Implementation and resistance to change

Abstract EN

The study investigates the distribution and usage of three classes of verbparticle combinations in film-based narratives written in English by native English speakers and by German and Hebrew speakers who are advanced learners of English.

In typological grounds, Hebrew lacks verb-particle constructions, unlike both English and German.

Results show that Hebrew speaker-writers use fewer particles in English than their German-speaking peers, relying mainly on directional particles -- where Hebrew has semantically comparable lexical adverbs, as well as on idiomatic verbparticle combinations.

Aspectual particles were less frequent in L2 learner language.

The findings are discussed in terms of the role of L1 typology, the appropriation of multi-functional items in L2 usage and the function of particular constructions in discourse embedded contexts.

* The study was supported by Grant No.

1-789-109.4/2003 of the German- Israel Foundation for Research and Development [GIF], to Ruth A.

Berman, Tel Aviv University, and Christiane von Stutterheim, University of Heidelberg, for the study of The Impact of L1 on Advanced Learner Language: A cross-linguistic study of spoken and written usage.

I am indebted to Ruth Berman for her invaluable assistance in all aspects of the study and in revising earlier versions of this article and to Bracha Nir for her help with statistical and other analyses.

Thanks, too, to Mary Carroll, University of Heidelberg, for sharing her insights on contrasting particle structure and use in English and German.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addresed to Judy Kupersmitt, Department of English Language and Literature, Al Qasemi College, and Department of Language Sciences and Communication Disorders, University of Haifa, Mt.

Carmel, Haifa 31905.

E-mail: judykup@bezeqint.net