Chapter 23. Phonological transfer in oral and written production among adult L2 learners of Swedish

Abstract

A foreign accent is usually inevitable among adult second language (L2) learners. The speaker’s first language (L1) can often be identified based on transfer of linguistic features from L1 to L2. Misspellings in texts written by adolescents in their L2 are traced to the phonology in participants L1s and explained as transfer (Andersson, 1981). The aim of this study is to investigate whether a relationship between oral and written production (in L2) can be found among adult L2 learners of Swedish. A dictation exercise shows misspellings in texts that can be related to accented speech and phonology in the participants’ L1s. Results are of interest and relevance for didactic development in the teaching of Swedish as a second language.