Minimalism and the Acquisition of Functional Categories in Italian EFL Classes

Area 10 – Scienze dell'antichità, filologico-letterarie e storico-artistiche

The book explores the acquisition of functional categories in a second and in a foreign language from both a theoretical perspective and an empirical one with specific reference to Italian EFL classes. The Introduction illustrates the aim of the book. Chapter 1 sums up key issues in generative linguistics. Chapter 2 introduces the theoretical foundations of the Minimalist Programme. Chapter 3 examines the internal architecture of functional categories. Chapter 4 presents various hypotheses made on the acquisition of functional categories in a second and in a foreign language. Chapter 5 introduces recent developments in SLA and EFL learning. Chapter 6 analyses the acquisition of Yes/No questions by Italian learners. Chapter 7 presents a study on the acquisition of imperative clauses by the same Italian learners. The book concludes with a brief reflection on the extent to which interlanguage provides an optimal design for the L2ers who use it.

SINTESI