Lexical PSM-L2 resource deficit

Figure 4.2 below shows the first sub classification, lexical PSM, within the first main category ‘PSM related to L2 resource deficit’.

Figure 4.2 PSM related to L2 resource deficit

As can be seen in Figure 4.2, this subcategory is divided into five other subtypes which each include various CSs, thus constituting the subcategory with the most strategies; a fact that has made it the more studied problem area. This might indicate as Dӧrnyei & Kormos (1998) point out: ‘that a great proportion of the problems speakers encounter during speech production is lexis-related’ (p.358). The first subtype within this lexical PSM is called ‘content reduction’, which refers to those mechanisms utilised in order to ‘help the speaker to get over the problem situation and thus avoid a complete communication breakdown’ (p.362). The first CS within this subtype, message abandonment, is a type of avoidance strategy where the speaker gives up attempting to express his/her meaning and thus leaves

PSM related to L2 RD lexical PSM content reduction message abandonment message reduction message replacement substitution code switching

approximation _{approximation} sub- use-of-all- purpose word complete omission substitution plus foreignising grammatical word coinage literal translation use of cognates macro- reconceptualisation restructuring micro- reconceptualisation circumlocution offering two alternatives 54

the message unfinished. This can be seen in the following example, where the speaker, after some hesitation and pausing, just stops the message and laughs. Her behaviour is later confirmed in her comments, where she indicates that she did not know how to continue. Example 4.1 message abandonment

NNS6: para mi es el mismo pero eh no eh no hizo mi trabajo uhm después el el día antes de -risa-de debo eh darlo y eh (0.4) sí-risa

for me it’s the same but eh I doesn’t eh doesn’t do my work uhm after the the day before mu-laugh-mu I must eh give it and eh (0.4) yes-laugh

Retrospective comments NNS6: I was trying to say I always leave my work till the last minute but I didn’t know how to say ‘the last minute’ so I was trying to say the day before I have to hand it in (NNS5: yeah I got that) I was trying to think of a different way of saying it but still put across the same message. And then I didn’t know what else to say and I didn’t think I made any sense-laugh.

The following CS within the lexical PSM is message reduction, which is defined by the above mentioned scholars as ‘reducing the message by avoiding certain language structures or topics considered problematic language wise or by leaving out some intended elements for a lack of linguistic resources’ (p.359). In the example below it is clear from what the learner says that she is using fewer words, by leaving out some items, thus reducing her message so as to be able to get her meaning across. The underlined sentence should have been uttered as in ‘crees que es el mismo chico...’

Example 4.2 message reduction NS: [con copa de champan?]

[with glass of champagne?]

NNS22: [champan sí-risa-piensas el mismo chico pero ah

[champagne yes-laugh-do you think the same boy but ah

NS: [va con un traje

negro?]

[is he dressed with a blacksuit?]

Retrospective comments NNS22: ...I think I just got scared to say too many words because the more you say the more that's gonna be wrong- laugh-so I just said a few words at a time.

The last CS subtype within ‘content reduction’ refers to message replacement, which has to do with a partial replacement of the message substituting it with a new alternative one. On a few occasions, this strategy in particular was difficult to differentiate from the CS called

restructure, which is also a lexical type of CS, but which according to my data refers more to leaving an utterance unfinished and changing it by finding a different way of expressing the message. The partial replacement referred to in message replacement can be observed in the following excerpt, where NNS5, as she expresses in her comments, could not say what she originally intended to, but managed to continue and thus tried to communicate the same idea with an alternative message.

Example 4.3 message replacement

NNS5: eh (0.3) cuando eh está en una no sé cómo se llama-risa-como cuando eh cuando mis amigos eh no tienen el mismo eh opiniones en una cosa y es difícil porque …

eh (0.3) when eh is in a I don’t know what’s called-laugh-like when eh when my friends eh don’t have the same eh opinions in a thing and it’s difficult because… Retrospective comments NNS5: there I wanted to say: ‘when there is a disagreement with your friends or an argument between your friends’ (so then you said ‘cuando está and then…) yeah- laugh- I just missed out I just didn’t know how to say argument or disagreement -laugh.

