Les mariages exogames, la mobilité de la population, la mondialisation, le bilinguisme social et l’éducation bilingue favorisent le développement du multilinguisme en Occident. La majorité de la recherche sur ce phénomène se réalise dans le cadre du bilinguisme et celui de l’acquisition d’une langue seconde. Pour les fins de cette étude, une personne qui a une connaissance de deux langues – même imparfaite – sera considérée comme étant bilingue. Une personne multilingue a une connaissance de trois langues ou plus. La recherche sur le multilinguisme n’en est qu’à ses débuts, mais elle est notamment parvenue à identifier des caractéristiques distinctes que partagent les personnes multilingues. Certains conçoivent le multilinguisme comme étant une extension du bilinguisme et considèrent que, quoique plus complexes, ses opérations lexicales restent les mêmes. D’autres estiment que la quantité de langues est un facteur qui suffit à créer une façon d’être distincte – un point de départ différent – pour une personne multilingue. L’une des questions importantes que l’on se pose dans le domaine du lexique multilingue est jusqu’à quel point le traitement lexical des langues d’un individu se fait de façon séparée ou conjointe. Cette étude se veut une contribution aux travaux de Peter Ecke, qui a étudié de façon extensive la nature des interactions translinguistiques chez les personnes bilingues et multilingues en utilisant les tests du dans un état « bout de la langue » (BDLL). Notre étude analyse le fonctionnement du vocabulaire de la L3 chez des adolescents ayant le profil suivant : L1 anglais, L2 français à un niveau débutant-intermédiare et L3 à un niveau débutant, acquis dans un contexte scolaire. En utilisant un outil d’élicitation de type BDLLL, nous tenterons d’identifier les caractéristiques des associations de mots alors que le sujet avait un mot sur le bout de la langue ou qu’il faisait une erreur lexicale, tout en étudiant la relation entre les lexiques de la L1, de la L2 et de la L3. Nos résultats indiquent que dans la recherche et l’identification de mots de la L3, lors d’instants où le sujet cherche ses mots ou fait une erreur lexicale, l’identification de l’aspect sémantique fonctionne, alors que l’identification de l’aspect formel échoue. Pour ce qui est des influences translinguistiques, la plupart des sujets cherchaient d’abord dans la L3 et passaient ensuite à une recherche dans la L2. L’influence de L1 s’est avérée faible. Nous attribuons la cause de l’influence translinguistique à la psychotypologie, la compétence, et la récence. In the western world, multilingualism is a growing phenomenon as a result of exogamous marriages, population mobility, globalization, social bilingualism and bilingual education. Most of the research in the field of multilingualism is carried out within the framework of research into bilingualism and second language acquisition. For the purposes of our study a bilingual speaker has knowledge, however imperfect, of two languages. A multilingual speaker has knowledge of three or more languages. Research into multilingualism is still in its early stages but has come far enough for researchers to identify distinct characteristics of the multilingual speaker. Some conclude that multilingualism is an extension of bilingualism, in that lexical operations are the same but more complex. Others believe that the quantity of languages alone creates a distinct state of being - a different starting place - for the multilingual speaker. One key question in the field of the multilingual lexicon to what degree is the lexical processing of the individual’s languages is separate or integrated. This study is a contribution to the research of Peter Ecke who has extensively studied the nature of cross-linguistic interaction in bilingual and multilingual speakers using tip of the tongue (TOT) tests. Our study analysed the processing of L3 vocabulary in adolescents with the following profile: L1 English, L2 French at a low-intermediate level and L3 Spanish at the beginner level in a school setting. Using a TOT elicitation tool, we sought to identify specific characteristics of word associates in TOT states and in lexical errors, as well as the relationship between the L1, L2 and L3 lexicons. Our results indicate that in the search and retrieval of L3 words in TOT states and in lexical errors, the retrieval of the semantic aspect succeeds while the retrieval of the form aspect fails. With regard to the source of cross-linguistic influence, most subjects searched initially within the L3 and failing that, proceeded to a search within the L2. L1 influence was weak. We attribute the cause of cross-linguistic influence to psychotypology, proficiency and recency. / Thesis (Master, French) -- Queen's University, 2007-09-26 21:28:27.802

