Fernandez-Berkes, Eva

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Official Name
Fernandez-Berkes, Eva
Alternative Name
Berkes, Eva
Main Affiliation
Akademische Titel
Prof.(FH) Dr.
Email
eva.fernandez-berkes@fh-burgenland.at
Scopus Author ID
55943957000
Status
staff

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2016 2016 2015 2015 2014 2014 2013 2013 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.8 0.8 1.0 1.0

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  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Multilingual Acquisition of English: Development of Grammar Through Study of Null Anaphora
    (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015)
    Berkes, Eva 
    ;
    Flynn, Suzanne 
    Development of the “Minimalist Program” (MP) (Chomsky 1995) from a “Government and Binding” framework (GB) (Chomsky 1981, 1986) gave rise to numerous debates concerning the validity of long established parameters and parametric variation such as the “pro-drop parameter” in linguistic theory, which is supposed to be on in null-subject languages (NSL) and off in non-null-subject languages (non-NSL). Critically, these debates have consequences for both theories of language and language acquisition. Specifically, studies of language development, be it L1 or Ln, need to reinterpret their results in light of the newly emerging theoretical constructs in order to give an explanatory account of what was traditionally understood as parameter setting. The main objectives of the present paper are twofold. Firstly, it proposes to account for how multilingual learners acquire binding relations between referentially connected elements in subject-controlled adverbial subordination using a minimalist account of the featural setup of pronominal anaphora. Secondly, the paper attempts to support the viability of a model of acquisition as a computational rather than a maturational process (see Flynn and Lust 2002 for an overview) where “parameter setting” in development is to be understood as a gradual process allowing time for the learner to work out the linguistic implications deriving from the target setting (also in Flynn and O'Neil 1988). This paper provides support for reinterpreting parameter setting as the process in which learners dissociate and integrate linguistic components consistent with the properties of a specific target grammar (Flynn et al. 2005).
      202  799
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    Publication
    Multilingualism: New perspectives on syntactic development
    (Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2013)
    Berkes, Eva 
    ;
    Flynn, Suzanne 
    The chapter presents results of a series of studies which provide strong support against simplified accounts of language transfer from either first language (L1) or any previous language. These studies help us better understand language acquisition, and most particularly the nature of the hypotheses language learners impose when learning a new target language. Language development studies focusing on the acquisition of relative clauses in English presented in this chapter seek to elucidate language development by contemplating the development of language-specific properties of the complementizer phrase (CP). The chapter introduces three influential current models of multilingual acquisition: the second-language (L2) status factor; the typological primacy model; and the cumulative enhancement model (CEM) for language acquisition. L1 acquisition studies have provided important insights into how the mind and language work. The chapter also explores L3 acquisition, the acquisition process of any multilingual learner whether of a third language or a fourth language.
      213  798Scopus© Citations 17
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    Publication
    Multi-competence and syntax
    (Cambridge University Press, 2016)
    Berkes, Eva 
    ;
    Flynn, Suzanne 
    As the present volume suggests, multi-competence is not restricted to the knowledge of syntax in the mind of multilinguals; nevertheless, the growth of syntactic knowledge in acquisition plays an undoubtedly leading role in language development. The role of syntax in language development is precisely what we try to explore here in this chapter. In doing so we present some essential research findings to claim for a cumulative enhancement of linguistic knowledge to facilitate language acquisition, as proposed by Flynn et al. (2004), and dwell upon the syntactic implications such a proposition has on the Faculty of Language and related processes. The chapter intends to show that the proficient use of multiple languages enhances learners to develop "syntactic fluency" which, we argue, is to be understood as a certain syntactic sensitivity to detect target-specific feature setups for functional categories and combinatorial ease in integrating and mapping them into the new grammar.
      262  2512Scopus© Citations 5