This study investigates the acquisition of grammatical gender and number agreement in Italian as a second language (L2). The theoretical framework is based on a functional approach that stresses the importance of form function mappings, cues, frequency effects and the statistical properties of the language input. The Competition Model is of particular importance and the Italian oral corpus LIP is used to make calculations that measure the validity, availability and reliability of the Italian noun endings. The data consists of 71 transcribed teacher-student dialogues with Swedish learners of Italian at Stockholm University. The results show that learners have problems with feminine gender in the plural and with ambiguous noun endings, i.e. cases where one form is connected to more than one function. These findings can be explained by cue competition and frequency effects and to some extent by a markedness effect.  A second study with time (longitudinal development) and reliability of the noun endings (high or low) as independent variables and degree of accuracy as dependent variable showed a positive increase in accuracy rates over time, both for low and high reliability noun endings. There was also a significant interaction effect between the two independent variables according to which cases of agreement with low validity noun endings showed a higher increase in accuracy rates than high validity noun endings. This could be explained by the power law of practice, i.e. cases of agreement with high reliability noun endings soon reach a very high level of accuracy from which it is difficult to make further progress.

The current study investigated the realization for the English voiceless postalveolar affricate /tʃ/ in Najdi Saudi ESL learners' production. The goal of the study was to investigate whether Najdi Saudi ESL learners have difficulties in pronouncing /tʃ/. Both linguistic and extra-linguistic factors were taken into consideration. Eighteen Najdi ESL learners' with different length of residency in the US were the sample of the study. Sixteen English words with /tʃ/ in initial and final position represented the instrument of the study. Data were analyzed using both SPSS and Speech analyzer software. The results showed that Najdi ESL learners have difficulties with /tʃ/, and they pronounced it as /ʃ/. Pronunciation for /tʃ/ was more difficult in word-final position than word-initial. The study also, found that learners with longer LORs produced more accurate pronunciation than learners with shorter LORs. Commonly used words were not a variable of interest, however the study showed that learners had fewer errors with commonly used words, than uncommon ones. Finally, the results provided support for theories and hypotheses such as the CAH (Lado, 1957), MDH (Eckman, 1977), and LTT (Gass and Selinker, 1994).

Esta dissertação tem por objetivo discutir aspectos da imigração dos chineses em São Paulo e analisar a língua portuguesa falada pelos imigrantes. Com o desenvolvimento da comunicação e da sociedade, movimentos migratórios foram se tornando cada vez mais dinâmicos no palco mundial. A ampliação de políticas migratórias relativamente livres e o desenvolvimento acelerado tornaram o Brasil um dos destinos mais populares para os chineses. Os chineses, especialmente os do litoral, com tradição de emigrações, constituíram-se elementos atuantes na sociedade paulistana, em especial no comércio. Para os imigrantes mais antigos, os principais problemas enfrentados foram relativos à dificuldade em aprender o idioma. Como a maior parte faz negócios, é obrigatório comunicar-se com os clientes brasileiros, o que, depois de alguns anos no Brasil, favorece que se comuniquem sem grandes problemas no dia-a-dia. Os estudos de Fishman sobre as etapas de transição para um estado monolíngue indica que esse processo ocorre dentro de três gerações (FISHMAN, 1966,1988). Também há quatro etapas que conduz do bilinguismo ao monolinguismo, sendo este o do português (TARALLO e ALKMIN, 1987, p.67). Como é fato a expansão da imigração chinesa ao Brasil nas últimas décadas, a maioria dos imigrantes chineses em São Paulo é da primeira ou segunda geração. Isso significa que a língua dominante em sua vida ainda é a língua chinesa, no entanto já está em curso um período de transição do bilinguismo para o monolinguismo. Para o estudo da língua portuguesa falada pelos chineses em São Paulo, focalizo os marcadores discursivos. As funções discursivas estão presentes na língua de contato desde muito cedo, tão logo os falantes saem da fase de palavras isoladas ou de frases muito curtas e começam a usar um discurso mais longo, com narrativas, descrições e argumentações mais fluentes. Os marcadores são interessantes, pois mostram um comportamento distinto, via funções diferenciadas. Os resultados apontam que os falantes com mais proficiência usam mais marcadores com a função de organizar, reformular ou articular o texto, e os com menos proficiência usam marcadores para checar a própria interação, quer dizer, para se certificar que está sendo compreendido. / This thesis aims to analyze the Chinese immigration in Sao Paulo and the spoken Portuguese language by immigrants. With the development of communication and society, migratory movements are becoming more and more dynamic on the world stage. The expansion of free migration policies and the relatively rapid development made the Brazil one of the most popular destinations for the Chinese. The Chinese especially who are from the cost with the tradition of emigration constituted active elements in Sao Paulo society. For the older immigrants, the main problems were related to the difficulty in learning the language. But because many of them do business, which require to communicate with the Brazilian customers, so after a few years in Brazil, they do not have big problems in communication in the daily life. The studies of Fishman about the steps to transition to a monolingual state indicate that this process occurs within three generations (Fishman, 1966, 1988). There are four steps leading from biligualism to monolingualism, which in this case is Portuguese (TARALLO and ALKMIN, 1987, p.67). Because of the expansion of Chinese immigration to Brazil began in recent decades, most of the Chinese immigrants in Sao Paulo are in the first ou second generation. This means that the dominant language in their lives is still the Chinese language, however their language is in transition from bilingualism to monolingualism. To study the spoken Portuguese language by the immigrants in Sao Paulo, I focus on the discourse markers. The discursive function are present in the contact language very early, as soon as the speakers left the phase of single words ou very short sentence and begin to use a longer speech, with narratives, descriptions and arguments. The markers are interesting because they indicate diferent behaviors. They perform distinct functions. The results show that the speakers with more proficiency use more markers with the function of organizing or of articulating the text, and when the speakers with lower proficiency, they use more markers to verify the interaction.