This thesis is based upon a longitudinal study of L1 attrition in two bilingual teenage siblings, J and her older brother S, with Korean as their L1 and English as their L2. The two teenagers' initial exposure to English occurred at the age of 9. When the two siblings began to have sustained exposure to and immersion in an English L2 environment, they were at the postpubertal age. They had been attending high school in a Mid-Western city in the U.S for about two years when the study was conducted. The longitudinal study addressed three main questions. The first question concerned the siblings' language (L1 and L2) development, language dominance and cross-lingusitic influence from a bidrectional perspective. The second question examined the evidence for L1 attrition in relation to lexis, morphology and syntax, and their relative levels of vulnerability. The third question examined the role of extra-linguistic factors in the process of L1 attrition. In order to address the above questions, the two siblings were observed in their home over a period of 8 months. The data for the longitudinal study included the siblings' (i) spontaneous speech interactions in the home (ii) oral narratives in the L1 and L2 and (iii) their responses to a language background questionnaire. The results showed that the two siblings' English L2 developed and improved over time, but that they continued to maintain their L1 (Korean) as their dominant language. The evidence from both siblings' L1 and L2 use supported bidirectional cross-linguistic influence (i.e. from the L1 onto the L2 and from the L2 onto the L1). L1 attrition occurred only minimally in relation to morphology (e.g. honorification, case particles, classifiers, and plural marking) and lexical choice, while the siblings' L1 syntax remained relatively stable over time. Overall, the siblings were largely successful in maintaining their L1. In part, this was because their L1 was already firmly established or entrenched, as their immersion in an L2 environment occurred only when they were older (around puberty). Furthermore, their frequent use of their L1 for social networking, along with their positive attitudes toward their heritage language, also played a crucial role in maintaining and stabilizing their L1. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications of the findings of the present study, as well as recommendations for the future research are discussed.

This thesis examines the issue of cross-linguistic influence (CLI), i.e. language interaction, in context of the bilingual first language acquisition of French and English. It establishes itself in the current line of research that aims to refine the language-internal and language-external predictors of CLI (Hulk & Müller, 2000; Nicoladis, 2006; Serratrice, Sorace, & Paoli, 2004). A large body of research has shown that referential markers of discourse-pragmatics (i.e. determiners, pronouns, dislocations) are ideal candidates to investigate CLI (Hacohen & Schaeffer, 2007; Kupisch, 2007; Müller & Hulk, 2001; Notley, van der Linden, & Hulk, 2007; Serratrice, Sorace, Filiaci, & Baldo, 2009; Unsworth, 2012b). The study of the local and global markers of old and new information is particularly interesting in the context of French-English bilingualism as it provides a unique opportunity to examine a range of variables that may affect CLI. The first two studies investigate the role of typological differences and similarities on CLI by examining whether the contrasting distribution of determiners (i.e. presence vs. absence of definite articles in generic noun phrases), and the comparable pronominal systems (i.e. two non-null argument languages) in French and English predict this phenomenon. The analyses are based on the longitudinal corpus of two French-English children (Anne 2;4-3;4 and Sophie 2;6-3;7). At the determiner level, the results indicate the existence of bi-directional CLI that is determined by both structural overlap (Hulk & Müller, 2000) and economical considerations (Chierchia, 1998) as a function of language proficiency. At the pronominal level, the data indicates that CLI does not occur for structurally similar constructions. Aside from moving the issue of CLI from local referential expressions to the sentence level (i.e. dislocations), the third study investigates the role of input quality, language dominance, frequency, and structural complexity on CLI in the longitudinal corpus. The findings clearly show that input quality does not affect this phenomenon. In fact, the data displays a rather complex picture for CLI. It suggests that a multitude of variables interact with one another and drive this phenomenon. In particular, two measures of language dominance (i.e. children’s language exposure and their expressive skills) affect CLI differently as a function of the frequency and complexity of the structure vulnerable to this phenomenon (i.e. determiners vs. dislocations). Finally, the corpus-based analyses are supplemented by two experimental studies using the priming paradigm to investigate the role of language processing and language exposure on CLI. The findings indicate that (i) bilingual children’s mental representation of syntactic structures is affected by the simultaneous acquisition of two languages; and that (ii) language exposure plays a role on the degree of activation of a particular structure in bilingual children’s processing. Ultimately, the present research shows that CLI is caused by the interaction of a multitude of variables (i.e. language processing, language dominance, frequency, structural complexity) rather than being the consequence of a combination of two factors (e.g. structural overlap, discourse-pragmatics interface) (Hulk & Müller, 2000).

