Cross-linguistic issues in the acquisition of Mandarin Chinese negation by Shona–English bilinguals at the University of Zimbabwe: implications for second language teaching

Abstract

This article provides insights into the nature of the transitional language during the acquisition of Mandarin Chinese as an additional foreign language by students at the University of Zimbabwe. The students concerned are first language speakers of Shona and English as their second language. The article examines linguistic features apparent in the intermediate stages of the acquisition of Mandarin negation systems in a formal learning environment. In establishing this, the researchers employed discourse completion tasks, semi-structured interviews with learners and language instructors, and personal reports as methods of gathering data. Secondary sources, including Mandarin textbooks and Mandarin language instructors, were also consulted to assist in error identification, description and explanation. From the findings, it is apparent that, during the acquisition of Mandarin negation, the intermediate stages can be characterised by a complex system of rules and syntactic-semantic permutations which are independent of both the target language and of previously-acquired languages. The research contributes to an understanding of the development of learner’s language during the acquisition of a typologically-dissimilar foreign additional language, and has further implications for solving problems in foreign language teaching and learning.