The role of English language in learning German as a second foreign language by Polish pupils

Silesian School of Economics andLanguages in Katowice

Master‟s thesis

Anna Ruchałowska

The role of English language in learning German as a second foreign language by

Polish pupils

Supervisor:

Reviewer:

Katowice, 2011Wyższa Szkoła Zarządzania Marketingowego i

Języków Obcych w Katowicach

Praca magisterska

Anna Ruchałowska

Rola języka angielskiego w nauce języka niemieckiego jako drugiego języka obcegou polskich uczniów

Promotor: Recenzent:

Katowice, 2011

Oświadczenie studenta Świadom odpowiedzialności prawnej oświadczam, że niniejsza praca dyplomowa została

napisana przeze mnie samodzielnie i nie zawiera treści uzyskanych w sposób niezgodny z

obowiązującymi przepisami.

Oświadczam również, że niniejsza praca dyplomowa nie była wcześniej przedmiotem procedurzwiązanych z uzyskaniem tytułu zawodowego lub stopnia naukowego.

Oświadczam ponadto, że niniejsza wersja pracy jest identyczna z załączoną wersjąelektroniczną. Data: 06.05.2011 podpis studenta: Anna Ruchałowska

3

Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 6 Chapter 1: Sentence, its elements andtypes .......................................................................................................................................... 7

1.1. Sentence and its mainelements ................................................................................................................................................ 7

1.1.1. Subject andPredicate .................................................................................................................................................... 7 1.1.2. Verbs andObjects ......................................................................................................................................................... 8 1.1.3.Adverbial ....................................................................................................................................................................... 9 1.1.4. Sentence andClauses .................................................................................................................................................. 10

1.2. Concludingremarks .................................................................................

................................................................................. 11 Chapter 2: Word Order in SimpleSentences ....................................................................................................................................... 12

2.1.Declaratives ......................................................................................................................................................................... 12 2.1.1. Position of Subject, Verb and

Objects ........................................................................................................................... 13

2.1.2. Position and sequence ofAdverbials ............................................................................................................................. 14

2.2.Negations ............................................................................................................................................................................... 14 2.3.Interrogatives ......................................................................................................................................................................... 15

2.3.1. Yes/Nointerrogatives .................................................................................................................................................... 15

5

2.3.2. Wh interrogatives .......................................................................................................................................................... 16

2.4. Concludingremarks ............................................................................................................................................................... 19

Chapter 3: Word Order in Compound and ComplexSentences .......................................................................................................... 22

3.1. CompoundSentences ............................................................................................................................................................. 22 3.2. ComplexSentences ................................................................................................................................................................23 3.2.1. Noun Clauses functioning as

Subject ............................................................................................................................ 25

3.2.2. Noun Clauses functioning as DirectObject ..................................................................................

................................. 25 3.2.3. Noun Clauses functioning as Subject

Complement ....................................................................................................... 25

3.3. AdverbialClauses ..................................................................................................................................................................26

3.3.1. Clauses of Condition andTime ..................................................................................................................................... 26 3.3.2. Clauses ofComparison .................................................................................................................................................. 26 3.3.3. Clauses ofPurpose ........................................................................................................................................................ 27 3.3.4. Clauses of Reason andResult ........................................................................................................................................ 27 3.3.5. Clauses ofConcession ................................................................................................................................................... 28

3.4. Concludingremarks ............................................................................................................................................................... 29

Chapter 4: Analysis of the survey on English – German WordOrder ................................................................................................. 32

Part I. Word Order in SimpleSentences ........................................................................................................................................ 33

6

Part II. Word Order inInterrogatives ............................................................................................................................................ 36 Part III. Word Order in Compound and ComplexSentences ......................................................................................................... 38 Part IV. Concludingremarks ......................................................................................................................................................... 42

References .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 45 AppendixI .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 46 Summary inPolish .............................................................................................................................................................................. 49 Introduction

As observed by Tourtellotte, American science-fiction writer, “Any tool hasmultiple uses. Language, for example, can

be either a bridge or a barrier.” (https://sites.google.com/a/napls.us/middle-school-global-languages/).

Those who have learnt foreign language would admit that there is definitely agreat deal of truth in this concept. How is

it to be justified? In what way can the language become simultaneously an obstacle and

facilitator? Providing one strict answer to these questions appears unattainable due to

various factors and context influencing it. Nonetheless, some aspect of the idea of a

language as a “bridge” or “barrier” can be exemplified upon restricting it to the

analysis of the role of English language on learning German as a second foreign language

by Polish pupils of a secondary school with the extensive program of English, which will

be attempted in the dissertation below.

The areas put in focus will concern the rules governing English grammar and thepotential implications they may exert

on acquisition to German language. With this aim in view, the issues raised will covermiscellany of sentence types, selected upon the content of linguistic curriculaintended for secondary school learners.

Owing to the fact that no discussion on the grammar of a given language isfeasible without understanding basic

linguistic concepts, the first chapter will serve as the elaboration of basic notionsinherent in English and German language, such as Sentence, Subject, Predicate, Verb,Object, Adverbial, Clause. The information presented will regard the concise definitionof the above terms as well as the explanation of the basic roles performed by them inthe sentence with the emphasis given to the various types of the verbs and objects.

The attempt to present the role of language as a “bridge” or “barrier” will bemade in the second chapter, devoted to the

7

analysis of Simple Sentences in English language and their potential implications onlearning equivalent German structures. The areas in focus will involve the rulesgoverning English and German Declaratives, Yes/ No and Wh Interrogatives as well asNegations.

Chapter three, on the other hand, will be dedicated to investigation of theinfluence of rules applying to creation of English Compound and Complex Sentences onacquisition to German parallel constructions. Taking into account the vast amount ofinformation pertinent to Complex Sentences, the areas examined in the chapter will referto certain types of Noun Clauses and Adverbial Clauses.

Assumptions inferred from the above chapters will be reviewed in chapter 4comprising the analysis of the survey

conducted with 50 pupils of a secondary school attending the class with extensiveprogram of English and encountering acquisition to German as a second foreign language.The survey will cover all the areas explored in the previous chapters and its primeobjective will be to assess the role of English on learning German as a second foreignlanguage.

Abbreviations

WO – Word Order E WO – English Word Order (subject + verb) G WO – German Word Order (word order typical to German only) Inv. WO – Inverted Word Order (conjunction + verb + subject) SV WO - Subject-Verb Word Order ((conjunction) subject + verb) V last WO –Verb Last Word Order (verb is placed at the final position) + correct answers (chapter 4)

8

- incorrect answers (chapter 4)

Chapter 1: Sentence, its elements and types. Contrastive analysis of the grammar of English and German sentences as well astheir interference in learning German as

9

a second foreign language appears unattainable without the actual comprehension of whatis implied by rudimentary concepts such as Sentence, Subject, Predicate, Verb, Object,Complement, Adverbial. In order to facilitate the awareness of the impact of Englishgrammar, the issues examined in this chapter will be centered around the explanation ofthe meaning and the functions performed by above elements in the sentence. In additionto this, some attention will be given to the basic types of the sentences present inEnglish and German languages.

1.1. Sentence and its main elements.

Greenbaum and Quirk (1990: 12) explain that sentences are “those units which wemust regard as primary, in comprising

a minimum sense of completeness and unity.” Similar definition of sentence is providedby Alexander (1988: 2), who describes it as

“a complete unit of meaning” which, once written, has to be “carefully structured and

punctuated ” due to the lack of other devices available to convey the meaning precisely.

What are the “those primary units” of the sentence in such case?

1.1.1. Subject and Predicate

Subject is one of the basic elements of the sentence, which are referred to asconstituents. Constituents are the units

which consist of one or more words and which normally occur together. Subject of a

sentence denotes a person or thing performing the action (Braber and Johnson, 2008: 174-

175) and it is usually obligatory both in English and German sentences except the 2nd

person imperatives where it does not occur, e.g., Lies! / Read! (Buscha and Heibig, 1996:

544) or Give Tom a digital watch for his birthday (Quirk and Greenbaum, 1990: 231). Some of the

distinguishing features of subject are: position – it is placed basically before the verb;

case – subject is characteristically a noun phrase1 but it may also be a noun clause

(chapter 3.2.1) or a pronoun in a nominative case (I, you, he , she, it, we, you, they); agreement

(also referred to as concord) – it has to agree with a verb in number and tense, the

subject dictates the form of the verb (Biber et al., 1999: 123).

As mentioned before, the subject is regarded to be the person or thing performingthe action. However, Huddleston and

Pullum (2005: 68-69) refute the definition of a subject as a performer of an actionperceiving it as an old- fashioned and not exact. While it is true to say that subjectis a perfomer of an action in We wandered down the street, it cannot be perceived as performingany action in She knows him well. Due to the fact that knowing is not an action, it can bepresumed that the second sentence does not contain a subject. Nonetheless, the subjectshe meets all the criteria mentioned above. It is placed before the verb, it is innominative case and it agrees with the verb. Therefore, Huddleston and Pullum claim thatsubject cannot be identified on the grounds of its semantic role since it can beassociated with the range of roles depending on the situation described.

1 Phrase – words joined together in groups. Phrases can consist of single verb (verbphrase), single noun (noun phrase), single adverb (adverb phrase), single adjective(adjective phrase) or they may include several words placed around the „head word‟,e.g., noun phrase those problems (Chalker, 1992: 7).

10

While writing about the subject it appears also important to mention so calleddummy subject it, which is considered to

be semantically empty. It is used in clauses to signify the time, weather and distance.Dummy subject is regarded as non-referential because it does not refer to any particularentity. Its role is restricted to making the clause grammatically correct, for instance,the sentence It was not as cold as on the previous night would not be grammatically correct withoutthe dummy it (Biber et al., 1999: 125).

This type of the subject is not, however, restricted merely to English languageas it also occurs in German in the form of

the pronoun es and it is called „Formales Subjekt‟. Similarly to English, it is present

in sentences signifying the weather conditions and time. Nevertheless, its use is more

prevalent than in the case of English grammar, which can be illustrated by the

expressions like Es schüttelt mich, or Es geht ihm gut meaning I am trembling or He is doing fine (Buscha

and Heibig, 1996: 398). Moreover, the „Formales Subjekt‟ es is applied whilst talking

about the perception and feelings especially when the causer is not known, e.g.,

Es klopft an die Tür /Someone is knocking at the door/ I can hear somebody‟s knocking at the door (Bęza 1998:72). Deducting from the above examples, it can be presumed that the equivalent dummysubject „it‟ is not so widely adopted in English as compared to German language.

Second vital constituent of the sentence is predicate which, as the name suggests,

“represents what is „predicated of‟ – said about- the referent subject.” (Huddleston and

Pullum, 2005: 63). In addition to this, Greenbaum and Quirk (1990: 13) draw the

attention to the fact that predicate is an essential element contributing to

completeness of a sentence as it is the case with the subject.

In other words, the removal of the predicate went without the paying from That elderly man went off

without paying will result in vague idea of what is being written. Taking this into accountit can be assumed that deletion of the subject or the predicate will lead to theconfusion as to the meaning of the given statement.

As regards the component parts of the predicate they basically consist of constituentssuch as verb, object, adverb, complement (ibid). In order to construct syntacticallycorrect sentences, it appears indispensable to get a closer look at the verbs whichgovern the type and number of the elements following them. In other words, it isimportant to know the valency of the verbs (Braber and Johnson, 2008: 176). With this aimin view, the following part of the chapter will revolve around the description of thebasic categories of the verbs and the elements which they can be followed by.

1.1.2. Verbs and Objects The common feature of English and German verbs is the fact that they are used toexpress the action, event or state of mind, e.g., laufen/run, denken/think (Braber andJohnson, 2008: 151). However, it emerges that there is far more to be written about thesimilarities of these parts of the speech in both languages. Therefore, the consecutivepart will be devoted to the explanation of these types of the verbs which knowledgeseems essential in further syntactic analysis. The categories defined below will

11

concern finite and nonfinite verbs, auxiliary verbs, transitive and intransitive verbs with reference to thedirect and indirect object and copular verbs.

Upon comparing the English finite verb in he makes and non – finite make, it can beinferred that finite verbs are to be distinguished by the presence of the subject he andtense, marked above by the ending “s”. However, as noticed by Alexander (1988: 2), it isnot always necessary for the finite verb to contain overt subject, e.g., Open the door. Insentences of this type, the subject is not directly stated, yet it can still beinferred.

Similar features of finite verbs are shared by German language in which finite verbs

usually appear with subjects, remaining the same in the concord of a person and number,

e.g., Ich lese/I read, Ihr lest/You read (plural). Therefore, finite verbs lese, lest, reveal who the

subject is (ich, ihr) ,contrary to non-finite verbs such as lesen/read from which it cannot

be specified who is doing the reading, who is the performer of an action mentioned. The

verbs lesen/read can also serve as examples of the infinitives, one of the subcategories

of non-finite verbs (Braber and Johnson, 2008: 151, 176). With regard to German

language, infinitives can be easily recognized by the ending -en, e.g., lessen/read,

laufen/run, except the verbs sein/be and tun/make. On the other hand, no such feature applies

to infinitives in English due to the fact that they are distinguished by the verb in its

base form2. Additional types of verbs which fulfill important role in English and

German sentences are auxiliaries and modal auxiliary verbs. The former category

involves such English verbs as be, do, and have which are used to mark tense, aspect,

mood or voice. For instance, the auxiliary verb has in the sentence She has written the preface

implies the perfect tense. Modal auxiliary verbs, often referred to as modal verbs, on

the other hand, constitute a group of words which can only occur in its base, primary

form as they lack secondary inflections, e.g., can, may, must, should etc. (Huddleston and

Pullum, 2005: 37, 41).

As far as the auxiliary verbs are concerned in German language, they include sein/be

and haben/ have. Their role may be depicted by the sentence Sie hat keine Lust gehabt/ She has had

no willingness (to do anything); She has not felt like doing anything in which the auxiliary verb hat/has

„helps‟ the main verb haben/have to construct the sentence in Present Perfect Tense

(Braber and

Johnson 185). With reference to German modal verbs (e.g., können/can, dürfen/can, be allowed to,

müssen/must), they are also regarded as auxiliary verbs, i.e. modal auxiliary verbs, asthey are always used together with infinitives, which are either stated or implied e.g.,Musst du gehen/Must you go? Ja, Ich muss (gehen)(Donaldson , 2006: 131).

On the basis of a considerable amount of information available on the topic of

auxiliary verbs in both languages, it seems unattainable to elaborate on their functions

thoroughly. Nonetheless, one should remember that the main syntactic role of auxiliary

verbs is to form interrogatives and negations. In cases where no auxiliary is present,

the English grammar dictates introducing auxiliary verb ‘do’ which is also called dummy

auxiliary as it has no meaning of its own (Huddleston and Pullum, 2005: 38). In some

2 For more information on infinitives in German and English see Donaldson (2006: 151) and Alexander (1988: 299).

12

sources operator do is also referred to as dummy operator ‘do’. Since the use of operator

do is restricted to English language, no such equivalent occurs in German interrogatives

and negations, the construction of which will be discussed further in chapter 2, section

2.2 and 2.3.

Having mentioned the different types of the verbs it appears reasonable to expand onthe elements they can „adopt‟. With this respect, the verbs can be basically dividedinto transitive verbs, followed by an object, e.g., The lecture bored me and intransitive,which on the other hand, are accompanied by no obligatory element, e.g., The sun is shining

or John has arrived.

Transitive verbs may also be divided further into monotransitive verbs, i.e., requiringone object and ditransitive, demanding two objects He got her a splendid present (Greenbaum andQuirk, 1990: 204- 205).

The examples of transitive and intransitive verbs in German can be found in Buscha and

Heibig (1997: 54 -56) which are übersetzen/ translate, e.g., Er übersetzt das Buch/He translates the

book and blühen/bloom, e.g., Die Blume blüht/ The flower blooms. As can be seen, the verbs

übersetzt/translates are followed by object das Buch/ the book and are thus considered to be

transitive. On the contrary, the verbs blühen/bloom do not attach any object and are

consequently intransitive.

Knowing that transitive verbs are followed by object(s) seems to beg for the

elaboration on the term object itself. To achieve this, it is useful to get acquainted

with the definitions provided by Alexander (1988:5), who differentiates between direct

and indirect object describing the former as the one which comes after the transitive

verb and which “refers to the person or thing affected by the action of the verb, e.g.,

Please don‟t annoy me.” On the contrary, indirect object “refers to the person who

„benefits‟ from the action expressed in the verb, someone you give something to, or buy

something for, e.g., Buy your father a present.”

Similar division of the objects in German can be found in Braber and Johnson (2008:177) who distinguish between direct object as the one which is directly affected by theaction performed by the subject and which appears in Accusative Case,

e.g., Der Mann schreibt einen Brief/ The man writes a letter. The direct object in the sentence is thenoun phrase einen Brief/ the letter containing the ending –en attached in Accusative Case toindefinite article ein. The indirect object, on the other hand, is defined as the oneindirectly affected by the action of the verb, e.g., Der Mann schreibt der Frau einen Brief/ The

man writes his wife a letter. The indirect object here is the noun phrase in Dative Case der

Frau/ his wife, which can be inferred from the masculine article der/the placed beforefeminine noun Frau/wife (ibid).