This essay investigates how mother tongue teachers in Sweden view cross-linguistic influence in the Spanish classroom. It focuses on three areas: the student groups’ linguistic profiles; the evaluation of described/presumed strengths and challenges within Spanish phonology, lexicon and morphosyntax; and perspectives on effective contrastive classroom practices. Six semi-structured interviews were conducted with teachers of Arabic, English, and Somali, which were analyzed phenomenographically. The results showed that the students are generally multilingual in their mother tongue, Swedish, and English, with proficiency varying according to birthplace. Whereas English was considered the main support for English-speaking students, Somali and Arabic students were deemed particularly facilitated by their mother tongue in morphosyntax and Swedish/English in lexicon, while phonology was mixed. Finally, there was consensus that Spanish classroom practices should include comparisons to mother tongues, Swedish, and English, by teachers and/or students. Having some mother tongue knowledge was thus deemed beneficial, albeit not essential, for Spanish teaching. / La presente tesina explora las perspectivas de profesores de lenguas maternas en Suecia hacia la influencia cros-lingüística en la enseñanza de español. Se enfoca en tres áreas: el perfil lingüístico de los estudiantes; la evaluación de fortalezas y desafíos descritos/ presumidos en la fonología, el lexicón y la morfosintaxis español; y las percepciones de buenas prácticas didácticas contrastivas. Se realizaron seis entrevistas con profesores del árabe, el inglés y el somalí, cuales se analizaron fenomenograficamente. Los resultados revelaron un multilingüismo estudiantil general de la lengua materna, el sueco y el inglés, con niveles variando según el país de crianza. Mientras el inglés se consideró el mejor apoyo para los estudiantes ingleses en todas áreas, los estudiantes somalíes y árabes se consideraron más facilitados por la lengua materna en asuntos morfosintácticos y el sueco/inglés en léxico, mientras la fonología resultó mezclada.  Finalmente, se concordó que la enseñanza de español debe incluir comparaciones hacia las lenguas maternas igual que el sueco y el inglés, por estudiantes o/y estudiantes. Consecuentemente, tener conocimientos básicos de lenguas maternas se consideró beneficial, si bien no imprescindible, para enseñar español.

Cross-linguistic transfer has been found to exist, at different degrees, in the process of second/foreign language acquisition. Both the level of orthographic depth and the orthographic distance between L1 and L2 affect the rate of the word learning process in language acquisition. Compared to English, Chinese orthography encodes morphemes within and via characters, lacks inflectional affixation, and contains a significant number of compound words. Extensive morpho-syllabic characters may develop Chinese readers' morphological awareness, as well as their vocabulary. This study examined how Taiwanese children apply decoding skills they have developed in learning Chinese, while they read English words. The degrees of transfer from Chinese to English within a structural model of morphological awareness are examined and analyzed. In addition, moderation effects resulting from regional differences and the length of time spent learning English are also discussed. Students' morphological awareness is measured in six subtests which individually emphasize inflectional morphemes, derivational morphemes, and morphemes of compound words in Chinese and English, respectively. The results show that middle school students' Chinese morphological awareness facilitates their English morphological awareness development. These students also demonstrated the ability to detect morphemes in English, but only to a limited extent. They were skilled at decoding genuine compound words and were able to detect high frequency morphemes within pseudo-words. Their lengthy experience with morphologically complex characters and words in Chinese was most likely the major factor leading to such skill. Finally, in the development of English morphological awareness, the total length of time spent learning English and the length of formal English instruction experienced at the junior high school level were both found to positively correlate with the level of students' English morphological awareness, but not with the length of formal English instruction at the elementary school level. Such a discrepancy can be attributed to the current curriculum prevalent in elementary school which is only aimed at developing students' listening and speaking skills.