Esta dissertação tem por objetivo discutir aspectos da imigração dos chineses em São Paulo e analisar a língua portuguesa falada pelos imigrantes. Com o desenvolvimento da comunicação e da sociedade, movimentos migratórios foram se tornando cada vez mais dinâmicos no palco mundial. A ampliação de políticas migratórias relativamente livres e o desenvolvimento acelerado tornaram o Brasil um dos destinos mais populares para os chineses. Os chineses, especialmente os do litoral, com tradição de emigrações, constituíram-se elementos atuantes na sociedade paulistana, em especial no comércio. Para os imigrantes mais antigos, os principais problemas enfrentados foram relativos à dificuldade em aprender o idioma. Como a maior parte faz negócios, é obrigatório comunicar-se com os clientes brasileiros, o que, depois de alguns anos no Brasil, favorece que se comuniquem sem grandes problemas no dia-a-dia. Os estudos de Fishman sobre as etapas de transição para um estado monolíngue indica que esse processo ocorre dentro de três gerações (FISHMAN, 1966,1988). Também há quatro etapas que conduz do bilinguismo ao monolinguismo, sendo este o do português (TARALLO e ALKMIN, 1987, p.67). Como é fato a expansão da imigração chinesa ao Brasil nas últimas décadas, a maioria dos imigrantes chineses em São Paulo é da primeira ou segunda geração. Isso significa que a língua dominante em sua vida ainda é a língua chinesa, no entanto já está em curso um período de transição do bilinguismo para o monolinguismo. Para o estudo da língua portuguesa falada pelos chineses em São Paulo, focalizo os marcadores discursivos. As funções discursivas estão presentes na língua de contato desde muito cedo, tão logo os falantes saem da fase de palavras isoladas ou de frases muito curtas e começam a usar um discurso mais longo, com narrativas, descrições e argumentações mais fluentes. Os marcadores são interessantes, pois mostram um comportamento distinto, via funções diferenciadas. Os resultados apontam que os falantes com mais proficiência usam mais marcadores com a função de organizar, reformular ou articular o texto, e os com menos proficiência usam marcadores para checar a própria interação, quer dizer, para se certificar que está sendo compreendido. / This thesis aims to analyze the Chinese immigration in Sao Paulo and the spoken Portuguese language by immigrants. With the development of communication and society, migratory movements are becoming more and more dynamic on the world stage. The expansion of free migration policies and the relatively rapid development made the Brazil one of the most popular destinations for the Chinese. The Chinese especially who are from the cost with the tradition of emigration constituted active elements in Sao Paulo society. For the older immigrants, the main problems were related to the difficulty in learning the language. But because many of them do business, which require to communicate with the Brazilian customers, so after a few years in Brazil, they do not have big problems in communication in the daily life. The studies of Fishman about the steps to transition to a monolingual state indicate that this process occurs within three generations (Fishman, 1966, 1988). There are four steps leading from biligualism to monolingualism, which in this case is Portuguese (TARALLO and ALKMIN, 1987, p.67). Because of the expansion of Chinese immigration to Brazil began in recent decades, most of the Chinese immigrants in Sao Paulo are in the first ou second generation. This means that the dominant language in their lives is still the Chinese language, however their language is in transition from bilingualism to monolingualism. To study the spoken Portuguese language by the immigrants in Sao Paulo, I focus on the discourse markers. The discursive function are present in the contact language very early, as soon as the speakers left the phase of single words ou very short sentence and begin to use a longer speech, with narratives, descriptions and arguments. The markers are interesting because they indicate diferent behaviors. They perform distinct functions. The results show that the speakers with more proficiency use more markers with the function of organizing or of articulating the text, and when the speakers with lower proficiency, they use more markers to verify the interaction.