It is noteworthy to point that the objects following transitive verbs are obligatoryelements and the sentence devoid of them will remain incomplete and incomprehensible.For example, omission of the object me in The lecture bored me will result in unclearsentence The lecture bored. Nevertheless, some verbs possess multiple membership, i.e., theycan be transitive or intransitive, and therefore they make the use of objectoptional. This can be illustrated upon comparing the examples They are eating lunch and They

13

are eating. (Greenbaum and Quirk, 1990: 204- 343). Similar features of objects can beperceived in German grammar, which can be demonstrated by the sentences containing verblesen/read used transitively Er liest ein Buch/He is reading a book or intransitively Er liest/He is

reading (Buscha and Heibig, 1991: 546).

While writing about the verbs and the words completing its meaning, it should not beneglected to mention another types of the verb which are referred to as copular verbs.These are the verbs followed by the element which cannot be deleted without changing themeaning of a given verb, e.g., The girl became very restless. The copular verb in the sentenceis become and the phrase placed after it very restless is referred to as the complement asit completes the meaning of the verb become. Examples of other copular verbs in Englishare: be, feel, look, smell etc. (Greenbaum and Quirk, 1990: 343-344).

With regard to German Language, the common copular verbs are sein/ be, warden/become andbleiben/remain, e.g., Sie ist intelligent/ She is intelligent. As can be seen the element following theverb intelligent is completing the meaning of the verb ist/is and is thus regarded to be itscomplement (Dodd et al., 2005: 108-109). Sometimes it may be confusing to distinguishcomplement from object in German language. Therefore it helps to remember that in thesentence containing copular verb and complement, the subject does not perform any actionon the following element (complement), e.g., Meine Mutter ist Lehrerin/ My mother is a teacher, butit is described by complements (Braber and Johnson, 2008: 178, 179).

In the case of English language, the concise differentiation between the objects andcomplements is given by Alexander (1988: 5) who explains that object is somethinginfluenced by the action of the verb or something which benefits from it. Complement, onthe other hand, completes the sense of the sentence by providing information on thesubject, e.g., Frank is clever and it is used after the verbs which cannot be followed byobject.

To summarize the topic of objects it needs to be mentioned that information presentedabove regarding the order of these parts of English and German sentences is rudimentaryas it purely outlines the basic characteristic features. Therefore, it will be returnedto and enriched in further details in chapter 2, section 2.1.1.

1.1.3 Adverbial In order to understand the meaning of the Adverbial it is important to know what anadverb is. As defined by Dodd et al. (2005: 129) adverbs in German language are thewords which provide the information on how, when and where the action performed by theverb took place. Some of the categories of the adverb include: adverbs of time, e.g.,noch einmal/once again, adverbs of degree, e.g., teilweise/partly, adverbs of manner, e.g.,schnell/ quickly and adverbs of place, e.g., drauβen/outside.

Adverbial, on the other hand, is the part of the sentence which may be expressed byvariety of linguistic forms such as adverb, e.g., vorgestern/yesterday or prepositionalphrase, e.g., ohne Geld/ without money (Braber and Johnson, 2008: 179). Taking into accountAdverbials in English, they are also realized by various forms having a wide range ofmeanings and positions. This can be demonstrated by the sentences in which adverbial isrealized by the adverb phrase, placed at the initial position Just then the telephone rang and

14

prepositional phrase located at the end of the sentence The dog was asleep on the grass

(Greenbaum and Quirk, 1990: 158-161).

1.1.4. Sentence and Clauses The above information provided the focus for the basic constituents of the sentence. Itseems reasonable now to proceed onto the division of the sentences into its types.Basically, the sentence consists of the clause(s) which in turn comprises the elementssuch as Subject, Predicate, etc. Upon analysis of the example My sister is normally a cheerful

person, but she seemed rather unhappy that day it can be seen that the sentence consists of twoclauses joined together by the conjunction, i.e., linking word but (Greenbaum and Quirk,1990: 15). Upon comparing the definition of the term clause presented by variousgrammarians, it appears that most of them describe it as a group of words that includesa subject and a verb, and which forms a sentence or part of the sentence. Suchdefinition can also be found in many dictionaries, e.g., Oxford Advanced EnglishDictionary (2005: 271). Taking into account the number of the clauses incorporated,the sentence may be the divided into: Simple Sentences containing one clause, e.g.,Stephen apologized at once and Compound or Complex Sentences containing two or more clauses,e.g., Stephen realized his mistake and (he) apologized at once or When he realized his mistake, Stephen

apologized at once (Alexander, 1988: 5). As regards the differentiation of the last twocategories of the sentences, it is based on the type of the clauses incorporated, whichin turn can be either Dependent or Independent, conditioned on the linking words used tojoin them into a given sentence. Due to the fact that the area related to English andGerman clauses and sentences entangles a considerable amount of information, thediscussion on this topic will be returned to in consecutive chapters where moreattention will be given to the their distinguishing features.

Nonetheless, taking into account the message imparted by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,eminent German writer, saying that “Thinking is more interesting than knowing, but lessinteresting than looking.” (http://quotationsbook.com/quote/38904/), it may be ofbeneficial use to recall the basic concepts concerning the elements of the sentence inthe form of the graphic, placed below.

15

Sentence

)a(

Clause(s)

(b)

Subject (d) Object (k) Adverbial

auxiliary and modal auxiliary (h) Fig. 1

The division of the sentence into its basic elements. 1.2. Concluding remarks As can be seen, the chart depicts very simplistic construction of English and Germansentence. The information provided below is intended to serve as a brief summary ofchapter 1, which may be helpful for further analysis of sentences contained inconsecutive chapters.

a) sentence: complete unit of meaning b) clause: subcategory of the sentence comprising of: subject, predicate, i.e. mainconstituents (c),

d)subject: typically a noun phrase denoting a person or thing performing the action, e)predicate: part of the clause, usually following the subject and containing such

elements as: verb, complement, object , adverbials,

f)verb: word expressing actions, events or states of mind, e.g., go/gehen, think/denken g)finite and nonfinite verbs: finite verbs, e.g., learns/lernt in He learns/ Er lernt, contrary

to nonfinite ones, impart the message on the number, person and tense of the givenverb,

h)auxiliary and modal auxiliary: the former: verbs such as be/sein, do, and have/haben used

as „helping‟ verbs to mark tense, aspect, mood or voice. Modal auxiliaries: verbs such

as can/können, dürfen; must/müssen, should/sollen, lacking secondary inflectional forms.

i)transitive and intransitive: transitive verbs, e.g., send/schicken, in contrast tointransitive verbs, e.g., sleep/schlafen, require to be followed by direct object,

16

One clause

Two/more clauses

Simple Sentence

Compound

and Complex Sentences

Main constituents (c)

Predicate

(e)

Verb

f()

copular verbs

j)( Finite and nonfinit

eg() direct and indirect

l)(

transitive and

intransitive (i)

j)copular verbs: verbs such as sein/ be, werden/become and bleiben/remain, which cannot bedeleted as they complete the meaning of the verb,

k)object: part of the clause denoting somebody or something involved in the action ofthe verb,

l)direct and indirect object: direct object follows the transitive verb, it refers tothe person or thing affected by the action of the verb. Indirect object, on the otherhand implies the person or thing which benefits from the action of the verb,

m)adverbial: part of the clause providing information on conditions in which action ofthe verb took place.

Chapter 2: Word Order in Simple Sentences In order to apprehend the influence of English language on learning German language, itis vital to get acquainted with the similarities and differences inherent in the Englishand German Word Order (WO). This objective is unachievable without the insight into therules governing the structures of the sentences. In other words, the knowledge ofEnglish and German syntax, i.e., the grammar of the sentences, appears to be prerequisite

17

for the analysis of the potential impact exerted by English language on acquisition toGerman as a second foreign language.

Owing to the fact that understanding the meaning and functions performed by individualconstituents, mentioned in chapter 1, does not suffice to construct syntacticallycorrect sentences, it is indispensable to get familiar with the order of the basicsentence elements. Therefore, the following chapter will revolve around the positiongenerally held by individual constituents in English and German sentences. The areasdiscussed will particularly concern the order of Subject, Verb, Objects and Adverbialcomprising Simple Sentences of Declarative and Interrogative. Moreover, the attentionwill be devoted to the construction of the Negations.

Alexander (1988: 4) explains that Simple Sentence is the smallest sentence-unit which

consists of Subject and Predicate with the latter normally3 consisting of one finite

verb, e.g., I have eaten. As can be illustrated in the example, the WO in simple sentence

follows the SV pattern with the subject I and predicate containing one finite verb have.

In order to get a better understanding of the Simple Sentences in English language itis advisable to get familiar with the distinction offered by Greenbaum and Quirk (1990:231). With respect to the syntactic types, Simple Sentences can be categorized as:Declaratives - characterized by SV WO; Interrogatives- characterized by subject – verbinversion; Imperatives - characterized by the lack of overt subject as well as the presenceof the verb in bare form; Exclamatives - characterized by the initial position of what andhow and SV WO. It should be noticed that the above division is not to be exclusivelyascribed to English language as very similar categories of Simple Sentences aredistinguished in German language, the detailed description of which can be found inBuscha and Heibig (1991: 610-618).

At the same time, the syntactic types, indicated above by Greenbaum and Quirk,correspond accordingly to the following discourse functions: Statements – sentences usedfor the purpose of conveying information; Questions- sentences used with the aim ofimparting information; Directives – sentences used to provide somebody with an informationon how to perform something;

Exclamations – sentences which aim is to voice the extent of speaker‟s amazement. It should be mentioned though that the information presented on the features of thesyntactic types as well as the discourse functions associated with them is rudimentaryone and therefore it does not encompass various exceptions possible. In order to accessmore data relevant to the individual syntactic types and their discourse functions itis recommended to get acquainted with concepts raised by Greenbaum and Quirk (1990: 231-245). Taking into account the fact that the areas put in focus in this chapter areparticularly devoted to the influence of English syntax on learning German, theconsecutive part of the chapter will mainly hinge upon these features of EnglishDeclarative and Interrogative sentences whose transference may be favorable andunfavorable to pupils learning the equivalent German constructions.

3 It is also possible for a Simple Sentence to combine two finite verbs joined by such conjunctions as and, both and, e.g., We sang and danced all night (Alexander, 1988: 10).

18

2.1. Declaratives As has already been outlined, Declarative Sentences in English language follow SV WO.Similar information on declarative sentences in German can be traced in Buscha andHeibig (1991: 610), from which it may be inferred that they are also structuredaccording to SV WO. Therefore these common features may appear to be of beneficialnature for learners of German as a second foreign language who have already obtainedhigher fluency level in English. Nonetheless, it emerges that even the structure ofSimple Sentences is fraught with latent ambiguities in both languages. What is thenature of these divergences? How well-learnt English syntactic rules may affect theprocess of learning and constructing German Declarative Sentences? In order tounderstand these issues better, it is advisable to become conversant with the basicpositions occupied by certain constituents in English language and their potentialimpact on German parallels. With this object in view, the following part will serve topresent the syntax of English and German Simple Sentences by means of analogy.

2.1.1. Position of Subject, Verb and Objects.

The basic WO in English Declarative Sentences, as mentioned above, is SubjectVerb (SV WO), e.g., My head aches (Alexander, 1988: 4). Such rule finds also itsapplication in German, which is related to the necessity of inserting the finite verb inthe second position (Buck, 1999: 105). This can be exemplified by the sentence Ich lese/ I

read ,retrieved from Braber and Johnson (2008: 176), in which the verb lese/read is placeddirectly after the subject Ich/I . The sentences presented illustrate the standard SV WOaccording to which Declarative Sentences are structured in both languages.

In addition to this, sentences may be of more complex “character”, e.g., whenthey contain transitive verbs followed by

object(s). In such cases, the basic position of the object in German language is afterthe finite verb, which is referred to as SVO WO (Subject Verb Object Word Order), e.g.,Sie schickt eine Karte/ She sends a card (ibid). The sentence consists of four basic constituentsordered accordingly: Subject Sie/she, Verb schickt/sends, Object –eine Karte/a card.

Taking into account the fact that the position of the object in English language,as noted by Alexander (1988: 3), is after

the finite verb, it may be predicted that students will not have major problems withordering Subject, Verb and Object in German Declarative Sentences. The situation may,however, be aggravated by the occurrence of two objects in one sentence. Such conditionis likely to engender a confusion as to the correct order of individual objects.

As far as English syntax is concerned, it dictates the indirect object to precedethe direct object in the case of sentences

containing both, e.g., I‟ve bought my fiancée a diamond ring. The indirect object in the

sentence is, as can be seen, my fiancée and the direct object has “the form of” a diamond

ring. The order of the objects can also be reversed. Such alteration entails placing

preposition to or for in front of the indirect object, which will result in the sentence

of the following type: I‟ve bought a diamond ring for my fiancée (Gozdawa-Gołębiowski et al.,

1995: 236).

19

With reference to German grammar, it also displays similar to English pattern ofplacing the indirect object (in dative

case) before the direct object (in accusative case). In addition to this, the case of

the object is marked by the proper endings attached to the noun phrases. In order to put

the noun phrase in a proper case, one must be versed in the declination of the nouns4 ,

which can be displayed in the example Er kauft seiner Frau einen Ferrari/ He buys his wife a Ferrari (Miell

and Schenke, 2006: 146). Indirect object is marked here by the ending –er in seiner/his. Due

to the fact that noun Frau/ wife is accompanied by the article die in Nominative Case, the

article die changes in Dative into der. Consequently, the ending er is attatched to the

pronoun sein. Similarly, the article der Ferrari changes into den in Accusative case, which in

turn results in addition of the ending en to the pronoun ein giving the outcome of einen.

In a situation when one of the objects is in the form of a pronoun, Germangrammar dictates placing the pronoun ,regardless of its case, before the noun, e.g., Erkauft ihn seiner Frau/ He buys it for his wife or Er kauft ihr einen Ferrari/ He buys her a Ferrari (ibid).

On the basis of the information provided by Gozdawa-Gołębiowski et al. (1995:237-238) it may be inferred that similar

measures are applied in the case of English language. The authors explain that if the

indirect object has the form of the pronoun it usually takes the position before the

direct object. Such order is particularly pertinent to the verbs followed by the

preposition to, e.g., He owes me a hundred bucks or Uncle Peter offered me a watch. Gozdawa-

Gołębiowski et al. add further that if the direct object has the form of the pronoun, it

is used before the indirect object which in turn is introduced by preposition to or for,

e.g., I give it to my brother. Taking these into account it can be concluded, although not

overtly stated by above authors, that in the sentence containing two objects with one

being the pronoun it is the object in the form of pronoun which is placed before the

other object.

As regards the influence of English language on the construction of the simplesentences containing objects in German, it may be predicted that students will encounterproblems with applying proper declination of the noun relevant to appropriate case. Theconfusion is likely to be caused by the fact that English language does not accept anyendings which would differentiate the objects. Therefore, students may be perplexed bythe number of rules concerning the order of the objects and inflection attached to them.

The discussion on the syntax of simple sentences has been centered so far on thesentences containing subject, finite

verb and objects. Constructing such sentences in German language should not constituteconsiderable obstacle on students with higher level of English. It can be presumed thatthe syntactic mistakes made in such sentences will not be connected with the position ofthe subject or verb but with placing the objects in proper form according to properdeclination.

Notwithstanding, the syntactic errors related to the position of the verb arelikely to emerge during construction of the German sentences in which two verbs occur,e.g., sentences with modal verbs. Students familiar with English modal verbs may be

4 The detailed information on the changes introduced by case system in German is to befound in Miell and Schenke (2006: 25-33).

20

prone to transfer English WO onto German sentences, which will result in sentences likeEr muss sein krank/ He must be sick. It has to be marked though that contrary to Englishlanguage, German grammar demands in such cases the infinitive verb to be placed at theend of the sentence. Thus the correct equivalent version of the English sentence shouldbe Er muss krank sein, where the modal verb muss/must follows the subject er/ he and theinfinitve verb sein/ be is shifted to the final position (Bęza, 2003: 157- 163).

2.1.2. Position and sequence of Adverbials. As explained in chapter 1, adverbial has a wide range of meanings, forms andgrammatical functions. In addition to this, it may appear in various positions in thesentence. Taking this into account, the following part will be primarily focused on thebasic places occupied by adverbials realized by adverbs of time, place and manner.

