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The Pacific
Second Language Research Forum meeting was held at the University
of Hawai'i from 4-7 October, 2001. One of the plenary talks
was "Issues in Second Dialect Acquisition", given by Jeff
Siegel.
There was also
a colloquium on "Current Research in Second Dialect Acquisition"
which included the following presentations:
"Hypothetical
discourse in a contact situation: The acquisition of the standard
dialect by heritage speakers of Spanish in the United States"
(Marta Fairclough, University of Houston).
This study analyzed the effects of formal instruction
on the acquisition process of the standard variety of Spanish
by looking at the expression of conditionality (i.e. hypothetical
discourse) produced by heritage speakers of Spanish in the
United States attending university classes at the intermediate
and advanced levels.
"Factors affecting
the acquisition and use of the Standard Dialect by Aboriginal
youth" (Ian Malcolm, Edith Cowan University and Patricia Königsberg,
Education Department of Western Australia).
This
presentation discussed the ways in which historical, sociolinguistic
and psycholinguistic factors associated with the use of Aboriginal
English, revealed in recent research conducted on "two-way"
principles, impact on the behaviours of its speakers and may
inhibit their acquisition of standard English as a second
dialect.
"Growing up bidialectal: Pidgin and English in Hawai'i" (Terri
Menacker, University of Hawai'i).
This paper presented ongoing dissertation research
focused on the language development of schoolchildren on O'ahu
in Pidgin and in English. Special attention was paid to examining
the "targets" of acquisition, factors which influence separation
and control of related codes, and the issue of disambiguating
competence and choice in language use.
"Results of a survey on the acquisition of standard English
as D1 or D2 in African American communities" (Robert L. Trammell
and Nannetta Durnell-Uwechue, Florida Atlantic University).
To
explore learner insights and commonalities among African American
(AA) speakers who learned Standard English (SE) as their D1
or D2, a 70 question website was created. The responses indicate
a variety of backgrounds, attitudes, and experiences can lead
to the acquisition of SE. Several responses usually stood
out from the others.
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