Joan Perera

Later Development of Relative Clauses Across Discourse Genres and Modalities of Production

In order to establish the developmental path of the types of relatives acquired at later ages, we investigate the use and development of relative clauses in a discourse-embedded context. In particular, we track the changes that relative clauses undergo both in form and function; and compare the use of these clauses in different contexts of discourse production. A database of 320 texts (narrative and expository texts, spoken and written) produced by 80 native speakers of Spanish from four age/schooling levels: 9, 12 and 17 year-olds, and adults is analyzed. According to our results, the use of relative clauses shows a developmental pattern that goes well beyond adolescence. With age, relative clauses undergo substantial changes, both from a structural and a discursive point of view. Significantly, these changes are constrained by the diverging communicative circumstances of text production, i.e. the longest developmental path for this type of clauses is observed in written discourse.

Introduction to Written and Spoken Language Development Across the Lifespan

Liliana Tolchinsky’s office is located in a modern, though architecturally bland, building, at the opposite end of the lush gardens that surround the main, historical building of the University of Barcelona. In a tiny office on the fifth floor, Liliana prepares lectures, receives students, writes articles, talks with colleagues and collaborators, and holds meetings with members of the research group that she has coordinated for almost 20 years. She has been in that office since the year 2000, after a long, sinuous path that took her from her native Buenos Aires, through Tel Aviv, and finally to Barcelona. She had arrived in the University of Barcelona some 10 years earlier, but it wasn’t until she joined the General Linguistics Department that Liliana found stability in the Academy and the institutional recognition that her research record and international impact deserved.

Adapting to the circumstances: on discourse competence in L2 Spanish / De la competencia discursiva en español L2 o de cómo adaptarse a las circunstancias

Abstract To characterize the discourse competence of second language (L2) Spanish speakers, we examine the narrative and expository texts produced by Korean and Moroccan Arabic learners of Spanish considering (1) whether the discourse connectivity patterns and the detachment devices used by these learners can be compared with those observed in the L1; and (2) whether non-native patterns are determined by L2 proficiency level. Results show that the use of different types of connectivity and detachment devices are not related with L2 proficiency level. From very early on, Spanish L2 learners are capable of adapting to the requirements imposed by communicative circumstances: they all produce well-organized texts and are capable of taking a stance when describing specific events. Data analysis indicates the convenience of revising the CEFR criteria for the assessment of L2 competence, and of taking into account learners’ discourse skills in the L1.