The position of adverbs differs in English and German language to no small extent,

which as a consequence may entail miscellany of syntactic mistakes formulated by the

pupils struggling with German language. Donaldson (2006: 88-89) explains that the

generally accepted order of adverbs in German language is Time, Manner, Place, e.g., Er

fährt jeden Tag mit dem Bus zur Schule. English language, on the other hand, adopts usually the

reverse order: Place, Manner, Time. Therefore the English version of the above sentence

is: He goes to school by bus every day. Nevertheless, upon the analysis of additional sources it

transpires that the usual order of adverbs in English, mentioned by Donaldson, is

applied only when a verb of movement appears in the sentence, e.g., She went there by bus

yesterday (Evans, 2001:55). In all other cases the pattern Manner, Place, Time is usually

employed, e.g., He was working quietly in the shed all day (ibid). The rule mentioned above by

Evans can also be deduced, although not openly stated, from the examples discerned in

Gozdawa-Gołębiowski et al. (1995: 355) We‟ve been going there regularly since the eighties and It snowed

heavily in the mountains for more than a week. As can be seen, the order of the adverbs in the

sentence containing verb of movement is: Place (there), Manner (regularly), Time (since the

eighties). The other sentence is, on the other hand, structured according to Manner (heavily),

Place (in the mountains), Time (for more than a week).

While writing about the adverbs, it should not be neglected to mention the possibilityof beginning the sentence with certain adverbs in both languages. Such measures aretaken in order to lay the emphasis on a particular expression. However, it has to benoted that applying them exerts some influence on the sentence WO.

In case of English language, adverbs of time, as mentioned above, are usually placed inthe final position. Nonetheless, they may be shifted to the initial position to put thefocus on the time expression, e.g., Everyday, she goes to the gym on foot (Evans, 2001: 55).Placing the adverb of time in the initial position is also possible in German, which canbe illustrated by the sentence

Jeden Tag fährt er mit dem Bus zur Schule/ Every day he goes to school by bus. Upon the analysis of thesetwo sentences it may be concluded that placing the adverb of time at the beginning ofthe sentences in English language has no influence on the word order, whereas Germangrammar dictates subject – verb inversion in the situation of the parallel type(Donaldson, 2006: 89). As a result, students who have mastered English language longer

21

than German may be inclined to transfer SV WO onto German sentences beginning with theadverbs of time.

However, while it is true to state that initial position of adverbs of time exerts no

influence on the WO of sentences in English, it cannot be overlooked that inversion is

also present in this language. Although placing the verb before subject is subjected to

certain conditions in English sentences5, it is applied in German whenever the sentence

begins with any element other than subject. This alteration in WO stems from the German

syntactic rule which dictates the verb to be placed always in the second position (Bęza,

2003: 294).

Students learning German as a second foreign language may also be likely to transfer

the English WO in sentences containing Adverbs of Frequency e.g., often, always. Owing to

the fact that Adverbs of Frequency are placed in English language before the verb, e.g.,

We often stop here (Gozdawa-Gołębiowski et al., 1995: 240), pupils may adopt the same

pattern to build German sentences, which may result in the sentences of the type Wir oft

halten hier. Such sentence is, however, considered to be incorrect as German grammar does

not allow separating the subject and verb with the adverb due to the necessity to place

the verb in the second position (Donaldson, 2006: 89).

2.2. Negations. Upon the information inferred from various German and English grammatical sources, it can

be ventured to claim that both these languages display noticeable differences in respect of the structures ofnegative sentences. Taking into consideration a profusion of various types of negationsexisting in both languages, the following section will be restricted to basic structureswhich pupils of secondary school are expected to know.

As can be found in Greenbaum and Quirk (1990: 223), the negative clause inEnglish language is constructed by placing

not between operator and predication, e.g., the sentence They are ready can be turned intonegation by placing not after are. Thus the negative sentence is They are not ready. If asentence contains no operator, e.g., They know you, the proper form of an auxiliary verb do

(does, did) must be introduced. The negation is achieved in such case by adding not toauxiliary do : They do not know you.

With reference to German language, a concise explanation of negations is providedby Bęza (2003: 302-303). According

to it, a positive clause may be transformed into negative one basically by placing nichteither at the final position of the sentence, e.g., Wir kommen nicht/We don‟t come or, in case of sentences comprising two verbs,immediately before the second verb, e.g., Ich kann dich nicht besuchen/ I cannot visit you. Giventhis, it can be deducted that the position of nicht/not varies in German and Englishsentences containing two verbs for instance modals. In case of English language not isplaced immediately after modal auxiliary. For this reason, pupils who have been learningEnglish language for a longer time may be prone to transfer this rule on creating German

5 For detailed information on the inversion in English language it is advisable to access Gozdawa-Gołębiowki et al. (1995: 229).

22

negations. Consequently, it may result in providing the sentences of the type Ich kann nicht

besuchen dich in which nicht is placed in a position typical to English language. Thesentence is incorrect in virtue of the fact that German grammar necessitates thenegative word nicht/ not to be placed after the object (Miell and Schenke, 2006: 158). Allthings considered, the correct version of the sentence is, as mentioned at the beginningof the paragraph, Ich kann dich nicht besuchen.

Irrespective of the negative influence of English grammar rules, it emerges thatknowledge of this particular language

may also be beneficial for learners of German as a second foreign language. Profitablerole of English language can be traced in those syntactic areas which display similar toGerman features.

In the case of negations, there is a possibility (in both languages) to insertnicht/not before adjectives and adverbs e.g.,

Das Haus ist nicht neu/ The house is not new (Bęza, 2003: 303). Taking this into account, it may be

predicted that pupils who have obtained a higher level of fluency in English, and who

are therefore likely to transfer English „habits‟, will not commit many mistakes while

providing German sentences containing the word nicht placed before adjectives or adverbs.

Additional feature shared by English and German negations is using kein/no tonegate the noun phrase, e.g., I found no

books on the shelf (Gozdawa – Gołębiowski et al., 1995: 210) or Ich habe keinen neuen Wagen/ I have no new car (Bęza, 2003: 303).

On the basis of the information presented above, it can be presumed that thestructure of English negations is likely to

hinder the process of constructing equivalent German sentences, particularly the ones

in which not/nicht negates the whole sentence or it appears together with modal verbs6. On

the other hand, there is a likelihood to suggest that the knowledge of the English

negations containing no and not will prove to be beneficial in constructing equivalent

German sentences.

2.3. Interrogatives.

Interrogatives are the sentences which are basically characterized by the SubjectVerb Inversion. The term inversion

entails shifting the verb before subject, e.g., the sentence Peter kommt heute/ Peter is coming

today may be transformed into interrogatives Kommt Peter heute/ Is Peter coming today? (Buscha andHeibig, 1991: 611) by changing the position of the subject Peter, the verb kommt inGerman and auxiliary verb is in English. It turns out, however that the common propertyshared by English and German interrogatives, based on the similar technique of applyinginversion in order to transform declarative sentences into interrogatives, may includecertain overlapping subtleties whose interference is likely to become the source ofsyntactic mistakes made by the pupils learning German as a second foreign language. Howcan English language influence the process of constructing German interrogatives bysecondary school learners? In order to understand the role of English in learning Germaninterrogatives, one should take note of the structure of individual interrogative types

6 For examples go to third paragraph in 2.2

23

in these languages. Due to multitude of such types available in both languages, themain focus of the further analysis will concern Yes/No and Wh interrogatives whichpupils of secondary school are presumed to be acquainted with.

2.3.1 Yes/ No interrogatives. Yes/No interrogatives are those interrogatives which expect affirmation or negation of

the whole sentence. This means that they can be answered with yes or no. The feature which

distinguishes English Yes/ No interrogatives from declaratives is the position of the

auxiliary verb (be, have, do) or modal verb, which in case of interrogatives, is before the

subject, e.g., the declarative They are writing now can be transformed into interrogative by

placing the auxiliary verb are before the subject they, which gives the outcome Are they

writing now? As can be seen, the declarative They are writing now contains the auxiliary verb

are which is placed before the subject they to form the interrogative Are they writing now?

(Gozdawa-Gołębiowski et al., 1995: 200).

The declaratives, however do not always contain the auxiliary verb which can bemoved before the subject to create the

interrogative, e.g., She speaks German. In such cases the auxiliary verb do must be

introduced and placed in the proper form (do, does or did)7 before the subject which is

consistently followed by the verb in bare infinitive form. Applying all these rules to

the declarative She speaks German, will result in the final interrogative Does she speak

English? (ibid).

As far as German language is concerned, Yes/No interrogatives are always formed byfronting finite verb to the

beginning of the sentence, e.g., the declarative Du bist aus Ireland/ You are from Ireland can bechanged into interrogative by placing verb bist/ are at the beginning of the sentence Bist du

aus Ireland/ Are you from Ireland? When the interrogative contains two verbs, the German grammardictates the finite verb to be put at the initial position and the second verb to bemoved to the end of the interrogative, e.g., Kann ich noch ein Bier haben/ Can I have another beer?

(Miell and Shenke, 2006: 126-127).

Due to the fact that forming Yes/No interrogatives can be achieved by means ofSubject- Verb Inversion in both

languages, it is not likely to impose significant difficulty on pupils who have beenlearning German as a second foreign language. In English language, Yes/No interrogativesare constructed by placing auxiliary verb at the initial position. In German languagesimilar steps are applied with regard to interrogatives. Consequently, pupils who havelearnt English will bear in mind the rule relating to inversion of subject and verb ininterrogative sentences and will transfer this method onto German language. Nonetheless,the mistakes can be anticipated to occur while creating German interrogatives containingtwo verbs. Owing to the fact that English grammar dictates moving only the finite verbto the initial position, e.g., Can I have another beer?, pupils may be prone to transfer thesame pattern onto German interrogatives. Therefore they are likely to translate theEnglish sentence into Kann ich haben noch ein Bier?, which is not correct due to the failure to

7 Verb do has the form does in 3rd person singular in Present Simple Tense or did in the Past Simple

24

shift the verb haben/have to the final position. The correct interrogative should in thatcase be: Kann ich noch ein Bier haben? (ibid.).

2.3.2. Wh interrogatives. As regards German Wh interrogatives, the concise definition can be found in Braber and

Johnson (2008: 187), who describe them as the types of the sentences which are

introduced by interrogative adverb beginning with the letter „w‟, e.g., wo/where; was/what;

wann/when. The difference between Wh interrogatives and Yes/ No interrogatives lies in

the fact that the former require a „fuller answer‟, not just a simple „yes‟ or „no‟,

e.g., Wo wohnen Sie/ Where do they live? The German example should suffice to illustrate another

feature of German Wh interrogatives, which is placing the finite verb (wohnen/live) in the

second position in the interrogative (ibid).

In English language, such pattern finds its application only in the sentences in which

wh element performs the role of the subject, e.g., Who lives in this building? As can be

inferred from the example, the interrogative Who lives in this building? is constructed according

to the WO present in the declaratives, with the subject „who‟ being followed by the

finite verb lives.

However, when wh element does not stand for the subject in the interrogatives,English grammar dictates following the

same WO as in the case of Yes/ No interrogatives. In other words, the auxiliary verb

must be placed before the subject, e.g., Who did you meet? (Gozdawa-Gołębiowski et al.,

1995: 204-205). The subject of the interrogative is not who, as in the previous example,

but you and therefore the auxiliary did, past form of auxiliary do, is introduced before

the subject you.

Taking into account the fact that no such rule as placing additional auxiliary doappears in German Wh interrogatives and

that they are constructed purely by subject-verb inversion, it can be surmised thatpupils who have learnt English language for a longer period will not experience majorproblems in constructing Wh interrogatives in German language.

Nevertheless, there is a high likelihood that German Wh interrogatives pupilswill find particularly difficult to deal with,

will prove to be the ones which are marked by the presence of the preposition, e.g.,

über/about, für/for, etc. This may be caused by the confusion regarding the proper position

of the preposition. Those who practiced English WO long enough should be aware of the

fact that English grammar dictates in such cases placing preposition at the end of the

interrogative8, e.g., What were the boys talking about? (Gozdawa-Gołębiowski et al., 1995: 207).

Therefore they may be inclined to implement the same WO onto German Wh interrogatives

consisting of preposition. However, such measures are misleading as German grammar

requires the preposition to be inserted either before or after wh element, depending on

whether the interrogative concerns the person or thing.

8 Although placing preposition at the end of the Wh Interrogative is widely used, thereis also a possibility of moving it to the very beginning of the Interrogatives inEnglish, e.g., On what did you based your prediction? However, such pattern is ascribed to formalstyle (Greenbaum and Quirk, 1990: 237).

25

If the interrogative including preposition regards a person, it is necessary forthe wh element to follow the preposition,

e.g., Für wen ist dieser Brief/ Who is this letter for? On the contrary, when the interrogative refers to

the thing, the wh element wo should precede the preposition, e.g., Worüber spricht der Lehrer/

What does the teacher talk about? As can be inferred from the German interrogative, the wh

element wo and the preposition über are joined together by the letter „r‟ which is used

to connect two vowel sounds, e.g., o and ü (Bęza, 2003: 299).

On the basis of the information presented above, it emerges that constructingInterrogative Sentences in German and English language can be achieved by means ofsimilar technique. The knowledge and the transference of English WO should not hinderthe process of constructing German Yes/ No and Wh interrogatives in so far as theyentail Subject Verb Inversion in both languages.

Nonetheless, it can be predicted that the habit of placing the preposition at the end ofthe Interrogatives in English

language may have detrimental effect on developing equivalent German sentences in which

the preposition is required to be placed either before the wh element (when it refers to

people), e.g., für wen or after wo (when it refers to things), e.g., worüber.

Consequently, pupils used to English WO may produce the German Interrogatives such as

Wen ist dieser Brief für?/ Who is this letter for? instead of Für wen ist dieser Brief?.

All things considered, the analysis of the information presented on Simple Sentences inthis chapter should be sufficient

to comprehend various facets of the influence of English language on the process oflearning German syntax , resulting from transference of overlapping English grammarrules. It becomes apparent that English language exerts perceptible impact on theacquisition to German as a second foreign language. Despite the similarities shared byboth languages in respect of the structure of Simple Sentences, the process of learningthem may turn out not to be so simple for pupils who have already obtained a higherfluency level in English.

On the whole, learners are not expected to have considerable difficulty inordering such constituents as: Subject, Verb, Object in a Simple Sentences. The problemthey are likely to encounter in this area is, however, related to ascribing adequatecase and declination to a proper object, e.g., in order to translate the sentence He

gives her a ring/ Er schickt ihr einen Ring (Miell and Schenke, 2006: 36) pupils need to know whatform the pronoun sie/she and the noun a ring/ein Ring receive correspondingly in Dative andAccusative case. Due to the fact that no such declination is relevant to Englishlanguage, it can be predicted that variety of incorrect pronouns will appear in thesentences of the above type.

As mentioned above, problems with Simple Sentences are likely to regard not the orderingof basic elements of the

sentence but the declination of nouns functioning as objects. Nonetheless, the confusionpertinent to the proper position of the constituents is highly probable to be increasedby the occurrence of a second verb in a sentence, e.g., verb following (modal)/auxiliary. Taking into account the fact that the accepted pattern in English languagerequires in such cases placing non-finite verb immediately after (modal)/ auxiliary,

26

e.g., Sh can come later, pupils are very likely to transfer this pattern onto Germanequivalent structures. This will result in sentences like Sie kann kommen später, which isnot correct due to wrong position of the verb kommen/come. The properly constructedGerman sentence, requires in such case, the non-finite verb kommen/come to be shifted tothe final position, thus the correct equivalent of English sentence will be: Sie kann später

kommen (Dodd et al., 2005: 74).

The English WO demanding the finite verb to be followed by nonfinite verb is alsolikely to be transferred by learners of German language while constructing sentences inPresent Perfect and Passive Voice which, similarly to the sentences with modal verbs,include finite verb in the second and nonfinite verb in the final position, e.g., Ich

habe zu viel gegessen/ I have eaten too much (Frandrych and Tallovitz, 2002: 89), as compared toEnglish sentence: I have bought a new radio (Gozdawa- Gołębiowski et al., 1995: 105).

Another troublesome field related to Simple Sentences may concern position ofAdverbials and their influence on WO. Due to the fact that placing Adverbs of Time atthe beginning of Simple Sentence does not impose changes on the WO in English, pupilswho have learnt this language for a long time may be prone to implement the same patternon equivalent German sentences, which of course will not be correct due to failure toapply Subject Verb Inversion. Thus, while it is acceptable to write the sentence Every

Friday I play the cards, it emerges that using the same WO is perceived as incorrect in Germandue to the necessity to place the verb in the second position. Consequently, the properequivalent German sentence would not be Jeden Freitag ich spiele Karten, but Jeden Tag spiele ich

Karten, where the verb spiele/ play preceeds the subject ich/I (Braber and Johnson, 2008: 179).

Apart from that, it can be expected that transference of English syntactic rules

will surface in case of placing Adverbs of Frequency in a given sentence. Bearing in

mind English pattern of positioning these expressions after the main verb, pupils

struggling with German grammar may transfer this rule disregarding the same the verb-

second position in German language9. Therefore the English language is likely to hinder

the process of learning German sentences of the parallel type.