This dissertation examines the production, perception and processing of the Catalan-specific mid-vowel categories (/e/-/[open-mid front unrounded vowel]/ and /o/-/[open-mid back rounded vowel]/) by early Spanish-Catalan bilinguals in Majorca (Spain). The analyses focus on the lexical as well as the segmental levels to analyze cognate effects in the production and lexical representations of these early bilinguals, and they explore how their production and perception abilities are related. This study provides evidence that early and highly proficient Spanish-Catalan bilinguals in Majorca maintain two independent phonetic categories in the Catalan mid-vowel space. The first significant finding is that production patterns in Majorca differ from those previously reported in Barcelona, as the Catalan mid-vowel contrasts are not merging into a single Spanish-like mid-vowel for either Catalan-dominants or Spanish-dominants. Additionally, these bilinguals are not 'deaf' to the Catalan-specific mid-vowel contrasts: both language dominance groups perceive the contrast between the Catalan mid-vowel categories despite the overlap with one phonetic category in Spanish. Even though Spanish-dominant bilinguals as a whole are indistinguishable from Catalan-dominant bilinguals in the perception and production tasks, they are found to have a higher error rate in the lexical decision task. The comparison of the acoustic properties of the target vowels in Catalan cognate and non-cognate experimental items reveals that the production of the mid-vowels is affected by cognate status, and that these cognate effects are also found in the word recognition of aurally presented stimuli. Finally, bilinguals who produced the mid-vowels with a smaller Euclidean distance are more likely than bilinguals who maintain a more robust contrast in their productions to have a higher error rate in the AXB discrimination and lexical decision tasks. The present study contributes to the discussion regarding the organization of early bilinguals' dominant and non-dominant phonetic systems, and implications are considered for cross-linguistic models of bilingual speech production and perception. It is proposed that the exemplar model of lexical representation (Bybee, 2001; Pierrehumbert, 2001) can be extended to include bilingual lexical connections that can account for the interactions between the phonetic and lexical levels of early bilingual individuals. / text

This thesis presents the results of an experimental study designed to examine whether children raised bilingually in Japanese and English from birth in Christchurch, New Zealand, exhibit the same morphological case and topic marking knowledge in Japanese as monolingual children in Japan. The participants were 34 children aged between five and eleven years who have been raised in a one-person one-language environment in an English dominant community. The study replicated previous studies on monolingual Japanese children, and involved two widely used paradigms for assessing a child’s grammar: picture selection, and elicited imitation. The responses of the children in this study were different from those reported in studies of monolingual children. In the picture selection tasks, some children in this study interpreted the agent-patient relationship based on the word order cue in the object-initial types of transitive sentences, whereas previous studies have demonstrated that monolingual children five years and older are able to interpret the agent-patient relationship in the same way as adults, using the case marking cue. Moreover, in the elicited imitation tasks, many children in this study re-analysed the topic-comment construction as a genitive possessive when the particles in the stimuli were masked with noise. This pattern has not been reported in any previous study. The results also revealed that there was a great degree of individual variation. The study suggests cross-linguistic influence from English on Japanese as a possible explanation for the difference between the children in this study and monolinguals. The phenomena observed in the results satisfies two conditions for cross-linguistic influence proposed by Hulk and Müller (2000) and Müller and Hulk (2001), because (i) English and Japanese overlap at the surface level in terms of the agent position in a canonical sentence and the possessive structure, and (ii) the problematic structures for some children in this study involved the interface between syntax and pragmatics in the C-domain. The study, however, has no principled explanation for the individual variation found because of a lack of data on the Japanese input and the child’s fluency, both of which are likely to affect simultaneous bilingual development.

