have different stress patterns in English than Spanish ( Using Cognates ) or require a preposition in one language that is not necessary in the other language (Carrier, Falk-Ross). Because of the variance in stress, the words may look similar or even identical yet be pronounced differently. An example of similarly spelled words that have different stress patterns is condition and condición. Animal is spelled exactly the same in Spanish and English and has no accent marks to indicate a difference in stress, but the pronunciation is still different ( Using Cognates ). While some cognates are unreliable, other cognates are completely false. These deserve special attention because of the strong possibility for negative transfer and the significant miscommunication that could result. One example of a false cognate is the English word bizarre which means strange, odd. Although bizarro could easily be mistaken to have the same meaning, it actually means handsome, brave. In English, exit means a way out, but the Spanish word éxito means a result, success (Nicholls). In addition to using cognates to facilitate positive transfer, syntactical patterns can be very helpful in promoting positive transfer from Spanish to English as well. Spanish nouns generally end in ncia and English nouns often end in nce. Spanish words ending in oso and English words ending in ous are typically adjectives. Spanish verbs that end in ificar commonly correspond with English verbs ending in ify. Adverbs ending in alemente typically
Lapo 5 translate to English adverbs that end in ally (Nicholls). The English ending -tion generally translates to the Spanish ending -ción. In regards to cognates, Spanish generally does not use double letters in English cognates. For example, posible translates to possible and ilegal to illegal. Cognates that include a k in their English spelling will typically be spelled with a c or qu in Spanish (Erichsen, Improve ). Past participles, which provide flexibility and versatility in communication, are commonly used in both Spanish and English, but they are not always as obvious in English as they are in Spanish. This is due to the fact that the ed used to create past participles in English is the same form used in the past tense. While English past participles generally end in ed, Spanish past participles most commonly end in ado or ido. Although these are the general forms, many irregulars exist in both languages. In addition to the commonality of irregulars, an additional similarity is the use of past participles as adjectives. One important distinction of Spanish past participles from English past participles is that when used as adjectives, they must agree with the nouns in number as well as in gender (Erichsen, The Versatile ). In addition to semantic and syntactical similarities and differences between Spanish and English, phonemic and phonological similarities and differences are important when considering transfer from Spanish to English. The term phonics has different connotations for Spanish speakers than for English speakers. To a Spanish speaker, phonics refers to a letter-to-sound correspondence, but to an English speaker phonics refers to patterns of letters that yield certain sounds ( Similarities and Differences ). In general, Spanish phonics patterns are more consistent and less complex than in English. Although both languages have five written vowels and Spanish also has five corresponding vowel sounds, English includes more than fourteen vowel sounds ( Using Cognates."). In Spanish, each single vowel is always pronounced the same regardless of the
Lapo 6 position of the vowel. English vowel pairings can be a source of frustration for ELLs because vowel pairs have various pronunciations that depend on their position. For example, ou has a different pronunciation in thou, thorough, thought, and tough ( Spanish Similarities ). For both Spanish and English, the process of learning to read and write involves phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, comprehension and writing mechanics ( Capitalizing ). In Spanish, the syllable is the basis for teaching reading, spelling, dividing, accenting, and sounding out words. Since first language literacy is critical to learning to read in a second language, teachers of ELLs should build on students linguistic knowledge of Spanish in order to scaffold their literacy development in English ( Similarities and Differences ). Since isolation of individual phonemes is not natural to the phonological makeup of Spanish, it does not occur ( Similarities and Differences ). In contrast, sounding out words in English involves pronouncing individual sounds and then blending them together. The use of onset and rime is an important aspect of English phonology. Onset and rime refers to the blending or segmentation of the initial consonant or consonant cluster of a one syllable word (onset) from the the vowel and consonant following the onset (rime). Phonemic and phonological differences between Spanish and English can result in interference from Spanish during English acquisition. One important distinction between the two languages is the existence of English sounds that do not occur in Spanish. These include: vowel diagraphs (ou, ow, eigh, au, aw, oo), consonant diagraphs (sh, th, wh, ph), consonant blends (sl, sm, sts, scr, spr, str) initial sounds (kn, qu, wr, sk), final sounds (ck, ng, gh), endings without a vowel (-ps,-ts), and contractions ( Capitalizing ). When English sounds do not exist in Spanish, ELLs may have difficult perceiving and possible producing these sounds (Carrier, Falk-Ross) and may often replace unfamiliar English sounds with Spanish sounds. Because there is no ing affix in Spanish, common misconstructions such as sirvin in place of
Lapo 7 serving are made by ELLs. Since there is no distinction between Spanish v and b, ELLs commonly mistake one for the other and make such mistakes as writing berry in place of very (Carrier, Falk-Ross). Although learning English is a challenging task for many Spanish speakers, positive transfer can simplify the process of acquisition. Knowledge of the similarities and differences between Spanish and English is crucial in regards to facilitating positive transfer from Spanish to English. By developing and using specific information related to similarities (connections) and differences (disconnections) between Spanish and English, teachers can assist ELLs in making connections from their native language to English (Falk-Ross, Carrier).
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