Interlingual Morpho-Syntactic L₁-Interference and L₂-Syntax Errors: Experiences, Observations and Deductions

In order to determine interlingual morpho-syntactic L₁-interference among 9 adult German native speaking subjects who attempted to learn the English language, long-term classes of an average timespan of 18 months were observed and tracked in regard of their most common errors in L₂-syntax. During that period, it became obvious, that a majority of syntax errors occured due to interference with familiar structures of the subjects’ L₁, which they had falsely mapped onto L₂-structures. This paper describes the methodology of assessments of the most error-prone syntax structures in the featured pair of languages, the quality of subjectively-felt difficulties in syntactic switching as well as the specific associated fields of morpho-syntactic interference. Furthermore, it opens a follow-up discussion about whether root-similarities between L₁ and L₂ in general, in spite of their numerous advantages for learners, can also have negative impact on L₂-acquisition in terms of syntax-errors due to the likelihood of ill-fitting mapping-attempts which might be brought forth by the faulty preassumption of identicalness, built upon the various similarities among L₁ and L₂.