Furthermore, the “syntactic dilemma” is presumed to center around the position on nicht/not in negative sentences. The

nature of this problem can in turn have its roots in well-learnt habit of placing

negative word not immediately after (modal) auxiliary in English language, e.g., She cannot

understand Italian or I hope she isn‟t drunk again (Gozdawa-Gołębiowski, 1995: 148). Whereas, the

word nicht/ not used to negate the meaning of the whole sentence in German is required to

be inserted either at the end of the sentence, e.g., Sie helfen den Leuten nicht / They do not help

the people or before the nonfinite verb, in case the sentence contains two verbs, e.g., Er

kann morgen nicht kommen/ He cannot come tomorrow (Miell and Schenke, 2006: 158). For the above

reasons, pupils may be inclined to build the German negations according to the English

order, which will result in sentences such as Sie helfen nicht den Leuten or Er kann nicht morgen

kommen.

On the other hand, English rules may be of favorable effect in constructingnegations in which negative word nicht/not

9 For further details go to the last paragraph in 2.1.2.

27

negates a certain element such as adjective in the sentence, e.g., Die Fenstersheibe ist nicht

kaput/ The window pane isn‟t broken or when the negation is introduced by the word kein

(subjected to the proper declination) corresponding to English no, e.g., Ich habe kein Auto/ I

have no car (Donaldson, 2006: 232).

Taking everything into account, the information presented in the above chapterrevealed the basic syntactic structure of Simple Sentences in English and the potentialpositive and negative impact they may exert on the process of learning Germanequivalents by pupils who have already obtained higher fluency in English and who havebeen learning German as a second foreign language. There is high probability thatsyntactic errors related to creating Simple Sentences in German will result from thesubconscious reference to the rules of English language which pupils are well familiarwith and which therefore will constitute a considerable obstacle to overcome.

28

2.4. Concluding remarks In order to understand the influence of English on learning Simple Sentences in Germanlanguage it may be useful to analyze the charts below which divided into two parts:Similarities and Differences. Sign * indicates the areas where the knowledge of Englishlanguage may have beneficial effect on the process of learning German. On the otherhand, symbol ** suggests the scope of potential problems faced by pupils of Germanlanguage stemming from the negative impact of distinct English structures.

Declaratives

Similarities: * SV WO

29

Differences:

* Direct Object + Indirec

t Object

if two objects present

Place + Manner + Time Time + Manner + Place

(with the verbs of movement)

(in other cases Manner + Place +Time)

usually no changes in WO if

beginning the sentence with Adverbial of Time introduced

any element other than subject

at the beginning of the sentence exerts

subject - verb Inversion

Adverbs of Frequency placed

no element can separate either before the main verb

the subject from the verb

or after the auxiliary

Fig. 2

Similarities and Differences in English and German Declaratives.

Negations

30

** position of nonfinite verb if

** position of Adverbials

two verbs present

English

German

nonfinite verb

nonfinite verb

after finite

at the end of the

sentence

English:

German

Similarities: Differences:

* position of nicht/not

EnglishGerman before certainelementsnot after proper auxiliarynicht either at the end

e..g., adjectives of sentence or before

the second verb if two verbs present * use of kein/no to negatethe noun

31

** position of

nicht/not

to negate the sentence

Fig. 3

Similarities and Differences in English and German Declaratives.

Interrogatives

32

Yes/ No Interrogatives

Wh Interrogatives

Similarities:

Differences

* interrogatives with

** interrogatives with

Wh element as subject

subject different

Wh element + verb

than Wh element

English

German

Wh element + proper

no operator

introduced,

form of auxiliary

do

questions formed by

introduced

subject

- verb inversion

** position of prepos

ition

English

German

preposition usually at the preposition either beforefinal position Wh element if refers to people

or after wo if it refers to thing Similarities: Differences: * forming Yes/ Noquestions by

subjectverb Inversion** position of the second verb

English German English German

** use of proper ** no equivalent operator, second verb after subject, second verb at form of auxiliary questions formed by auxiliary + subject the final position do if no operator present inversion + second verb of the sentence

Fig. 4

Similarities and Differences in English and German Interrogatives.

Chapter: 3 Word Order in Compound and Complex Sentences.

As stated in previous chapter, English and German syntax are governed by different rules,

which consequently poses a considerable difficulty on learning German as a second foreign language by pupils of

secondary school. Taking into account the distinct nature of English WO, it can be

predicted that the transference of the rules it is governed by, will exert detrimental

effect on the acquisition to German. The area in which this negative influence is very

likely to emerge, concerns Compound and Complex Sentences, characterized by simple SV WO

in English, in contrast to sophisticated order of German language, conditioned upon the

choice of conjunctions used. Consequently, it may be presumed that learning German

sentences of the types mentioned above will be impeded by applying well-learnt English

SV pattern in cases it should not be employed. Nevertheless, the opposite can also take

place, which means that hesitant pupils may stick to the misleading “rule” that German

WO is mostly opposite to English one and apply this rule believing that this will help

them to be on the safe side. Nothing more dubious than that.

33

It is believed that the key to learning lies in proper understanding, therefore thischapter will be devoted to the

exploration of English and German syntactic rules pertinent to Compound and Complex

sentences. The focus will be given to these areas in which the knowledge of English

language and its grammar can either facilitate or frustrate the pupils‟ trials in

constructing German sentences of the parallel type. With this aim in view, the chapter

will centre around similarities and differences of English and German sentences which

can be perceived as the roots of the problems faced by students.

In chapter 3 attention will be given to English and German WO in the Compound and ComplexSentences of the

following type: Noun Clauses functioning as Subject, Subject Complement, Direct Objectand Adverbial Clauses of: Time, Manner, Comparison, Purpose, Reason, Result, andConcession.

3.1. Compound Sentences. Compound sentences consist of two or more clauses joined together either by colon, semi

colon, adverb or coordinating conjunctions e.g., and, but, or, yet, as well as. The clauses in

compound sentences are of equal status and therefore can exist independently, e.g., We

fished all day but we didn‟t catch a thing. As can be seen from the example, deletion of the

conjunction but will result in two separate clauses, i.e., We fished all day and We didn‟t catch

a thing, the meaning of which can be rendered without a problem. These clauses are often

referred to as co-ordinate main clauses (Alexander, 1988: 10).

As regards Compound Sentences in German, a concise definition is offered by Donaldson

(2006: 183-184), who describes them as the sentences consisting of a main clause and

coordinate clauses(s) joined together by means of the coordinating conjunctions aber/ but,

und/and, oder/or, denn/because and sondern/but. He also asserts that the coordinating

conjunctions exert no influence on the position of the verb, which contributes to the

fact that the individual clauses are equally important.

On the basis of the information presented above, it can be inferred that there

is no difference between English and German Compound Sentences in the respect of its

constructions, i.e., they both consist of main clause and independent clause joined

together by means of conjunctions. What is more, they are structured according to SV WO.

Why are pupils inclined to make syntactic mistakes in „production‟ of such sentences

then? In what way can English language hinder or facilitate the process of learning

them?

The answer to the above question is to be searched in the existence of a

Compound Sentences in which the inversion of the subject and verb takes place after

certain expressions. According to Donaldson (2006: 183-184), Compound Sentences are

characterized by occurrence of the conjunctions which have no effect on the position of

the verb. Nonetheless, he fails to mention other conjunctions which require Inv WO. In

such sentences the verb must be placed immediately after the conjunction. The list of

such conjunctions is provided, however, by Bęza (2003: 296) and it includes: dann/ then;

auβerdem/ besides; trotzdem/ yet; deshalb, darum, deswegen/ therefore; sonst/ otherwise, e.g., Zuerst schreibe ich

34

einen Brief, dann gehe ich zur Post/ At first I write the letter then I go to the post office (ibid). The conjunction

which introduces Inv WO in the sentence above is, as can be seen, dann/then as it is

followed immediately by the verb.

The matter of classification of these conjunctions and the type of the sentences in whichthey occur constitutes a moot

point for discussion. It is generally accepted that Compound Sentences consist of the

equally important clauses which are connected by the coordinate conjunctions. What is

more, the equality of the clauses is indicated by the fact that coordinate conjunctions

do not exact any changes on the WO (Donaldson, 2006: 183-184). Taking into account the

fact that the conjunctions dann, auβerdem, trotzdem, deshalb, darum, deswegen, sonst require

the inversion of the subject and verb, it is open to discussion whether they should be

categorized as the conjunctions joining Coordinate Clauses into a Compound Sentence. It

is also noteworthy to point that many grammar books available for learners of German as

a foreign language do not include any information on the classification of these

conjunctions. Nevertheless, this issue will be revised in the final part of chapter 3

(see third paragraph in 3.3.5.)

Irrespective of the classification of the conjunctions requiring Inv WO, it isincontrovertible to claim that they impose

great difficulty on learners struggling with German language. Due to the fact that someof the conjunctions bear apparent similarity to English equivalents, learners who wereexposed to English language for a longer period may find them particularly difficult touse, e.g., there is high probability that occurrence of such conjunctions as dann/then,

denn/because will fuel great confusion among English- German pupils. Therefore, moreattention will be given to them in the section referring to Adverbial Clauses (3.3.4).

It cannot be denied that memorizing the list of conjunctions and the proper WO

ascribed to them demands a lot of practice from learners of German language. Therefore,

some pupils tend to simplify the task by constructing sentences in a way they would not

be made in English language, e.g., when pupils are not sure which WO is to follow a

certain conjunction, they tend to choose the WO which is distinct from English one as

they bear in mind the idea that German WO is different to English. This in turn results

in making mistakes while creating sentences where English and German syntax follow the

same SV WO, e.g.., the English sentence containing coordinate conjunction aber/but, I go on

foot but my father goes by car may be translated into: Ich gehe zu Fuβ, aber fährt mein Vater mit dem Taxi

instead of: Ich gehe zu Fuβ, aber mein Vater fährt mit dem Taxi (Bęza, 2003: 296). Such practices

confirm the fact that English language plays a considerable role in learning German due

to the fact that it is commonly referred to by pupils.

3.2. Complex Sentences Complex Sentences constitute another problem to overcome by pupils who have beenengaged for a longer time in English rather than German language. In order to understandthe subtleties behind the structure of these sentences in both languages it is importantto understand what Complex Sentences are and how they are constructed.

Alexander (1988: 12) explains that Complex Sentences, contrary to Compound ones,consist of clauses which are not of

35

equal importance. Clause which is more important is referred to as main or independentclause because it can stand on its own when it is removed from the sentence. Subordinateclause, on the other hand is called dependent clause as it would not make sense withoutpreceding main clause. The same information can be given about Complex Sentences inGerman language by Donaldson (2006: 183), who describes them as the sentences in whichmain clause and subordinate clause(s) are joined together by subordinate conjunction.Why is constructing Complex Sentences in German so complex to master by pupils in thatcase?, In the consecutive part of the chapter an attempt will be made to elaborate onthat issue.

Having in mind information on Compound Sentences, discussed in part 3.1 and theintroductory notes on Complex

Clauses, how would one categorize the sentence Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich müde bin/ I will stay at

home because I am tired ? Is it Compound or Complex Sentence? According to Miell and Schenke(2006: 134), the sentence above is an example of Complex Sentence. How is it to bejustified? How can Compound Clauses be distinguished from Complex Clauses and howSubordinate Clauses can be identified in the sentence?

In order to understand the subtleties of Complex Sentences, it is advisable toget acquainted with an explanation provided

by Donaldson (2006: 183) according to which the subordinate clauses are characterized byposition of the verb at the end of that clause, which indicates that this clause isdependent on the main clause. The position of the verb is subjected to the subordinateconjunctions which send the verb to the end of the subordinate clause.

On the basis of this information, it should become clear now why the examplegiven above Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich

müde bin/ I will stay at home because I am tired is considered to be a Complex Sentence. The clauseafter commas, i.e., weil ich müde bin is subordinate clause because it is introduced bysubordinate conjunction weil/because which relegates the verb bin/am to the final positionof the subordinate clause. Consequently, the subordinate clause is dependent on mainclause Ich bleibe zu Hause because it would not be understood if it was removed from thesentence. The main clause is, on the other hand, an independent clause as it could existon its own.

In addition to weil/because, other frequent subordinate conjunctions are: dass/that;ob/whether; wann/when; warum/why;

damit/so that; weil/because; obwohl/although; trotzdem/however. als/when; sooft/whenever; sobald/as soon as; während/while. so

…wie…/ as…as…; je mehr…desto.../the…the…(Donaldson, 2006: 187-188). As far as English language is concerned, no such rule as placing the verb at the

final position of a clause is applied. Subordinate and coordinate clauses can bedistinguished on the basis of the fact that subordinate clause in contrast to CoordinateClause can be put before the main clause , e.g., He fired her, because she always arrived late at the

office can be changed into Because she always arrived late at the office, he fired her (Donaldson, 2006:183-184).

Pupils, who have devoted a lot of time to practice the list of subordinateconjunctions in German, should feel more confident to produce sentences in thatlanguage, however they may still have a considerable problem with constructing the

36

syntactically correct sentence in which two or more verbs appear in a subordinateclause. In such case, the doubt may arise as to the choice of the proper verb whichshould be put in the final position. When such situation is concerned, German syntacticrules require the finite verb to be placed at the final position. Remaining verbs are toprecede the finite verb, e.g., Sie hofft, dass sie das Abschlussexamen bestehen wird/ She hopes that she

will pass the final exam. As can be seen from the example, the finite verb wird/will is placed atthe end of the subordinate clause with the other verb bestehen/pass preceding it. It shouldalso be noted that German grammar requires the main and the subordinate clause to bealways separated by comma (Miell and Shenke, 2006: 143144). In English, however, commais used when the subordinate clause, clause of time in particular, is placed before themain clause, e.g., By the time he arrived, she had left. No comma is used when time clause followsthe main clause though, e.g., She had left by the time we arrived (Evans, 2001: 78)

As can be inferred from the above, creating Complex Sentences can be reallycomplex for English pupils by the virtue of a significant number of conjunctions toremember. It seems that knowing the German conjunctions and the proper WO following themis enough to build correct sentences. Nonetheless, complex character of the Complexsentences has not only to do with the list of conjunctions to remember but also with theposition of the subordinate clause. It has been already explained that subordinateclause is introduced by subordinate conjunctions and that subordinate conjunctions sendsthe finite verb to the final position. Knowing this, no hesitation should arise as tothe correct position of the verb abwusch/washed up in a sentence: Ich machte die

Betten, während meine Frau abwush/ I made the beds while my wife washed up. At the same time, pupils

should not be confused in creating the sentence which begins with subordinate

conjunctions, e.g., Während meine Frau abwush, ich machte die Betten. The sentence is a

combination of subordinate clause Während meine Frau abwush and the main clause, which can

stand on its own, ich machte die Betten. The sentence may be considered correct, however in

fact, it only appears to be so. If subordinate clause is properly constructed and the

structure of the main clause is also preserved, where is the mistake then? In order to

discover the correct version of the sentence one must be aware of the fact that

subordinate clause placed before the independent clause necessitates the inversion of

subject and verb in the main clause. It is caused by the fact that the subordinate

clause in such sentences “assumes the role of the first idea in the main clause (i.e. in

the sentence as a whole)” (Donaldson, 2006: 186). Therefore the correct version of the

sentence Während meine Frau abwush, ich machte die Betten would be Während meine Frau abwush, machte ich

die Betten (ibid). Due to the fact that no such inversion takes place in English language,

pupils are very susceptible to use English WO in main clause following subordinate

clause even if they remember the rule governing the WO in subordinate clause. This in

turn shows that they subconsciously refer to English WO while constructing German

sentences, which consequently becomes the root of the syntactic mistakes made in such

cases.

Another interesting example of the subordinate clauses joined by a coordinate

conjunction und/and can be found in Miell and Schenke (2006: 135), i.e., Ich hoffe, dass man

nicht lange warten muss und dass es nicht zu viel kostet/ I hope that you don‟t have to wait long and that it does not

37

cost much. The sentence consists of two subordinate clauses dass man nicht lange warten muss and

dass es nicht zu viel kostet which are connected by coordinate conjunction und/and. Although

coordinate conjunction und/and has no effect on the position of the verb in the clause

following it, the verb kostet/cost in the sentence above must be placed at the end of the

subordinate clause due to the presence of the subordinate conjunction dass/that which

follows subordinate conjunction und/and. In English, of course no such change appears in

the sentences therefore, pupils learning German may be inclined to use, typical to

English, SV WO in subordinate clause following coordinate conjunctions. This in turn

will result in constructing incorrect sentences of the following type Während meine Frau

abwush, ich machte die Betten.

Distinct character of WO in German and English Subordinate Clauses constitutes a

problem for pupils who have been exposed to English language for a longer period than to

German and who are learning German as second foreign language. The difficulties in

learning construction of „German‟ Subordinate Clauses is caused by the presence of a

considerable number of subordinate and coordinate conjunctions which exert distinct

influence on the WO in the clauses following them. Due to the fact that English

language is based on SV WO, pupils are vulnerable to transfer it onto German language

which may result in constructing incorrect sentences like Ich bleibe zu Hause weil ich bin müde,

instead of Ich bleibe zu Hause weil ich müde bin10.

