THE ALTERNATION HYPOTHESIS: ACQUISITION OF DUTCH WORD ORDER BY TURKISH AND MOROCCAN FOREIGN WORKERS¹

Abstract

We describe the acquisition of Dutch word order (in particular the positions of the verb and the preposition) by 16 Turkish and Moroccan foreign workers residing in Amsterdam Our theoretical framework is the Alternation Hypothesis, which states that when the target language offers an alternation between two patterns (eg. verb final and verb second, as in Dutch), a second language learner will tend to over generalize the pattern existing in his or her first language (eg, verb final in Turkish. verb second in Moroccan Arable) The hypothesis is partly confirmed by our data Reliance on first language structures is frequent in the earl) stages of the process of acquisition of the alternating orders involved. but almost absent in later stages