The use of total and partial objects by university students who are native speakers of Russian or Estonian Cover Image

Vene ja eesti üliõpilaste valikud täis- ja osasihitise kasutamisel
The use of total and partial objects by university students who are native speakers of Russian or Estonian

Author(s): Raili Pool
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Eesti Rakenduslingvistika Ühing (ERÜ)
Keywords: language learning; second language acquisition; native speaker; non-native speaker; object cases; aspectual verbs; partitive verbs; introspection; Russian; Estonian

Summary/Abstract: The article compares the use of total and partial objects by L2 and L1 speakers of Estonian. For the purposes of the article, L2 speakers of Estonian are native speakers of Russian who are pursuing a programme of studies in Estonian as a foreign language and who possess an advanced knowledge of Estonian. They are fully conversant with Estonian grammar and the usage rules of objects in Estonian. L1 speakers of Estonian are students of various specialities from the universities in Tartu and in Tallinn. The article analyses answers given by the participants in the multiple choice test and grammaticality judgement test. The choices made by L2 and L1 learners of Estonian in the use of total and partial objects showed considerable variation, which means that this aspect of grammar is one of the most difficult ones for learners of Estonian.

  • Issue Year: 2010
  • Issue No: 20
  • Page Range: 191-217
  • Page Count: 27
  • Language: Estonian