Transfer of collostructions: the case of causative constructions

Abstract

In an attempt to identify possible cases of collostructional transfer in the use of the causative construction [X make Y Vinf] by French-speaking learners of English, two types of analyses are combined in this study. First, a contrastive collostructional analysis compares the verbs occurring in the [Vinf] slot of the English construction and its French equivalent, [X faire Vinf Y]. Second, a contrastive interlanguage collostructional analysis compares the verbs used in the [Vinf] slot of [X make Y Vinf] by native speakers of English, French-speaking learners of English and learners of English from other mother tongue backgrounds. The aim is to identify verbs that are more distinctive of [X faire Vinf Y] than of [X make Y Vinf] and that are also more likely to be used by French-speaking learners of English than by other populations, as these verbs could be potential cases of collostructional preferences transferred by learners from French to English. The results suggest that learners might transfer verbs expressing a change of state or location and some individual verbs like discover from the French to the English causative construction. Their dispreference for copular verbs (other than be) could also be the result of transfer effects.