Taking into account that a great deal of explanation regarding Complex Sentences and thepotential problems in their

construction by „English‟ pupils has already been given, it has to be pointed that thereis still far more to be discussed on this topic. The following part of the chapter will be devoted to the analysis of the different typesof subordinate clauses in English and German language. Special attention will be givento these areas of subordinate clauses in which a great number of mistakes results frominterference of English language.

In order to understand the potential problems and benefits related to influenceof English language on learning German

syntax it is necessary to understand the meaning and the role performed by variousclauses in the sentence. With this aim in view, each section below was equipped with theconcise explanation. The types of the clauses discussed below were chosen upon theanalysis of the syllabus for German and English languages designed for learners of asecondary school and they involve Noun Clauses and Adverbial Clauses.

3.2.1. Noun Clauses functioning as Subject As explained by Side and Wellman (2002: 163), Noun Clauses are groups of words within a

sentence referring to a fact or idea. The name Noun Clause comes from the fact that such

clause “is doing the same work as the noun” and therefore it can perform the function of

Subject, Object or Subject Complement (Alexander, 1988: 13).

Noun Clauses functioning as Subject are introduced by conjunctions: that, whether, if;

pronouns: who, whom, whose, what (whatever), which and adverbs: when, were, how, why. The sentence

10 For the translation and explanation on the construction of the sentence go to the fifth paragraph of the section 3.2

38

That he has made this mistake seems strange to us may serve as an example of the above mentioned

clause in English language (Gozdawa-Gołębiowski et al., 1995: 272).

With regard to German language, Noun Clauses functioning as Subject are introduced bypronouns : wer/who; was/what and conjunctions dass/that; ob/if, whether; warum, weshalb/why, e.g., Ob

du kommst, ist fraglich/ Whether you come is doubtful

(Bęza, 2003: 305). As can be seen in the example, Noun Clauses in German are structured according toVlast WO, as opposed to SV WO

present in English. Consequently, there is high probability that many pupils willbuild such sentences using English rather than German WO.

3.2.2. Noun Clauses functioning as Direct Object.

In English language, Noun Clauses functioning as direct object answer thequestions what? whom? and they are connected with the main clause by means of theconjunctions, pronouns and adverbs which are used to form Noun Clauses functioning asSubject (3.2.1) and Subject Complement (3.2.3).

Moreover, Noun Clauses functioning as Direct Object are used to impart „messages‟

in the form of Indirect Speech, e.g., James said that he would be lonely and they follow SV WO,

even in the case when they are introduced by -wh element, e.g., I don‟t see why you should make

such a fuss. The sentence clearly demonstrates that clause beginning with why assumes the

WO of the statement as no inversion takes place (Gozdawa-Gołębiowski et al., 1995: 275).

As far as German language is considered, Noun Clauses functioning as DirectObject are usually introduced by the

conjunctions dass/that, ob/if, whether, warum/ why, wo/where, e.g., Der Lehrer sagt, dass dieses Buch sehr gut

ist/ The teacher says that this book is really good and they are characterized by the Vlast WO (Bęza,

2003: 305-306). Therefore, the English sentences such as The father sees that the cake is black

should be translated into Der Vater sieht dass den Kuchen Schwarz ist with the verb ist/is being

placed at the final position (Kettemann, 1982: 159-160). Owing to the distinct feature

of the clauses in English and German language, pupils who have been exposed to English

language for a longer period of time, may be inclined to transfer typical to English SV

WO and apply it in German sentences, which indicates the negative influence of English

language on learning German.

3.2.3. Noun Clauses functioning as Subject Complement. These types of clauses answer the question What is the subject like?, e.g., The trouble is that I have

forgotten his name

(Gozdawa-Gołębiowski et al., 1995: 273). The function of the Noun Clause above is

described as Subject Complement due to the fact that it „completes‟ the information on

the subject of the main clause. At the same time the verb is in the sentence functions as

a linking word connecting the subject, the trouble with the complement that I have forgotten his

name (Greenbaum and Quirk, 1990: 344). Such verbs are referred to as copular verbs (see

1.1.2, page 14).

39

Noun Clauses functioning as Subject Complement in German follow the Vlast WO, which

is not common in English. As a result, they may constitute a problem for pupils trying

to construct them in German language.

3.3. Adverbial Clauses

As can be inferred from its name Adverbial Clauses perform the function of theAdverbial in the sentence as they

describe when, where, how, for what purpose, why, and in what conditions something happened (Gozdawa-Gołębiowski et al., 1995: 283).

Due to a considerable amount of data related to these clauses in German andEnglish languages, the following part of the

chapter will revolve only around these types of Adverbial Clauses which pupils of asecondary school are demanded to know. 3.3.1. Adverbial Clauses of Condition and Time. These types of clauses are one of the areas where pupils are very likely to makemistakes based on using wrong (Eng) WO. Taking into account the vast amount ofinformation relevant to Clauses of Condition, the section below will be focused purelyon the syntactic structuring of these clauses in English and German language with norespect given to the individual characteristics of every conditional type.

Clauses of Condition, as the name suggests, describe the condition which has tobe fulfilled for a given action to take

place. In German language they are usually introduced by the subordinate conjunction

wenn/if . Due to the fact that they belong to the subordinate clauses they are governed by

Vlast WO and they necessitate subject – verb inversion in the clause which follows

them, e.g., Wenn ich krank bin, gehe ich zum Artz/ If I am sick, I go to the doctor (Bęza, 2003: 313).

On the basis of the equivalent English sentence given above, it can be inferredthat the conjunction if introducing Clauses of Condition exerts no influence on thesentence WO in English language. Therefore, pupils who have mastered the structuring ofconditional sentences in English may tend to transfer the English SV WO onto Germansentences, which would result in sentences like Wenn ich bin krank, ich gehe zum Artz.

Subordinate conjunction wenn, which introduces Adverbial Clauses of Condition, is

also used to create Adverbial Clauses of Time. As opposed to the Clauses of Condition,

Adverbial Clauses of Time do not describe the condition but provide the information on

time and duration of activitity/ process expressed in the main clause, e.g., Wenn ich ins

Stadion gehe, regnet es immer/ When I go to the stadium, it always rains. (Bęza, 2003: 316).

Negative influence of English language is also likely to arise in the use ofconjunction wenn. Despite the fact that it

combines the meaning of English conjunctions if and when, it can not be used to introduce

the Adverbial Clauses of Time which describe the event/situation that occurred only once

in the past. For instance, conjunction wenn cannot appear in the sentences like: When I

40

was 6 years old, I went to school for the first time. In such cases, German grammar demands the

conjunction als11/when to be used. Thus, the correct translation of the English sentence

is: Als ich 6 Jahre war, kam ich zum ersten Mal in die Schule/ (ibid). Nonetheless, it is only the

conjunction wenn which is used in German to describe the recurrent situations/actions in

the present, past and future, e.g., Wenn das Wetter im Juli schön ist, fahren wir nicht in Urlaub sondern

bleiben wir zu Hause/ When/ if the whether is fine in July, we don‟t go on holiday but prefer to stay at home

(Donaldson, 2006: 188). Due to the similarity in the meaning and spelling of German

wenn and English when, pupils may be inclined to insert the conjunction wenn/ when German

grammar would require als to be used.

Clauses of Time can also be introduced by other conjunctions, e.g., während/while,sobald/ as soon as, sooft/ whenever,

bis/until (Bęza, 2003: 316). Because of the fact that Adverbial Clauses of Time belong to

Subordinate Clauses they are subjected to Vlast WO. Accordingly, they necessitate

subject-verb inversion in the clause which follows them, e.g., Sobald ich sie sehe, informiere

ich sie darüber/ As soon as I see her, I will inform her about it (Bęza, 2003: 322). As can be noticed in

the example, the structure of English sentence is significantly different than German as

it follows SV WO, which means that the verbs (am and go) are placed after the subjects.

3.3.2. Adverbial Clauses of Comparison. Clauses of Comparison are the sentences which are difficult to learn by learners whohave been exposed to English for significantly longer period than German. The problemencountered by them stems from the discrepancy between Clauses of Comparison in Englishand German. In order to understand the nature of these differences, attention should begiven to the structure of these clauses in both languages.

As the name suggests, clauses of comparison express the comparison of activity/state mentioned in the main clause with

the activity described in the subordinate clause (clause of comparison). These types ofclauses are introduced in English language by such conjunctions as than, as…as, not so/as…as,

the…the, e.g., She is much older than you may think (Gozdawa-Gołębiowski et al., 1995: 288).

In German language, clauses of comparison are introduced by conjunctions wie/ as, like and als/than and they are

structured like other subordinate clauses, which means that the position of the finite

verb (in subordinate clause) is always at the end, e.g., Sie ist so schön, wie ich gedacht habe/

She is as beautiful as I thought (Bęza, 2003: 355). In the case of the sentence above, the

comparative clause is the one which is introduced by conjunction wie/ as and which

contains the finite verb habe/ have12 at the final position.

Inferring from the information above, it seems that clauses of comparison should not

impose great difficulty on learners of German language unless they remember about V last

WO, typical to German subordinate Clauses. Nonetheless, there is one construction which

11 Conjunction als is also used in Adverbial Clauses of Comparison meaning than (3.3.2). 12 The verb haben is not to be translated as Eng. have/possess as it is used as an auxiliary verb denoting Perfekt Tense. In German, sentences in Perfekt Tense are characterized by occurrence of the finite form of the verb haben/have or sein/ be and past participle (Bęza 2003: 185).

41

can be difficult to remember by learners of German language. This construction is

introduced in English by the conjunctions the…the, followed by the comparative form of

adjective e.g., The older she is, the more beautiful she becomes. Their equivalent form in German is

je…desto or je…um so. Pupils who have been exposed to English language for longer time may

be inclined to translate the above English sentence according to Eng SV WO, which is: Je

älter sie wird, desto schöner sie wird. At the same time, those who practiced the German

Subordinate WO diligently may spot the mistake and correct the sentence into: Je älter sie

wird, desto sie schöner, wird, where the subject sie/she follows subordinate conjunction

desto/the and where the verb wird/becomes is placed at the end of the clause. Nonetheless,

the WO in the clause beginning with desto/the is incorrect in both cases. It results from

wrong position of the verb wird, which should be placed after the adjective/adverb rather

than at the end of the subordinate clause. Thus, the correct version of the sentence

The older she is, the more beautiful she becomes will be Je älter sie wird, desto schöner wird sie. Although the

above example belongs to subordinate sentence, Vlast WO is to be used only in the clause

introduced by je/the, it should not be used after desto and um so (Bęza, 2003: 355).

3.3.3. Adverbial Clauses of Purpose. As the name suggests, Adverbial Clauses of Purpose provide the information regarding

the purpose of the activity described in the main clause. They answer the questions what

for? and for what purpose? (Gozdawa-Gołębiowski et al., 1995:

291). Depending on whether the subjects expressed in the Subordinate Clause of Purpose and

the main clause are the same, Adverbial Clauses of Purpose can be introduced in two

ways. In case when subjects are the same, i.e., they refer to the same entity, English

language applies infinitive constructions to, in order to or so as to, e.g., I‟ m here to tell you the

truth (ibid). The equivalent conjunction used in such case in German is um…zu, e.g., (…)

die Deutschen leben um zu arbeiten/ (…) the Dutch live in order to work (Frandrych and Tallovitz, 2002:

134).

When the subject in the Clause of Purpose is different than the subject of main clause,expressions in order that, so that, so must be used in English language. In case of German, theequivalent expression used in such case is damit.

Since Clauses of Purpose belong to Subordinate Sentences, they must be constructed

according to Vlast WO, which can be hindered by the impact of English SV WO. There is

high probability that English sentence I give him the book so that he reads it will be translated by

majority of pupils as Ich gebe ihm das Buch, damit er liest es , where the verb liest/reads follows

subject, rather than Ich gebe ihm das Buch, damit er es liest (Bęza, 2003: 330).

3.3.4. Adverbial Clauses of Reason and Result. Clauses of Reason provide explanation on why something happens/ed and they are

usually introduced by the conjunctions because, since, as, for, e.g. Since we have no money, we can

speak frankly (Gozdawa-Gołębiowski et al., 1995: 286).

The conjunctions which introduce Clauses of Reason in German are weil , da, denn meaningbecause.

42

These types of clauses may create a considerable difficulty on pupils due to the

discrepancy between WO imposed by subordinate conjunctions weil, da/because and WO

introduced by the coordinate conjunction denn (see second paragraph in 3.1). While the

subordinate conjunction weil demands placing the finite verb at the end of the subordinate

clause, the conjunction denn does not exert such influence on the verb. On the contrary,

it is followed by SV WO. Therefore, while the WO in the sentence Ich muss zum Artz gehen,

denn ich bin krank/ I must go to the doctor because I am sick is correct, it needs to be changed if

conjunction weil is required. In that case the verb bin/am has to be placed at the final

position as it is in the sentence: Ich muss zum Artz gehen, weil ich krank bin (Bęza, 2003: 309).

Another potential problem related to constructing Clauses of Reason in German language

which can be ascribed to the negative influence of English language stems from the

visual similarity of the German conjunctions denn meaning because and dann meaning then. As

it was already mentioned denn is considered to be coordinate conjunction which is

followed by SV WO (see second and third paragraph in 3.1). On the other hand,

conjunction dann/then enforces the inversion of the subject and verb. Therefore the

correct translation of the sentence Firstly I write the letter, then I go to the post would not be Zuerst

schreibe ich einen Brief, dann ich gehe zur Post but Zuerst schreibe ich einen Brief, dann gehe ich zur Post. As can

be seen in the last sentence the subject ich/I is placed after the verb gehe/ go, which is

unusual in the case of coordinate clauses (Bęza, 2003: 296).

As regards Adverbial Clauses of Result, they reveal the consequences, results of theactions described in the main clause. In English language they are introduced byconjunctions so and therefore, e.g., I came to the hall early so I found a good seat

(Gozdawa-Gołębiowski et al., 1995: 289). Other commonly used conjunctions expressing the

result in English are: so…that, such…that, that (Alexander, 1988: 28). At the same time,

Clauses of Result in German are signaled by the occurrence of conjunctions like so dass,

so…, dass meaning so/that, e.g., Die Krankenschwester pflegte den Patienten so gut, dass er schnell gesund wurde

(Bęza, 2003: 363)/ The nurse cared for the patient so well that he soon became healthy.

As in the case of other subordinate clauses, there is high probability to suggest thatknowledge of English language and its syntax will result in transference of English SVWO and translation of the above English sentences into: Die Krankenschwester pflegte den Patienten

so gut, dass er wurde schnell gesund, which is not correct due to wrong position of the verbwurde/became.

3.3.5. Adverbial Clauses of Concession. This type of clauses express the conditions against which action expressed in the main

clause took place and it is recognized by the presence of such conjunctions as: though,

although, in spite (of the fact), despite, however, no matter what, e.g., I feel quite warm although it‟s so hot

(Gozdawa-Gołębiowski et al., 1995: 290).

Equivalent German conjunctions which introduce Clauses of Concession are: obwohl,

obgleich, obschon/although. Owing to the fact that the clauses of Concession belong to

subordinate clauses, it is required for the verb to be placed at the end of the

subordinate clause which in turn is introduced by subordinate conjunction, e.g., Obwohl er

gut verdient, ist er nicht zufrieden/ Although he earns much, he is not contented. At the same time it should

43

not be overlooked that the subordinate clause of Concession Obwohl er gut verdient necessitate

the subjectverb inversion in the main clause13 er ist nicht zufrieden, which gives the

following outcome Obwohl er gut verdient, ist er nicht zufrieden.

Clauses of Concession are problematic for pupils who have been exposed to Englishlanguage for a longer time than to German one. The reason behind it is rooted in theexistence of the additional conjunction trotzdem which pupils at secondary school areexpected to master. Having carefully read the information on Coordinate Conjunctions(see 3.1), it should be remembered that the conjunction trotzdem occurs in CompoundSentences in which no changes in WO take place. Why is it likely to create an obstaclefor pupils learning to produce Complex Sentences in that case? In order to build Germansentences correctly, one must remember that conjunction trotzdem/ however , requires Inv WOas it is the case with denn/because (see second paragraph in 3.1 and 3.3.4.), e.g., Es

regnet stark, trotzdem gehen wir ins Stadion/ It rains heavily, however, we go to the stadium (Bęza, 2003: 358).On the basis of the fact that many grammar books for German learners available forPolish pupils do not offer much explanation on the classification of the conjunctionsrequiring Inv WO (see fourth paragraph in 3.1), the matter of their membership remains adebatable issue.

As has been mentioned in the section 3.1., Compound Sentences are built byclauses of equal importance joined by coordinate conjunction, which exerts no influenceon the sentence WO. Taking this into account, it appears that conjunctions requiring InvWO cannot be classified as the expressions linking Coordinate Clauses.

