چکیده:
Problems in appropriately using the article system in English
are globally known simply because they are observed in
learners with different L1 backgrounds. The present study is
dedicated to an investigation of the nature and degree of
such problems when it comes to using articles for mass
nouns by Persian-speaking learners. Data is elicited and
analyzed from three proficiency groups. It is shown that
even highly advanced learners do not have native-like
mastery over the issue. It is also shown that L1 transfer is
present in many cases of error. Explicit contrastive
instruction based on the two languages is suggested as a
more efficient way out. The results are also discussed within
the framework of the Interpretability Hypothesis as they do
not seem to support it.
خلاصه ماشینی:
The Count/Mass Distinction and the English Article System at the Interface: On the Learnability of Interpretable Features by Persian-Speaking Learners M.
The present study is dedicated to an investigation of the nature and degree of such problems when it comes to using articles for mass nouns by Persian-speaking learners.
Key words: Definite article, indefinite article, count/mass distinction, L1 transfer, interpretability hypothesis Introduction English and Persian are similar with respect to many grammatical aspects.
For another thing, a very important aspect of the English article system is the parametric distinction between count and mass nouns which exists in Persian as well.
So, from an acquisition perspective, the task of Persian learners would be remapping their knowledge of the article system and the count/mass distinction onto the surface forms of articles in English.
Absence of research on the acquisition of the English mass/count domain by Persian learners, at least to our knowledge, motivated the present study as it aims at seeking to know the extent to which these learners progress in correct article use for mass nouns.
The performance on mass nouns was so poor that even the advanced participants could not achieve a high mean score (just 73%) whereas the same group had a high percentage of correct article use for count nouns (91%).
Based on the IH, it is presumed that the count/mass distinction as realized in article use would not be a heavy burden to Persian learners since it is interpretable in both languages.