This study was an investigation into the aural and written receptive knowledge of the English semantics of English lexis that is loanwords in the Japanese language and the predictive strength of the variables of semantic distance, concreteness/abstractness, polysemy, phonological distance, number of syllables, number of phonemes, number of letters, part of speech (POS), English Frequency, and frequency in Japanese in relation to accurate semantic knowledge. The participants (N = 215) were first- and second-year, non-English majors at a large university in Western Japan. The participants were from 10 intact English classes focused on reading, writing, and communication skills. Data were collected using eight instruments: the Listening Vocabulary Levels Test, Aural Loanword Test, Aural Non-Loanword Test, New Vocabulary Levels Test, Written Loanword Test, Written Non-Loanword Test, and Japanese Loanword Frequency Rating Task. Additionally, data were collected from five Japanese L1 speakers highly proficient at English on the Semantic Distance Rating Task. The data were first analyzed using the Rasch dichotomous model to examine instrument reliability and validity as well as to transform the data into Rasch person ability estimates and Rasch item ability estimates. Pearson correlations were used to determine the strength of the relationship between loanwords and non-loanwords. Repeated-measures ANOVA—with follow up t-tests were used to determine the differences between the four semantic tests: the Aural Loanword Test, the Aural Non-Loanword Test, the Written Loanword Test, and the Written Non-Loanword Test. Four multiple linear regression analyses were conducted using the predictor variables semantic distance, concreteness/abstractness, phonological distance, number of syllables, number of phonemes, number of letters, part of speech, English Frequency, and frequency in Japanese. The results of the Pearson analyses showed strong correlations between the aural and written loanword and non-loanword measures. This finding indicated that the participants’ knowledge of loanwords was relatively equivalent to their knowledge of non-loanwords. The results of the comparison between aural and written loanword knowledge showed that written knowledge of loanwords was greater than aural knowledge of loanwords. Further comparisons between the loanword and non-loanword tests showed that receptive aural non-loanword knowledge was greater than aural loanword knowledge, and that written non-loanword knowledge was greater than written loanword knowledge. These comparisons showed that English semantic knowledge of loanwords was less accurate than that of non-loanwords, which implied that the accurate acquisition of English semantic knowledge of loanwords was impeded by Japanese L1 lexical knowledge. The results of the multiple regressions indicated that the only substantial predictor of lexical acquisition for both loanwords and non-loanwords in both modalities (aural and written) was English Frequency. Although the effect size of English frequency was substantial, it was less so on the aural and written loanword measures. This finding implied that English linguistic gains of repeated exposure were most likely muted by entrenched L1 semantic knowledge. Overall, the results showed that loanwords are generally acquired with greater difficulty than non-loanwords and that they should not always be considered a form of receptive knowledge of English lexis. / Applied Linguistics

<p>U ovom istraživanju cilj je da na osnovu lične percepcije fenomena individualne vi&scaron;ejezičnosti kod studenata i studentkinja Filozofskog fakulteta, Univerziteta u Novom Sadu, ispitam njihove stavove prema vlastitoj dvo- i vi&scaron;ejezičnosti i utvrdim da li se, u kojoj meri i na koji način odvijaju međujezički uticaji u procesu učenja trećeg jezika.<br />U Vojvodini je u službenoj upotrebi srpski jezik i ćirilično pismo, mađarski, slovački, hrvatski, rumunski i rusinski jezik i njihova pisma (Statut AP Vojvodine (&bdquo;Službeni list APV&rdquo; br.17/09)) u skladu sa zakonom i pokrajinskom skup&scaron;tinskom odlukom, a na Filozofskom fakultetu u Novom Sadu postoji duga tradicija istraživanja dvo- i vi&scaron;ejezičnosti u odnosu na jezik većinskog naroda (Mike&scaron; 1961, 1964, 1965, 1991; 1998; Mike&scaron; i Vlahović 1966; 1967; Mike&scaron; i Savić 1972, 1973, 1974; Genc 1973, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1991; Međe&scaron;i 2009; Tir 2002; Horakova 2002; Puja-Badesku 2009).<br />Korpus empirijskih podataka čine dve grupe odgovora: odgovori dvojezičnih studenata (26) i studentkinja (74) prve godine Filozofskog fakulteta u Novom Sadu &scaron;kolske 2011/12. godine (prosečna starost 21;8 godina) za koje su dobijeni podaci pomoću upitnika i odgovori dve trojezične alumnistkinje istog fakulteta (44 godine) za koje su dobijeni podaci audio zapisom njihovih ličnih ispovesti (životnih priča).