Transfer as a strategy for filling nominative gaps in L2

Abstract

"Speaking on a subject, a foreign language user often declares that he does not know a foreign word for a certain designation or he cannot recall it. If there is no opportunity to use a dictionary, he will usually use a verbal description of a designation, paraphrase, synonymous expression, or its negated antonym, provided that he is familiar with them. Strategies for filling nominative gaps depend also on the structure of terms. They can consist of one or several lexical elements, e.g. pupil, primary school, individual course of study. In the case of multiple-element terms, there is also a possibility of transferring them into a foreign language, i.e. a foreign term is formed according to the scheme of the mother tongue one, with its structure as well as number and semantics of its elements maintained. Using this strategy, the speaker will often imply that he is not certain of the usability of such a name and will ask for confirmation of its correctness or providing its right form in the foreign language. In this paper I will discuss the strategies for creating two-element compounds in L2, as their example allows the problems of filling nominative gaps by means of transfer to be illustrated most thoroughly. For this purpose, I will first characterise formal structures of terms in Polish and German languages, their usability and the choice of nominative motive. On this basis I will then establish the possibilities of correct filling of nominative gaps in L2." (fragm.)