On the other hand, Complex Sentences (3.2.) can be recognized by subordinateconjunctions requiring Vlast WO, which means that the verb must be placed at the finalposition in the sentence. Therefore, conjunctions requiring Inv WO cannot be categorizedas connecting the clauses in Compound Sentence either.

On the basis of the information provided by Bęza (2003: 296) it can be inferredthat conjunctions requiring Inv WO are used in creating Compound Sentences. However, theconjunction trotzdem is used by the author to present both Compound Sentences, andAdverbial Clauses of Concession which belong to the Complex Sentences (see thirdparagraph in 3.1 and 3.3.5.).

3.4. Concluding remarks All in all, there is high probability to suggest that majority of pupils whopracticed English language for a long time and

who are therefore used to SV WO, present in English declaratives, will transfer it ontoGerman sentences containing conjunctions requiring Inv. WO.

Upon the information presented in the above chapter it emerges that Englishdiffers significantly from German language in the respect of the WO used in Compound andComplex Sentences, being the same the main source of the problems encountered by pupilslearning German as a second foreign language.

13 For further details on the subject –verb inversion in German Complex Sentences see ninth paragraph in 3.2.

44

As regards the structure of German Compound Sentences, they resemble their Englishequivalents in that they follow SV WO. Therefore, it can be estimated that Englishlanguage will expedite the process of assimilating these types of sentences in German.

The structure of Complex Sentences is, on the other hand, noticeably distinct inEnglish and German language. In German it is characterized by the subordinateconjunctions which send the verb to the final position of the subordinate clause. Whatis more, if the sentence begins with subordinate clause, it is necessary to applysubject- verb inversion in the clause which follows subordinate clause, e.g., Während

meine Frau abwush, machte ich die Betten (see ninth paragraph in 3.2.).

With reference to English language, no such changes are imposed by conjunctionsin the sentences of the parallel type. What is worse, some German conjunctions bearvisual similarity to English ones and therefore they additionally contribute to theoverall confusion regarding the choice of proper Word Order. As a consequence, pupilswho have been learning English for a long time may have tendency to transfer the EnglishWO onto German sentences containing, similar to English, conjunctions, e.g. wenn/when asin the example: When/If I am sick I go to the doctor. Wenn ich krank bin, ich gehe zum Artz (see secondparagraph in

3.3.1). Apart from that, some German conjunctions require inverted WO, which means thatthey must be followed immediately

by the verb. Owing to the fact that equivalent English sentences are governed by SV WO,there is high probability that pupils will transfer English WO while providingtranslation of English sentences into German.

All things considered, it can be predicted that the reference to English languageis a recurrent pattern followed by pupils,

who have already acquired fluent level in English and who are learning German as a

second foreign language, being the same the main source of problems and mistakes made

while creating Compound and Complex Sentences. Nonetheless, English language can be

perceived as a „bridge‟ facilitating the acquisition to German Compound Sentences in

cases where SV WO is applied. The potential role of English and its effect on German

language can be best seen upon analyzing the charts below presenting the Similarities

and Differences enabling (*) and hindering (**) the acquisition to German.

45

aber/but; und/and; oder/or; dann/then; auβerdem/besides; trotzdem/ yet

denn/because14; deshalb, darum, daswegen/therefore;

sondern/but sonst/otherwise

SVWO SVWO subject – verb Inversion

14 Denn – in German coordinate conjunction used in Compound Sentences; because – in English subordinate conjunctions present in Complex Sentences.

46

Compound Sent

ences

Similariti

es:

Differences:

* WO introduced by conjunctions:

** WO introduced by conjunctions:

English

German

introduced by the conjunctions15

Fig. 5

Similarities and Differences in English and German Compound Sentences.

Complex Sentences

SV WO Vlast WOSV WO subject –verb Inversion

15 Compound Sentences in German - SV WO, therefore Subject- verb Inversion exerted bythe above conjunctions leaves the category of the sentences in which they appearquestionable.

47

Similarities:

Differences:

** WO in s

ubordinate clause

** WO in independent clause if

preceded by subordinate clause

English

German

English

German

in the independent clause16

Fig. 6

Similarities and Differences in English and German Compound Sentences.

Chapter 4: Analysis of the survey on the English – German Word Order

The aim of this chapter is to examine the results of a survey carried out to determinethe correlation and influence of the English Word Order on learning German grammar byPolish pupils. The data compiled in this chapter were obtained by means of the surveyconducted among 50 participants being divided in two groups of 27 and 23 pupils of thethird class of secondary school with extended program of English language and basicprogram of German language. It is noteworthy to point that the substantial number ofpupils has not encountered the acquisition to German language until secondary school andtherefore possessed predominant fluency in English rather than German language. Giventhat, it can be inferred that a longer exposition to the English has resulted in thecommon reference to the rules governing this particular language in attempts to masterthe German language.

The purpose of the survey was to investigate the problems encountered by the

pupils trying to master the structure of German as a second foreign language. It also

aimed at presenting the influence of English word order on constructing sentences in

German language. With this aim in view, the survey was divided into 3 parts containing

total amount of 45 sentences. The commands were given in English language. The pupils

were given 45 minutes to complete the task, nonetheless majority of them submitted the

sheets 20 minutes before the estimated time. The choice of the grammatical issues

discussed in the survey was based on the book Alles Klar, part 1b, 2a and 2b which the

pupils have been taught from during German classes. However, the sentences in the survey

are of the author‟s invention and any resemblance to other sources is incidental.

The first part of the survey involves translation of 10 English Simple Sentences,declaratives in particular, into German

language. The first four sentences illustrate the order of Subject, Predicate, Objects(direct, indirect), Adverb. The following two sentences present the Word Order in

16 except for clauses introduced by je....um so, desto/ the…the…. The verb in the clause introduced by um so, desto is placed after adjective or adverb.

48

structures containing two verbs, modal verbs to be precise. The remaining 4 sentencesdepict different types of negation.

The second part comprises list of words from which pupils are expected to construct fiveInterrogatives of the following

type: one Yes/No interrogatives and four Wh interrogatives, i.e., Specific question,Subject question and two Object questions containing prepositions.

The last part of the survey is made up of thirty English sentences with two Germanequivalent options each. The pupils‟

task is to circle a proper German translation of English sentences. In this section,attention is given to Compound and Complex

Sentences. Due to the fact that the section „Compound Sentences‟ covers a great numberof data, the results presented on that part were divided into 3 separate tables, i.e.,one dealing with Noun Clauses and the remaining two with Adverbial Clauses.

The results are compiled in the form of tables. Each table contains a number of correctand incorrect answers set against the total number of sentences. Initial figures in eachsection present the detailed balance of total number of correct (+) and incorrect (-)answers chosen in every point. The consecutive figures are divided with regard tovarious types of sentences. The numbers and percentage set in the table stand for thetotal number of correct and incorrect answers in each section of the survey.

The results are to be read diagonally. The numbers in brackets at the top of tablesrefer to the chapter number where

theoretical information can be found on a given topic. The final part accounts for thebalance sheet of the total results gathered in previous tables. Correct translations andanswers are marked in each exercise by italics.

Part I. Word Order in Simple Sentences (2.1, 2.2).

English sentenceswith Totally correct

translations

Correct

Incorrect

49

Proper WO but notexact translation

+other errors

Wrong WO =Eng WO + othererrors

Other errors excluding Wrong

WO

1. I study German. Ich studiere Deutsch. (4) Deutsch studiere ich.

Ich lerne Deutsch. (46)

- -

2. I give him a car. Ich gebe ihm das Auto. (10) Ihm gebe ich das Auto. Das Auto gebe ich ihm.

Ich gebe ihn/ dich/dir/ er das Auto. (40)

- -

3. I must learn English. Ich muss English lernen. (11)English muss ich lernen.

Ich musse/kanne Deutsch lernen. (18)

Ich müsse lernen English.(16)

Nein (5)

4. I can speak German. Deutsch kann ich sprechen. Ich kann Deutsch sprechen. (17)

Ich könne Deutschsprechen. Ichspreche Deutsch.(16)

Ich könne sprache English. (11)

Ich sprechen nicht (6)

5. On Monday we go to the disco. Am Montag gehe wir in die Disco. (4) Wir gehen am Montag in die Disco. In die Disco gehen wir am Montag.

Am Montag gehe ich in die Disco. Am Monstag gehen Siezu Disco. (9)

Am Mittag/ Montag wir/ich gehen indie Disco. (31)

Wir haben Sieins Disco. Am Montag (6)

6. I often listen to the radio. Ich höre oft das Radio. (4) Ich höre das Radio oft. (10) Das Radio höre ich oft. Oft höre ich das Radio. (1)

Ich hore Radio. Ich lese Radio. (8)

Ich oft hörendas Radio. (7)

Ich/ Ami tambin (20, including15 omissions)

7. I don‟t go to school Ich gehe in die Schule nicht.(1) Ich gehe nicht in die Schule.(15)

Ich gehe nach Schulenicht. Ich gehe zu Schule nicht. (25)

Ich nicht gehe ins Schule. (3)

Ich keine gehen zum Schule. (6)

8. You must not smokehere. Du darfst hier nicht rauchen.(1) Hier darfstdu nicht rauchen.

Du musst nicht rauchen (2)

Du kannst nicht hier rauchen(17)

Du könnenDu keine smoken.(30)

9. She is not old Sie ist nicht alt. (29)

-

Sie ist alt nicht. (18)

Sie ist alte keine. (3)

10. I have no friends Ich habe keine Freunde. (31)

Ich habe keine/n Freunds. (12)

- Jestem samoten. (7)

Fig. 7

Detailed balance sheet of correct and incorrect answers regarding Simple Sentences.

50

SIMPLE SENTENCES

Total number of sentences: 500

Correct

Incorrect

Totally correct Proper WO butnot exact

translation +minor errors

Wrong WO =Eng WO

+ minorerrors

Other errors (excluding Wrong WO)

DECLARATIVES

(sentences: 1-6) Total no of sentences:

300

61

137

65

37

TOTAL CORRECT: 198 (66 %) INCORRECT 102 (34%)

Totally correct:

61 (31 %)

Proper WO but minor errors: 137 (69 %)

Wrong WO: 65 ( 65 %) ≈

Other errors:

37 ( 37 %) ≈

NEGATIONS

(sentences: 7-10) Total no of sentences:

200

77

39

38

46

TOTAL CORRECT: 116 (58 %) INCORRECT: 84 (42 %)

Totally correct:77 ( 66 %) ≈

Proper WO but minor errors:

39 ( 34 %) ≈

Wrong WO: 38 ( 45 %) ≈

Other errors:

46 ( 55 %) ≈ Fig. 8

Balance sheet of the total results of part I.

51

This part of the survey involved translation of 10 simple sentences into German. Thistask proved to be the most difficult to contend with by the pupils as they have notprovided any such translation so far. Consequently, the mistakes made by them concernednot only WO but also vocabulary items. Due to variety of the answers provided the tablewas divided into the areas: Correct: totally correct (no errors), correct (proper WO butnot exact translations + minor mistakes; Incorrect: Wrong WO + minor mistakes, Othererrors excluding Wrong WO. The first column contains English sentences (declaratives:sentences 1-6 and negations: sentences 7-10) with correct German translations in italics.The numbers in brackets pertain to the number of totally correct answers given. Threeremaining column (Correct WO but not exact translations + minor mistakes, Incorrect)contain examples of the partially correct translations or incorrect translations withWrong WO and other mistakes. In contrast to the first column the number in brackets donot refer to the quantity of the sentences given as an example but to the total amountof mistakes made with regard to particular column.

The following figure (fig. 8) present balance sheet of the total number of correct andincorrect answers with regard to Declaratives and Negations analyzed in part I.

The results compiled in fig. 8 indicate that over one half of the total number oftranslations was correct. In the case of declaratives the correct answers amount to 66% of total answers given and in the case of negations they equal 58 %. However, it isnoteworthy that the number of totally correct answers (with no mistakes) among correctdeclaratives constitutes only 31 %. At the same time the number of mistakes resultingfrom Wrong WO amounts to as much as 65 % of the incorrect answers.

As far as negations are concerned, the percentage of the incorrect translations with wrongWO was lower than in the case

of declaratives and it equaled 45 % as compared to 66 % incorrect Wrong WO

declaratives. This discrepancy stems from the fact that the number of sentences

requiring different WO in German language in the section „negations‟ (sentences no: 7,8)

was smaller than in the case of declaratives (sentences no: 3,4,5,6). These findings

prove conclusively the fact that majority of mistakes made by the pupils regards

applying English WO in German sentences.

The results of the first part of the survey (fig.7) reveal the structures wheregreat many syntactic errors result from

influence of English syntax. These are: declaratives containing adverbial (sentences:5,6) and negations containing two verbs, e.g., modal verbs (sentence: 8). In all thesesentences English grammar dictates Subject Verb WO. In German however, if sentencebegins with any other element than subject there is a must for a verb to be placedimmediately after this element. What is more, German syntax does not allow any elementto be inserted between Subject and Verb. This rule is not present in English, whichdictates the position of Adverbs of Frequency (sometimes, often, always, etc.) before the mainverb. Another area in which the knowledge of English syntax proves to have detrimentaleffect is negations containing modal verbs, as can be illustrated by translationsprovided to sentence 8 (fig.1). As many as 17 learners inserted particle nicht/not

52

immediately after modal verb (rule present in English) instead of placing it before thesecond verb as it is required in German language.

Part. II. Word Order in Interrogatives (2.3). INTERROGATIVES + -

1. fährst / nach / Italien/

53

du/ ...................................................................? F ährst du nach Italien?

46 4

2. wann / besuchst / mich / du/.................................................................?Wann besuchst du mich?

39

11

3. wohnt / in Hamburg / wer/.................................................................. ? Wer wohnt in Hamburg?

46

4

4. wen / ist / das / Geschenk / für/............................................................? Für wen ist das Geschenk?

8

42

5. wo (r) / denkst / du / an/ ......................................................................? Wo(r)an deknst du?

-

50

Fig. 9

Detailed balance sheet of correct and incorrect answers regarding WO in Interrogatives.

INTERROGATIVES

Yes/ No Interrogatives

German WO= English WO

(sentence: 1) Total number of sentences:

50

Wh Interrogatives (sentences: 2-5)

Total number of sentences: 200 German WO= English

WO

(sentences: 2,3) Total number ofsentences:100

German WO≠ English

WO

(sentences: 4,5) Total number ofsentences: 100

Correct

46 (92 %)

85 (85 %)

8 (8%)

Incorrect

4 (6 %)

15 (15 %)

92 (92 %)

Fig. 10

Balance sheet of the total results of part II.

In this part of the survey, the pupils were expected to build five Interrogatives fromthe elements provided. The interrogatives were listed according to the following order:Yes/No Interrogatives (sentence: 1), Wh interrogatives: Specific question (sentence: 2),

54

Subject question (sentence: 3), and Object questions (sentences: 4,5). Theinterrogatives in italics represent correctly constructed forms.

As can be seen from the results above (fig. 10) an overwhelming percentage of students didnot have major problems

with forming Interrogatives with the same WO in English and German language (sentences:

1,2,3). Among incorrect Interrogatives were: Du fährst nach Italien? (4 students), Besuchst du

mich wann? (2 students), Wann du besuchst mich? (3 students), Du wann besuchst mich? (2

students), Wann besuchst mich du? (2 students), Wann mich besuchst du? (2 students). At the

same time 92 % of pupils demonstrated the difficulty while forming Wh Interrogatives

containing preposition. In English language it is required that preposition occupies

the final position in questions e.g., Who is this present for? In German, however, there is a

distinction between questions referring to people and questions referring to things. In

the case of the first option, the preposition is placed at the initial position being

followed by -wh element, e.g., Für wen ist das Geschenk? In the case of the second option, on

the other hand, the reverse order is to be applied, i.e., interrogative pronoun „wo(r)‟

is joined to the preposition which follows the pronoun. The letter „r‟ is inserted in-

between when the preposition begins with a vowel, e.g., Woran denkst du?

Upon closer analysis of the surveys submitted it can be seen that 72 out of 100pupils applied „English‟ rule while

forming German Interrogatives (sentences: 4,5). What is more, 23 learners placed

preposition für at the final position in the question number 4, which consequently

resulted in the following constructions: Wen ist das Geschenk für? (Eng. Who is this present for?). At

the same time, papers handed in by 19 pupils prove that the learners were not familiar

with such type of interrogatives or that they had difficulty in understanding the

meaning of the words. The Interrogatives constructed by them were: Wen für ist das

Geschenk? (7 students), Wer ist das für Geschenk? (2), Ist das Geschenk für? (3), Wen ist für das Geschenk?

(8). Only 8 of the 50 Interrogatives were correct.

The widely spread application of „English way‟ of forming Wh Interrogatives withprepositions can also be corroborated

by questions created in no 5. As much as 48 questions submitted contained preposition an

in the final position, which produced the outcome: Wo(r) denkst du an?(Eng. What are you thinking

about?). Two more Interrogatives provided were: Wo du denkst an? and Du denkst wo an?