<br />Upitnik ima sledeće celine: o maternjem jeziku, drugom i trećem jeziku, kao i međujezičkim uticajima; a audio zapisom su zabeleženi odgovori na slična pitanja u polustrukturiranom intervjuu. Prikupljeni podaci su analizirani na osnovu kombinacije mađarskog kao ugro-finskog i slovenskih (srpski/hrvatski, rusinski, slovački, ukrajinski, poljski, ruski), germanskih (nemački, engleski) i romanskih (rumunski, francuski, italijanski, &scaron;panski) kao idoevropskih jezika.<br />Dobijeni rezultati potvrđuju rezultate savremenih istraživanja dvo- i vi&scaron;ejezičnosti i pokazuju sledeće: bez obzira na tipolo&scaron;ke karakteristike jezika dvojezičnost efikasno utiče na usvajanje trećeg jezika (Ringbom 1987; Cenoz 2001; Jessner 2007; Gibbons 2009), &scaron;to je u ovom istraživanju dokumentovano za kombinacije jezika: mađarski kao ugro-finski i slovenski (srpski/hrvatski, rusinski, slovački, ukrajinski, poljski, ruski), germanski (nemački, engleski) i romanski (rumunski, francuski, italijanski, &scaron;panski) kao idoevropski jezici; drugi jezik ima veći uticaj na učenje trećeg jezika od prvonaučenog ili usvojenog jezika (Williams and Hammarberg 1998; Bardel and Falk 2007), ukoliko je kompetencija na visokom nivou, a izloženost drugom jeziku česta i dugotrajna i ukoliko su drugi i treći jezik tipolo&scaron;ki slični; transfer jezičkog znanja sprovodi se na nesvesnom nivou i to če&scaron;će u neformalnim, nego u formalnim situacijama, kao &scaron;to je potvrđeno i u drugim istraživanjima (Hoffmann 2007); komunikativna strategija opisivanja se če&scaron;će primenjuje u procesu stvaranja iskaza na trećem jeziku od strategije pravljenja hibridnih varijanti; kvalitativna analiza odgovora iz životnih priča potvrđuje osnovne rezultate dobijene na osnovu odgovora studenata i studentkinja i otkriva niz nijansi koje nije moguće dobiti upitnikom, a koje se odnose na kontekst, lična iskustva i sposobnosti da se metajezičke sposobnosti stave u funkciju učenja jezika.<br />Iako je trojezičnost po svemu sudeći budućnost civilizacijskog toka i obrazovnog sistema, možda čak i od pred&scaron;kolskog uzrasta, o ovom fenomenu ima jo&scaron; uvek malo literature. Na bazi rezultata dobijenih u ovom istraživanju, iako njihova pouzdanost nije apsolutna, jer zavise od ličnog procenjivanja fenomena, moguće je nanovo razmotriti postojeće teorije i ponovo opisati metalingvističke sposobnosti kada su u pitanju jezici koji nisu srodni u odnosu na jezike koji su srodni kada je u pitanju trojezičnost u Vojvodini.</p> / <p>The aim of this study is to investigate<br />attitudes towards personal bilingualism and<br />multilingualism and to determine if there is a<br />cross-linguistic influence in the third<br />language acquisition process, how and how<br />often it occurs, according to a personal<br />perception of the phenomenon of the<br />individual multilingualism among students at<br />the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi<br />Sad.<br />In Vojvodina, the officially used languages<br />are: Serbian, Hungarian, Slovak, Croatian,<br />Romanian and Ruthenian (AP of Vojvodina<br />Statute (&bdquo;Službeni list APV&rdquo; br.17/09)). At<br />the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad<br />bilingualism, multilingualism and the<br />majority language has been traditionally<br />studied since its foundation (Mike&scaron; 1961,<br />1964, 1965, 1991; 1998; Mike&scaron; i Vlahović<br />1966; 1967; Mike&scaron; i Savić 1972, 1973, 1974;<br />Genc 1973, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1991; Međe&scaron;i<br />2009; Tir 2002; Horakova 2002; Puja-<br />Badesku 2009).<br />The empirical data include two groups of<br />answers: answers that the first year (2011/12)<br />bilingual female (74) and male (26) students<br />(mean age 21;8) gave to questions about their<br />mother tongue, second and third language and<br />cross-linguistic influence in a questionnaire<br />and answers that the trilingual alumni of the same faculty (44 years old) gave in their oral</p><p>history.<br />The questionnaire includes questions about<br />mother tongue, second and third language, as<br />well as about cross-linguistic influences. The<br />questions in the semi-structured interview for<br />the oral history are about the same topics. The<br />obtained data are analyzed according to the<br />combination of Hungarian as Finno-Ugric<br />language and Slavic (Serbian/Croatian,<br />Ruthenian, Slovak, Ukrainian, Polish,<br />Russian), Germanic (German, English) and<br />Romance languages (Romanian, French,<br />Italian, Spanish) as Indo-European languages.