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Some Theoretical and Pedagogical Implications of the Markedness Differential Hypothesis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2008

Fred R. Eckman
Fred R. Eckman
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee
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Abstract

This paper is intended as a programmatic contribution to the work of a number of scholars in second language acquisition (SLA) who are attempting to explain various facts about SLA in terms of an interaction between native-language transfer and language universals (Gass & Selinker, 1983). In the present paper, some of the theoretical assumptions and consequences of the Markedness Differential Hypothesis (MDH) (Eckman, 1977) are discussed in comparison with the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis. Crucial differences between the two hypotheses are presented, and empirical evidence in favor of the MDH is reviewed. Pedagogical implications of the MDH are then taken up, and a strategy for interlanguage-intervention is discussed in light of an empirical study. Finally, several problems for the MDH which have been proposed in the literature are considered.

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Type
Articles
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Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 7 , Issue 3 , October 1985 , pp. 289 - 307
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

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