To conclude, the above findings clearly demonstrate the negative influence of therules governing „English‟ syntax on the process of forming Interrogatives in Germanlanguage by the pupils attending the classes with extensive program of English language.

The results obtained confirm the fact that English can exert both positive and negativeinfluence on learning German as a second language. It emerges that the beneficial impactof English is may be traced in constructing German Interrogatives of the parallel type.Nonetheless, it transpires that the knowledge of English can also be detrimental inlearning German Interrogatives containing preposition where different WO is applied.

55

Part III. Word Order in Compound and Complex Sentences (3.1, 3.2, 3.3)

COMPOUND AND COMPLEX SENTENCES (sentences 1 - 30)

+ -

1. She has a lot of time and she goes to the cinema. a) Sie hat viel Zeit und sie geht ins Kino. b) Sie hat viel Zeit und geht sie ins Kino.

36

14

2. I have a big house, besides I have an expensive car. a) Ich habe eine große Wohnung, außerdem ich habe ein teures Auto.

b) Ich habe eine große Wohnung, außerdem habe ich ein teures Auto.

26

24

3. They have got a lot of money because they work hard. a) Sie haben viel Geld, denn arbeiten sie schwer. b) Sie haben viel Geld, denn sie arbeiten schwer.

19

31

4. My sister has little money, yet she flies to Africa. a) Meine Schwester hat wenig Geld, trotzdem sie fliegt nach Afrika.

b) Meine Schwester hat wenig Geld, trotzdem fliegt sie nach Afrika.

25

25

5. Monika goes to school, then she works. a) Monika geht zur Schule, dann sie arbeitet. b) Monika geht zur Schule, dann arbeitet sie.

19

31

56

6. I have a big family in fact, but I am not happy in fact. a) Ich habe zwar eine große Familie, aber bin ich unglücklich. b) Ich habe zwar eine große Familie, aber ich bin unglücklich.

26

24

7. She has an exam, therefore she learns. a) Sie hat eine Prüfung, deshalb lernt sie. b) Sie hat eine Prüfung, deshalb sie lernt.

19

31

8. He goes swimming or he plays football. a) Er geht schwimmen oder spielt er Fußball. b) Er geht schwimmen oder er spielt Fußball.

26

24

9. She is a beautiful person but she is unreasonable. a) Sie ist eine schöne Person, aber sie ist unvernüftig. b) Sie ist eine schöne Person, aber ist sie unvernüftig

44

6

10.

Learn now, otherwise you will fail the exam. a) Lern jetzt, sonst fällst du bei der Prüfung durch. b) Lern jetzt, sonst du fällst bei der Prüfung durch.

20

30

11.

That he is unhappy worries me. a) Dass er unglücklich ist, sorgt mich. b) Dass er ist unglücklich, sorgt mich.

20

30

12.

Whether he likes her isdoubtful. a) Ob er sie mag, ist fraglich. b) Ob er mag sie, ist fraglich.

23

27

13.

She knows when we have a meeting. a) Sie weiß, wann wir haben ein Treffen. b) Sie weiß, wann wir ein Treffen haben.

28

22

14.

He asked me why I was irritated. a)Er fragte mich, warum ich war aufgeregt. b)Er fragte mich, warum ich aufgeregt war.

25

25

15.

Michael‟s view is that family is the most important thing. a) Michael‟s Meinung ist, dass eine Familie ist am wichtigsten. b) Michael‟s Meinung ist,dass eine Familie am wichtigsten ist.

12

38

16.

If I am sad, I listen to the radio. a) Wenn ich bin traurig, ich höre das Radio. b) Wenn ich traurig bin, höre ich das Radio.

20

30

17.

When he was in Germany, he visited my aunt. a) Als er war in Deutschland, er besuchte meine Tante. b) Als er in Deutschland war, besuchte er meine Tante.

25

25

18.

She eats fruit whenever sheis hungry. a) Sie ist Obst,sooft sie ist hungrig. b) Sie ist Obst, sooft sie hungrig ist.

20

30

19.

As soon as I come back home, I will call you. a) Sobald ich nach Hause zurückkomme, werde ich dich anrufen. b) Sobald ich zurückkomme nach Hause, ich werde anrufen dich.

25

25

20.

While I was listening to the radio, my brother was reading a book. a) Während ich hörte das Radio, mein Bruder las ein Buch. b) Während ich das Radio hörte, las mein Bruder ein Buch.

18

32

21.

It is as dangerous as you say. a) Es ist so drohend, wie du sagst. b) Es ist so drohend, wie sagst du.

21 29

22.

She is as slim as she was 10 years ago. a) Sie ist so dünn, wie sie war vor 10 Jahren. b) Sie ist so dünn, wie sie vor 10 Jahren war.

14

36

23. The more you earn, the easier your life is. a) Je mehr du verdienst, desto leichter dein Leben ist.

10

40

57

b) Je mehr du verdienst, desto leichter ist dein Leben. 24. He needs money to buy a car.

a) Er braucht das Geld um zu kaufen das Auto. b) Er braucht das Geld um das Auto zu kaufen.

29

21

25. I give him money so that he buys a car. a) Ich gebe ihm das Geld, damit er das Auto kauft. b) Ich gebe ihm das Geld, damit er kauft das Auto.

17

33

26. I like my friend because she is amusing. a) Ich mag meine Freundin, weil sie ist lustig. b) Ich mag meine Freundin, weil sie lustig ist.

21

29

27. It is so cold that we stay at home. a) Es ist so kalt, dass wir zu Hause bleiben. b) Es ist so kalt, dass wir bleiben zu Hause.

21

29

28. Although it is cold, we go climbing. a) Obwohl es ist kalt, wir gehen ins Gebirge. b) Obwohl es kalt ist, gehen wir ins Gebirge.

26

24

29. I go to the club, although I have an exam tomorrow. a) Ich gehe zur Disco, obwohl ich habe die Prüfung morgen. b) Ich gehe zur Disco, obwohl ich morgen die Prüfung habe.

18

32

30. It is cold, however, we go climbing. a) Es ist kalt, trotzdem gehen wir ins Gebirge. b) Es ist kalt, trotzdem wir gehen ins Gebirge.

22

28

Fig. 11

Detailed balance sheet of correct and incorrect answers in Compound and Complex Sentences.

Compound Sentences (3.1) CO-ORDINATE CLAUSES (sentences: 1-10)

English & German Subject –VerbWord

Order (SV WO)

(sentences:1,3,6,8,9) total

number ofsentences:

250

German, Inverted Word Order

(Inv. WO)

(sentences:2,4,5,7,10) total

number of sentences:250

Correct

151 (60,4 %)

109 (43,6 %)

Incorrect

99 (39,6 %)

141 (56,4 %)

Fig. 12

WO in Compound Sentences.

58

Part III of the survey (fig.11) consisted of 30 Compound and Complex Sentences with two

equivalent translations in German language to choose from. One of each options given was

a direct translation of English sentence (SV WO) into German whilst the other presented

an inverted word order. Sentences were divided into two groups i.e., five sentences

with conjunctions allowing simple word order, i.e. S V WO (und/and, denn/because, zwar…aber/

but in fact, oder/or, aber/but) and five sentences with the conjunctions „demanding‟ the inverted

word order (Inv. WO) in the German language (auβerdem/besides, trotzdem/yet, dann/then,

deshalb/therefore, sonst/otherwise). As can be inferred from the constructions of sentences:

2,4,5,7,10 listed (fig. 11), the

Inv. WO is characterized by the position of the verb immediately after any of theconjunctions: auβerdem/besides, trotzdem/yet, dann/then, deshalb/therefore, sonst/otherwise. To make thetask more demanding, the sentences were mixed together so that little possible logicalconnection could be discovered between the structures of the sentences given.

As can be seen in the table above (fig.12), the percentage of incorrect optionschosen with regard to sentences requiring Inv. WO outnumbered the percentage of correctanswers. It thus emerges that there is a marked tendency for the pupils to refer toEnglish SV WO while selecting equivalent German translations.

Complex Sentences (3.2) NOUN CLAUSES (sentences: 11 – 15)

Noun Clauses

functioning asSubject

(sentences: 11,12)

Total number of sentences: 100

Noun Clausesfunctioning as Direct

Object

(sentences: 13,14) Total number of sentences: 100

Noun Clausesfunctioning as

Subject Complement (sentence: 15)Total number of

sentences: 50

CorrectGerman

V last WO

43 (43 %)

53 (53 %)

12 (24 %)

Incorrect English SV WO

57 (57 %)

47 (47 %)

38 (76 %)

Fig. 13

WO in Complex Sentences, Noun Clauses.

Part 3.2 and 3.3 dealt with Complex Sentences functioning as Noun Clauses and AdverbialClauses which, in comparison to Compound Sentences, are characterized by V last WO. Theabove table pertains to Noun Clauses while consecutive one is concerned with AdverbialClauses. Majority of mistakes made by the pupils in this section regarded Noun Clausesfunctioning as Subject (57%) and as Subject Complement (76%). At the same time, almost

59

half of the learners chose a wrong translation of the Noun Clauses functioning as DirectObject.

Adverbial Clauses (3.3)

ADVERBIAL CLAUSES (sentences: 16 – 30)

Clauses of Time

(sentences: 16 -20) Total number of sentences: 250

Clauses of Manner and Comparison

(sentences: 21-23) Total number of sentences: 150

Clauses of Purpose (sentences: 24,25) Total number of

sentences: 100

CorrectGerman

V last WO

108 (43,2 %)

45 (30 %)

46 (46 %)

60


142 (56,8 %)

105 (70 %)

54 (54 %)

ADVERBIAL CLAUSES

Clauses of Reason and Result

(sentences: 26, 27) Total number of sentences:

100

Clauses of Concession

(sentences: 28 - 30) Total number of sentences:

150

Correct German

V last WO

42 (42 %)

66 (44 %)


58 (58 %)

84 (56 %)

Fig. 14

Balance sheets of the results concerning Adverbial Clauses.

This part was made up of fifteen sentences of Adverbial type. As can be renderedfrom the table above majority of the

learners used to choose translations with SV WO in sentences where V last WO wasdemanded in German.

CO-ORDINATE AND SUBORDINATE CLAUSES (sentences: 1 – 30) Total number of sentences: 1500

Co-ordinateClauses

Total number of sentences:

500

Subordinate Clauses

Noun Clauses

Total number ofsentences: 250

Adverbial Clauses

Total number ofsentences: 750

61

Correct

260 (52 %)

108 (43,2 %)

307 (41 %)

TOTAL 675 (45 %)

Incorrect

240 (48 %) 142 (56,8 %) 443 (59 %)

TOTAL 825 (55%)

Fig. 15

Balance sheet of the total results of part III.

The above findings indicate that as much as 55 % of the Polish pupils attending theclasses with extensive program of English language and learning German as a secondforeign language opted for the answers following English SV WO in cases where Inv. Or Vlast WO should have been applied. On the basis of the results gathered, it can be seenthat over one half of the learners chose the direct translation of English sentences.This fact attests the phenomenon of the transference of the rules governing Englishsyntax onto learning German grammar as well as its negative effect.

By and large, the overall results of the survey has revealed the troublesome areas ofGerman syntax which form a significant obstacle in the process of learning thisparticular language by Polish pupils. From the tables above it can be seen that majorityof pupils tend to transfer the rules governing English syntax. Regardless the fact thatthe learners make mistakes in constructions which have the same WO in both languages,the most troublesome syntactic areas turn out to be the sentences in which differentWord Order is applied in English and German language.

Part IV. Concluding remarks. The first part of the survey (fig.7, fig.8) the translation of the English sentences

into German, proved to be the most challenging exercise to fulfill, which resulted from

the fact that the pupils have never dealt with English – German translations. Therefore

variety of mistakes made were caused not by the transference of English rules but by the

unfamiliarity with German vocabulary. Nonetheless, majority of learners did not have

problems with translating sentences with the same WO in both languages, e.g. sentences

no 1, 2, 9, 10. This fact can serve as a proof of beneficial effect of English language

on learning German. On the other hand, most mistakes were made during translation of

sentences possessing different WO in English and German, e.g., sentences 3 8. Despite

the fact that most mistakes were caused by unacquitance with German vocabulary, some of

them clearly demonstrate the transference of English SV WO were it should not be

applied. Learners tend to forget about the „German‟ rule of Verb-second position in the

62

sentence, which is not present in English language. This conclusion can be drawn on the

basis of 38 translations of the sentences containing adverbials: On Monday, we go to the disco

(sentence no 3) and I often listen to the radio (sentence no 4) into : On Montag wir gehen in die Disko

and Ich öft hore das Radio.

The positive and negative influence of English onto constructing German sentences canbe also depicted by the results of the second part of the survey (fig. 9, fig. 10).Students were almost flawless in forming Interrogatives which had the same WO in bothlanguages. However, as much as 92 % of the pupils displayed difficulty in building WhInterrogatives containing preposition.

Majority of Interrogatives (72 %) regarding point 4 and 5 were written according toEnglish WO which imply positioning of preposition at the final position.

The results of the third part of the survey reveal various types of Compound Sentenceswhich are difficult to master by the learners of German language due to their distinctstructure. As can be seen from Fig. 12 as much as 39,6 % of the pupils selected theGerman translation with the same WO as English sentences where „German‟ Inv or V last WOwas demanded. The problem of the learners regarding WO stems mainly from a number ofGerman conjunctions which relegate the verb either to a position immediately after them(Inv. WO) or to the end of the sentence (Vlast WO). Such division of the conjunctions isrestricted to German language forming the same an obstacle for the pupils of Englishstruggling to master German as a second foreign language.

As regards Coordinate Clauses, the most troublesome constructions turned out to be theones containing conjunctions denn/because, dann/then, deshalb/therefore, sonst/otherwise with thelast three conjunctions requiring Inv. WO. It is noteworthy that the number of mistakesmade regarding the conjunctions denn and dann was exactly the same and equaled 31. Theabove numbers not only indicate transference of English WO but also illustrate theproblems arising from overlapping English and German structures while learning theselanguages.

Subordinate Clauses (part. 3.2, 3.3.) in contrast to Compound Clauses are constructedaccording to V last WO. In other words, there is a must for the subject to be positionedimmediately after the conjunction and for the finite verb to be shifted to the finalposition. This feature is typical to German language, it does not exist in English andtherefore it poses another obstacle to surmount by learners of German language. Theresults relevant to this section (Subordinate Clauses) are also interesting andtherefore should not be left unnoticed. It is incontestable to claim that majority ofpupils opted for the translation written according English WO instead of German V lastorder. Suffice it to one example, i.e. sentence no 23 The more you earn, the easier your life is,

where 40 out of 50 learners chose the construction typical to English language, whichis: Je mehr du verdienst, desto leichter dein Leben ist.

Upon a closer analysis of the results it can be inferred that there is some relationbetween few subordinate conjunctions

which are of a particular difficulty for learners of German language. These includeconjunction dass/that (sentences:11,15,27) and obwohl/ although (sentences: 28,29). It turnsout that a majority of the pupils chose SV WO constructions in all above sentences. Inaddition to this, it can be observed that more mistakes were made in sentences where

63

subordinate clause was placed after rather than before the main clause (sentences: 15,27, 29).

The above findings demonstrate strong tendency among Polish pupils learning German as

a second foreign language to apply the rules governing English syntax. However, it

cannot be overlooked that almost 40 % of the respondents made mistakes while selecting

answers demanding „English‟ SV WO (fig. 12). Another peculiar example is the translation

of the sentence having the same WO in both languages She is not old into Sie is alt nicht (fig. 7,

sentence 9). This fact in turn demonstrates a common application of a misleading rule

„in German it always tends to be the other way round‟, as was commented by some pupils,

and serves as the evidence of a recurrent reference to English WO. Nonetheless, the

results presented above prove conclusively that the adaptation of English WO in learning

German language is a recurrent pattern among German learners being the same far more

commonly applied method during learning of German syntax than so called „the other way‟technique. Furthermore, the results of the survey unearthed not only the influence of Englishlanguage in the field of syntax but also in the area of semantics. On the basis of thedata gathered in part I (fig.7) it can be seen that some pupils tend to resort toEnglish vocabulary in the search of German words. The following words can serve as anexample of borrowing English terms: lese instead of höre, meaning listen (sentence 6, columnCorrect WO + other errors), smoken instead of rauchen meaning smoke (sentence 8, column:Incorrect, Other errors excluding WO), musst nicht instead of darfst nicht meaning must not

(sentence 8, column Correct WO with + errors). Although the number of the borrowings wasnot significant, still it can illustrate the influence of English language on learningGerman.