<br />The obtained results confirm the<br />contemporary findings in bilingualism and<br />multilingualism research and show the<br />following: bilingualism has a positive<br />influence on third language acquisition<br />regardless of their typological characteristics<br />(Cenoz 2001; Jessner 2007) and in this<br />research it is confirmed for combination of<br />languages: Hungarian as Finno-Ugric<br />language and Slavic (Serbian/Croatian,<br />Ruthenian, Slovak, Ukrainian, Polish,<br />Russian), Germanic (German, English) and<br />Romance languages (Romanian, French,<br />Italian, Spanish) as Indo-European languages;<br />the second language has a greater influence<br />on the third language acquisition process than the first one (Williams and Hammarberg</p><p>1998; Bardel and Falk 2007), if the<br />competence is on the high level, the second<br />language exposure frequent and long, and if<br />the second and the third language are<br />typologically similar; the linguistic<br />knowledge is transferred subconsciously,<br />more often in informal than in formal<br />situations, as it is confirmed in other studies<br />(Hoffmann 2007); description as a<br />communicational strategy is more often used<br />than creation of hybrid forms; qualitative<br />analysis of the obtained answers in oral<br />histories confirm results obtained by the<br />questionnaire, but it also reveals various<br />nuances that cannot be found using<br />questionnaire, about the context, personal<br />experiences and abilities to use metalinguistic<br />awareness in the language learning process.<br />In spite of the fact that trilingualism is the<br />future in the civilization evolution and in the<br />educational system, even starting at the<br />preschool level, there is not enough literature<br />about the phenomenon. According to the<br />results obtained in this research, although<br />they are not absolutely reliable, since they<br />depend on a personal judgment of the<br />phenomenon, it is possible to redefine<br />existing theories and to describe<br />metalinguistic abilities again when</p>

Interest in Portuguese has steadily increased over the last decade in universities across both North and South America (Carvalho 2002, 2011), principally among Spanish speakers. Generally speaking, Portuguese for Spanish-speakers courses have been designed around the theory that Spanish-speaking students will benefit from cross-linguistic influence (CLI, or transfer) due to the typological similarity that exists between Portuguese and Spanish (see Júdice, 2000). Related to this, the Typological Primacy Model, or TPM (Rothman, 2011), states that CLI in L3 acquisition principally comes from the language that is perceived to be typologically similar to the target language (psycho-typology, see Kellerman, 1983), resulting in both positive and negative transfer. Although there is a high degree of typological similarity between Spanish and Portuguese, it is unknown whether or not this linguistic proximity is equally salient to all learners and whether or not learners view this linguistic proximity as an advantage or a disadvantage when learning Portuguese. Furthermore, some studies have suggested that the context in which one's Spanish is acquired may play a role in the different types of CLI evident among different Spanish-speaking learners of Portuguese (e.g., Carvalho & da Silva, 2006; Johnson, 2004; Koike & Gualda, 2008). Consequently, Carvalho (2002, 2011) has called for more empirical evidence to shed light on the nature of CLI between Spanish and Portuguese. This dissertation, consisting of three main studies, seeks to answer this call by examining the effects of language background on L3 Portuguese acquisition among three groups of Spanish-speaking bilinguals: L1 Spanish (L1S) bilinguals, L2 Spanish (L2S) bilinguals, and heritage speakers of Spanish (HS bilinguals). Results from both quantitative and qualitative analyses of questionnaire data from the first study suggest that although all participants view Spanish as the principal source of CLI in L3 Portuguese acquisition, L2S bilinguals and HS bilinguals perceive the role of Spanish as significantly more facilitative when learning Portuguese than do L1S bilinguals. The second and third studies used a sentence completion task and a preference/grammaticality judgment task (see Ayoun, 2000) to measure bilingual students' knowledge of mood distinctions in Spanish in obligatory and non-obligatory contexts, respectively, and how they transfer that knowledge to Portuguese. Results indicate that the L2S group scored significantly lower on both measures of mood distinctions in obligatory contexts in Spanish, but transferred over more of their knowledge to Portuguese than either the L1S or HS groups. Similarly, results suggest that L2S bilinguals do not understand the variable nature of mood distinctions in non-obligatory environments, but show almost identical strategies of mood selection in both Spanish and Portuguese. In contrast, L1S and HS bilinguals display knowledge of the variable nature of mood distinctions in Spanish in these contexts but show marked differences in mood selection between the Spanish and Portuguese tasks. The results of these studies contribute to L3 acquisition literature by emphasizing the complexity involved in determining the role of the background languages in CLI and by highlighting the importance of the context of acquisition in CLI. In addition, the results provide more empirical evidence regarding the differences between how different groups of Spanish-speaking bilinguals transfer their knowledge when acquiring L3 Portuguese.