Abstract
Intensification is of considerable interest in the field of SLA. The possibility of grading a given quality, adding nuances of intensity to linguistic productions, can be expressed by lexical (extremely cold), morphological (ice-cold) and syntactic (as cold as possible) means. Previous studies have shown that intensifiers are also pragmatic resources (Hinkel 2003): the expression of the intensity of a quality conveys at the same time the subjective attitude of the speaker towards the propositional content. Moreover, the relationship between the intensifying and the intensified forms may result in highly conventional word combinations, which pertain to the domain of phraseology (Hendrikx et al. 2019). Being at the interface of lexicon, grammar, pragmatics and phraseology, intensification represents a challenge for L2 learners, who are required to acquire the linguistic and pragmatic knowledge associated with intensifiers, as well as the collocational patterns established between intensifying and intensified forms.
Previous studies have investigated adjective intensification in advanced learners of English (Lorenz, 1998; Hinkel, 2003), while few have focused on other languages (Hendrikx et al. 2019), and on younger learners (Hasselgård 2022; Pérez-Paredes & Díez-Bedmar 2012). Some of their most relevant results highlight learners’ overuse of all-purpose, delexicalized adverbial intensifiers compared to native speakers (Lorenz 1998), as well as a longitudinal tendency towards target-like uses of intensification, increased by target language exposure (Hendrikx et al. 2019).
This study aims to provide new insights into L2 acquisition and use of intensification, by answering the following research question:
Are there differences in the way L2 Italian and L2 German young learners from the multilingual area of South Tyrol acquire over time and use adjective intensification in written texts?
On the basis that "language contact situations are a privileged vantage point for the observer to tease out all the manifestations of intensification in everyday language use" (Fiorentini & Sansò 2017: 176), we have investigated large multilingual corpora of two under-researched languages, focusing on how adjective intensification evolves over time within a multilingual repertoire of young learners, and thereby contrasting the two learner groups.
References
Fiorentini, I., & Sansò, A. (2017). Intensifiers between grammar and pragmatics: A lesson from a language contact situation. In M. Napoli & M. Ravetto, Eds., Exploring Intensification. Synchronic, diachronic and cross-linguistic perspectives, 173–192. Benjamins.
Hasselgård, H. (2022). Adverb-adjective combinations in young writers’ English (EL1 and EL2). Nordic Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, 10(2).
Hendrikx, I., Van Goethem, K. & Wulff, S. (2019). Intensifying constructions in French- speaking L2 learners of English and Dutch: cross-linguistic influence and exposure effects. International Journal of Learner Corpus Research, Vol.5:1, 63–103.
Hinkel, E. (2003). Adverbial markers and tone in L1 and L2 students’ writing. Journal of Pragmatics, 35(7), 1049–1068.
Lorenz, G. 1999. Adjective intensification -learners versus native speakers: A corpus study of argumentative writing. Rodopi.
Pérez-Paredes, P. & Díez-Bedmar M.B. (2012). The Use of Intensifying Adverbs in Learner Writing. In Y. Tono, Y. Kawaguchi, M. Minegishi (eds), Developmental and Crosslinguistic Perspectives in Learner Corpus Research, Benjamins, 105–124.