What is more, the survey aimed at investigating problem connected with WOrevealed another area hindering the process of learning German by the pupils who havebeen exposed to English much longer than to German language. Overwhelming majority ofthe learners proved to have problems with modal verbs in German language. Not only didthey have problems with the choice of proper modal verb but also displayed difficultywith its conjugations (not present in English language), which can be exemplified inpart I (fig.7). This problem may ensue from the apparent similarity of German modalverbs müssen to English must and German können to English can. However, the answers toquestions concerning the strength and extent of influence of English in these fieldscould be provided only by conducting another surveys targeted at the mentioned areas.

To conclude, the survey clearly shows the frequency of transferring rulesgoverning English syntax onto learning German as a second foreign language by Polishpupils, attending the classes with extensive program of English language as well aspositive and negative consequences it entails. It also demonstrates the fact thatEnglish language can become a „bridge‟ facilitating learning the following Germanstructures: Simple Sentences containing Subject, Verb and Object; Negations in which thenegative word nicht/not negates adjective; Negations in which kein/no negates the givennoun, Yes/ No Questions and Specific Questions characterized by subjectverb inversion;Compound Sentences containing linking words which do not influence the WO of a sentence.

64

Nonetheless, the results obtained revealed also areas of German grammar in which Englishlanguage exerts negative

impact, constituting the same the barrier to overcome by the learners. These are: SimpleSentences containing direct and indirect object; Simple Sentences beginning with theAdverbial of Time which require subjectverb inversion in German language; SimpleSentences containing modal verbs; Negations in which the negative word nicht/not negatesthe whole sentence; Questions containing preposition; Compound Sentences containinglinking words which necessitate subjectverb inversion in the clause following them;Complex Sentences governed by Vlast WO in German language.

It is noteworthy to point that the results obtained do not exclude the potential role ofmother tongue (Polish language) in

the process of learning both English and German as foreign languages. Nonetheless, itneeds to be mentioned that the acquisition to the syntax of the mother tongue isactually completed at the primary school and not proceeded further at the secondaryschool. Taking into account the fact that learning the first foreign language (English)is centered around constant revision and expansion of grammar rules typical to thisparticular language it can be presumed that the pupils of a secondary school, masteringGerman as a second foreign language will refer predominantly to the rules governing thefirst foreign language (English) and not their mother tongue (Polish).

The process of learning German language by the pupils attending the classes withextensive program of English

language could be enhanced if teachers devoted more attention to those areas of Germansyntax which are distinct from English ones. Identification of such areas could beeasily achieved by conducting surveys adjusted to the needs of individual classes. It isbelieved that the data gathered in this survey will be of a help both to English andGerman learners.

.

65

References

1. Alexander, L.G. (1988). Longman English Grammar. Harlow: Longman Group UK Ltd.

2. Bęza, S. (2003). Nowe Repetytorium z Gramatyki Języka Niemieckiego. Warszawa: WydawnictwoSzkolne PWN.

3. Biber, D., Johnson, S., Leech, G., Conrad. S., Finegan. E. (1999). Longman grammar ofspoken and written English. Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd.

4. Braber, N., Johnson, S. (2008). Exploring the German Language. New York: CambridgeUniversity Press.

5. Buck, T. (1999). A concise German Grammar. New York: Oxford University Press.

6. Buscha, J., Heibig, G. (1991). Deutsche Grammatik. Ein Handbuch für den Ausländerunterricht.München: Langenscheidt.

7. Chalker, S. (1992). A Student‟s Grammar of English. Harlow: Longman. 8. Dodd, B., Eckhard - Black, Ch., Klapper, J., Whittle, R. (2005). Modern German

Grammar. A practical guide. London and New York: Taylor & Francis Group.

9. Donaldson, B. (2006). German. An Essential Grammar. London and New York: Taylor & FrancisGroup.

10. Evans, V. (1998). CPE Use of English Examination Practice. Swansea: Express Publishing. 11. Evans, V. (2001). FCE Use Of English 2. Berkshire: Express Publishing.

12. Fandrych, Ch., Tallovitz, U. (2002). Klipp un Klar. Gramatyka Języka Niemieckiego z ćwiczeniami.Poznań: Wydawnictwo LektorKlett.

13. Gozdawa – Gołębiowski, R., Jasińska, B., Kryński, S., Prejbisz, A. (1995). Nowa

Gramatyka Angielska w Ćwiczeniach. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.

14. Greenbaum, S and Quirk, R. (1990). A Student‟s Grammar of the English Languge. Harlow:Longman.

15. Huddleston, R. & Pullum, G. K. 2005. A Student‟s Introduction to English Grammar. Cambridge:CUP

16. Kettemann, B. (1982). “Syntactic Interference German – English”, in: Fisiak, J.(ed.). Papers and Studies in Contrastive

Linguistics, vol. XIV, Poznań: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwerystetu im. Adama

Mickiewicza: 157 -177. <http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED262588.pdf > (accessed on

March 10th 2011)

17. Łuniewska, K., Tworek, U., Wąsik, Z., Zagórna, M. (2008). Alles Klar, poziom podstawowy.Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Szkolne i Pedagogiczne.

66

18. Miell, A., Schenke, H. (2006). Intermediate German. Grammar and Wordbook. London and NewYork: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.

19. Oxford Advanced English Dictionary. (2005). Oxford: Oxford University Press. 20. Side, R. and Wellman, G. (2002). Grammar and Vocabulary for Cambridge Advanced and Proficiency.

Harlow: Longman. Internet sources: <https://sites.google.com/a/napls.us/middle-school-global-languages/> (accessed onFebruary 10th 2011) <http://quotationsbook.com/quote/38904/> (accessed on March 29th 2011)

Appendix I The survey on the influence of English WO onto learning German syntax. I. Translate the sentences into German. Write the translations in the space provided.

1. I study

German .......................................................................

...............................................................................

... 2. I give him a

car. ..........................................................................

...............................................................................

3. I must learn

English ......................................................................

............................................................................

4. I can speak

German .......................................................................

........................................................................... 5.

67

On Monday we go to the

disco .........................................................................

......................................................... 6. I often listen to

the

radio .........................................................................

................................................................... 7. I don‟t

go to

school . .....................................................................

.............................................................................

8. You must not smoke

here ..........................................................................

................................................................ 9. She is not

old ....... ...................................................................

...............................................................................

... 10. I have no

friends .. ....................................................................

...............................................................................

..

II. Use the words listed below to form questions. You are allowed to put the number above every word instead

of rewriting the full questions.

1. fährst / nach / Italien/

du / ............ ..............................................................

............................................................ ? 2. wann / besuchst

/ mich /

du / ..........................................................................

....................................................... ?

3. wohnt / in Hamburg /wer / ......... .......................................................................................................................... ?

4. wen / ist / das / Geschenk /für / ............................................................................................................................. ?

5. wo(r) / denkst / du /an / ........................................................................................................................................ ?

68

III. From the options below, circle the correct translation (a or b) of English sentences.

1. She has a lot of time and she goes to the cinema.

a) Sie hat viel Zeit und sie geht ins Kino. b) Sie hat viel Zeit und geht sie ins Kino

2. I have a big house, besides I have an expensive car. a) Ich habe eine große Wohnung, außerdem ich habe ein teures Auto. b) Ich habe eine große Wohnung, außerdem habe ich ein teures Auto.

3. They have got a lot of money because they work hard. a) Sie haben viel Geld, denn arbeiten sie schwer. b) Sie haben viel Geld, denn sie arbeiten schwer.

4. My sister has little money, yet she flies to Africa. a) Meine Schwester hat wenig Geld, trotzdem sie fliegt nach Afrika. b) Meine Schwester hat wenig Geld, trotzdem fliegt sie nach Afrika.

5. Monika goes to school, then she works. a) Monika geht zur Schule, dann sie arbeitet. b) Monika geht zur Schule, dann arbeitet sie

6. I have a big family, but I am not happy in fact. a) Ich habe zwar eine große Familie, aber bin ich unglücklich. b) Ich habe zwar eine große Familie, aber ich bin unglücklich.

7. She has an exam, therefore she learns. a) Sie hat eine Prüfung, deshalb lernt sie. b) Sie hat eine Prüfung, deshalb sie lernt.

8. He goes swimming or he plays football. a) Er geht schwimmen oder spielt er Fußball. b) Er geht schwimmen oder er spielt Fußball.

9. She is a beautiful person but she is unreasonable. a) Sie ist eine schöne Person, aber sie ist unvernüftig. b) Sie ist eine schöne Person, aber ist sie unvernüftig. .

10. Learn now, otherwise you will fail the exam. a) Lern jetzt, sonst fällst du bei der Prüfung durch. b) Lern jetzt, sonst du fällst bei der Prüfung durch.

11. That he is unhappy worries me.

69

a) Dass er unglücklich ist, sorgt mich. b) Dass er ist unglücklich, sorgt mich.

12. Whether he likes her is doubtful. a) Ob er sie mag, ist fraglich. b) Ob er mag sie, ist fraglich.

13. She knows when we have a meeting. a) Sie weiß, wann wir haben ein Treffen. b)Sie weiß, wann wir ein Treffen haben.

14. He asked me why I was irritated. a) Er fragte mich, warum ich war aufgeregt. b) Er fragte mich, warum ich aufgeregt war.

15. Michael‟s view is that family is the most important thing. a)Michael‟s Meinung ist, dass eine Familie ist am wichtigsten. b) Michael‟s Meinung ist, dass eine Familie am wichtigsten ist.

16. If I am sad, I listen to the radio. a) Wenn ich bin traurig, ich höre das Radio. b) Wenn ich traurig bin, höre ich das Radio.

17. When he was in Germany, he visited my aunt. a) Als er war in Deutschland, er besuchte meine Tante. b) Als er in Deutschland war, besuchte er meine Tante.

18. She eats fruit whenever she is hungry. a) Sie ist Obst, sooft sie ist hungrig. b) Sie ist Obst, sooft sie hungrig ist.

19. As soon as I come back home, I will call you. a) Sobald ich nach Hause zurückkomme, werde ich dich anrufen. b) Sobald ich zurückkomme nach Hause, ich werde anrufen dich.

20. While I was listening to the radio, my brother was reading a book. a) Während ich hörte das Radio, mein Bruder las ein Buch. b) Während ich das Radio hörte, las mein Bruder ein Buch.

21. It is as dangerous as you say. a) Es ist so drohend, wie du sagst. b) Es ist so drohend, wie sagst du.

22. She is as slim as she was 10 years ago. a) Sie ist so dünn, wie sie war 10 Jahren vor. b) Sie ist so dünn, wie sie vor 10 Jahren war.

23. The more you earn, the easier your life is. a) Je mehr du verdienst, desto leichter dein Leben ist. b) Je mehr du verdienst, desto leichter ist dein Leben.

24. He needs money to buy a car. a) Er braucht das Geld, um zu kaufen das Auto. b) Er braucht das Geld, um das Auto zu kaufen.

25. I give him money so that he buys a car. a) Ich gebe ihm das Geld, damit er das Auto kauft. b) Ich gebe ihm das Geld, damit er kauft das Auto.

26. I like my friend because she is amusing. a) Ich mag meine Freundin, weil sie ist lustig. b) Ich mag meine Freundin, weil sie lustig ist.

27. It is so cold that we stay at home. a) Es ist so kalt, dass wir zu Hause bleiben. b) Es ist so kalt, dass wir bleiben zu Hause.

28. Although it is cold, we go climbing. a) Obwohl es ist kalt, wir gehen ins Gebirge. b) Obwohl es kalt ist, gehen wir ins Gebirge.

29. I go to the club, although I have an exam tomorrow. a) Ich gehe zur Disco, obwohl ich habe die Prüfung morgen.

70

b) Ich gehe zur Disco, obwohl ich morgen die Prüfung habe. 30. It is cold, however we go climbing.

a) Es ist kalt, trotzdem gehen wir ins Gebirge. b) Es ist kalt, trotzdem wir gehen ins Gebirge.

Summary in Polish Praca stanowi próbę zaprezentowania roli zasad gramatycznych języka angielskiego w nauce

języka niemieckiego jako

71

drugiego języka obcego u uczniów szkoły średniej, klasy o profilu językowym z

poszerzonym programem języka angielskiego. Biorąc pod uwagę fakt, iż powyższe języki

mają wspólne korzenie historyczne, obfitują one w liczne podobieństwa leksykalne a także

gramatyczne, które sprawiają, iż język angielski może przyjąć status „pomostu‟

ułatwiającego przyswajanie języka niemieckiego oraz „bariery‟ mającej destrukcyjny wpływ

na ten proces. Okazuje się bowiem iż analogie łączące te dwa podobne, a zarazem różne

języki są bardzo często pozorne gdyż kryją w sobie wiele rozbieżności. Przykładem tego

zjawiska może być zbliżona pisownia niektórych wyrazów i odmienna pozycja zajmowana

przez nie w zdaniach w języku angielskim i niemieckim.

Aby zrozumieć proces interferencji języka angielskiego oraz jego roli w nauce językaniemieckiego, należy dokonać

analizy reguł syntaktycznych obu tych języków. Dlatego też zasadą przewodnią pracy jest

równoległe przedstawienie konstrukcji zdań prostych i złożonych w odniesieniu do języka

angielskiego i niemieckiego.

W rozdziale pierwszym zawarte zostały informacje dotyczące podstawowych elementów

wchodzących w skład zdania, takich jak podmiot, orzeczenie, dopełnienie, okolicznik, a

także opis czasowników przechodnich, nieprzechodnich, osobowych, nieosobowych i

czasowników łącznikowych. Ponadto rozdział ten zawiera uproszczony opis podziału zdań

na zdania proste, zdania złożone współrzędnie i podrzędnie.

Omówione cechy części składniowych, zawarte w rozdziale pierwszym stanowią punkt

odniesienia dla analizy zasad dotyczących konstruowania zdań prostych w języku

angielskim oraz ich potencjalnego wpływu na naukę równoległych zdań niemieckich ze

szczególnym uwzględnieniem zdań twierdzących, przeczących, a także pytań, opisywanych w

rozdziale drugim. Rozdział trzeci natomiast został poświęcony zestawieniu szyku

wyrazów obowiązującym w przypadku zdań podrzędnie złożonych podmiotowych oraz

okolicznikowych, których konstrukcja różni się znacząco w obu wspomnianych językach.

Przedstawione w tym rozdziale informacje opisują również konsekwencje odmiennej

struktury angielskich zdań podrzędnie złożonych na naukę paralelnych struktur

niemieckich.

Założenia przedstawione w powyższych częściach pracy zostały poddane szczegółowej

weryfikacji w rozdziale 4 za pośrednictwem ankiety przeprowadzonej z 50 uczniami w

klasie III, Liceum Ogólnokształcącego o profilu z poszerzonym programem języka

angielskiego. Celem badania było ukazanie w jakim stopniu uczniowie, rozwijający

znajomość języka niemieckiego jako drugiego języka obcego, posługują się nabytymi

wcześniej zasadami dotyczącymi szyku wyrazów w języku angielskim, a także

zidentyfikowanie obszarów składni niemieckiej, których nauka może zostać ułatwiona, jak

i utrudniona poprzez interferencje tychże zasad.

Otrzymane rezultaty wykazują korzystny wpływ języka angielskiego oraz typowych dla niegoreguł syntaktycznych na

konstruowanie zdań niemieckich posiadających taki sam szyk, a także jego destrukcyjny

charakter w przypadku struktur mających odmienny szyk w języku niemieckim. Wyniki

72

ankiety dowodzą zatem, iż język angielski odgrywa istotną rolę, którą można określić

mianem „pomostu‟, jak i „bariery‟ w nauce języka niemieckiego jako drugiego języka

obcego u uczniów szkoły średniej, klasy o profilu z poszerzonym programem języka

angielskiego.

Rezultaty ankiety demonstrują ponadto fakt, iż częstym zjawiskiem mającym miejsce

podczas przyswajania składni niemieckiej jest stosowanie „odwrotnych‟ do języka

angielskiego reguł, co wynika z błędnego przekonania, iż „w języku niemieckim jest

zawsze odwrotnie niż w angielskim”. Z przeprowadzonej ankiety wynika, iż 39,6%

odpowiedzi wymagających użycia szyku prostego zarówno w języku angielskim, jak i

niemieckim, zawierało „odwrotny‟ do języka angielskiego szyk przestawny. Powyższe

informacje dowodzą zatem, iż odwoływanie się do języka angielskiego podczas nauki języka

niemieckiego jako drugiego języka obcego jest bardzo częstym zjawiskiem (wśród uczniów

szkoły średniej), przyczyniającym się jednocześnie do nadania językowi angielskiemu

statusu „pomostu‟ ułatwiającego naukę języka niemieckiego, jak i „bariery‟ stanowiącej

przeszkodę w realizacji tego zamierzenia. Aby zatem ułatwić ten proces, warto zwrócić

szczególną uwagę na podobieństwa i różnice występujące w obydwu językach. Osiągnięcie

tego celu było inicjatywą do powstania pracy, która stanowi próbę wyjścia naprzeciw

temu wyzwaniu.

73

The role of English language in learning German as a second foreign language by Polish pupils

Documents

Transcript of The role of English language in learning German as a second foreign language by Polish pupils