The following CS subtype within the ‘lexical resource deficit PSM’ points to those mechanisms whose main function is the ‘substitution’ of the message or part of it, through the changing or omission of the original plan for an alternative one. Learners can substitute L2 lexical items for their L1 equivalents, code switching, use an approximate or related term,

approximation, or resort to a related term, but within a restricted lexical set, sub- approximation. Regarding the former one, code switching, the example below shows how NNS12 has to use an L1 word in order to communicate the intended meaning, in this case she meant to say ‘traje’ (‘costume’), as referring to the man in the pictures the learners were describing.

Example 4.4 code switching NNS11: [se viste en en el

[he is dressed in in the]

NNS12: [si en un costume-risa-negro

[yes in a costume-laugh-black]

The second CS that of approximation is used by NNS6, in the following example, when trying to communicate the word ‘coat’, as she commented later. She did not know the exact L2 word for ‘coat’ so she decided to use a related term, in this case ‘jacket’, and thus be able to express her meaning.

Example 4.5 approximation

NNS6: hay una fo fota ah con el señor y eh se vesti eh una cha chaque chaqueta eh y eh (0.3) (I don’t know how to say it)

There is a pho photo ah with the gentleman and eh he is dress eh a ja jack jacket eh and eh (0.3) (I don’t know how to say it)

Retrospective comments NNS6: I was trying to say ‘he’s wearing a coat’ but I didn’t know the word for ‘coat’ but I knew the word ‘chaqueta’ so it’s similar.

The following CS called sub-approximation is a phenomenon that was observed in the analysis of the present data, and therefore it constitutes a new strategy within this adapted analytical framework. As mentioned above, it refers to the use of a related term within a restricted lexical set. This can be seen in the example below, where NNS14 meant to say ‘something’ (‘algo’), as she comments later, but uttered ‘someone’ (‘alguien’) instead, hence selecting the wrong pronoun within this set of indefinite pronouns.

Example 4.6 sub-approximation

NNS14: [señalando-risa- eh ah al alguien pero no sé qué

[pointing-laugh-eh ah some someone but I don’t know what

NS: (vale)

(ok)

Retrospective comments NNS14: (alguien?) I meant ‘something’ ‘alguien’ is someone isn’t it? Yeah I was trying to say ‘he’s pointing at something but I don’t know what’. But I said ‘someone’ so that probably confused her-laugh.

The next CS within the substitution subtype is use-of-all-purpose word; where learners substitute the words they need with an ‘empty’ lexical item, such as thing, stuff, etc. In the present data, learners mainly used the words ‘cosas’ (‘things’) and ‘algo así’ (‘something like that’). Additionally, if not knowing a word learners may leave a gap in their message and carry on communicating as if the missing item had been uttered; this mechanism is called complete omission. The former CS is shown below, where NNS24 used the word ‘things’ when referring to ‘decorations’, as she herself mentions in her comments.

Example 4.7 use-of-all-purpose word

NNS24: pero el está portando otra otra ropa y esta colgando las-gestos-eh poniendo las cosas-gestos-en…

but he is carrying another another clothes and is hanging the-gestures-eh putting the things-gestures-in…

Retrospective comments NNS24: I think I wanted to say 'decorations' I don't know why I just tried 'decoraciones', I think when you look at something you think it will be more complicated than it is ‘cause it's just ‘decoraciones’, but you think it could be quite complex you sort of start simplifying a bit more, I guess it was better for me to say that because it was quicker and...

The latter CS mentioned above, complete omission, can be observed in the example below, where although NNS17 does not comment on it, it is clear that she meant to say ‘tengo el dibujo siguiente...’ (I have the following picture...), but opted for omitting the word ‘dibujo’ (picture) because of not knowing or remembering how to say it.

Example 4.8 complete omission

NNS17: oh sí sí y tengo el después cuando ha usado el saca corchos y…

oh yes yes I have the after when he has used the corkscrew and...

The subsequent CS subtype, ‘substitution plus’ strategies, refers to those instances where ‘the speaker may also apply L1 or L2 morphological and phonological encoding processes’ (p.362) as in foreignising, where the learner ‘employs an L1 word and adjusts it to the L2 phonology or morphology’ (p.360). In the following example, the speaker herself indicates that she is adapting an L2 word (‘hipnoterapia’) by making it sound Spanish, and thus adjusting it to the L2 equivalent.

Example 4.9 foreignising

NNS13: pues hago el yoga todos los días y hipnotera hipno-te-rapia también

well I do the yoga everyday and hypnothera hypno-the-rapy too

Retrospective comments NNS13: I didn’t know what hypnotherapy was, I just guessed it (what did you do?) I knew ‘ therapy’ and ‘cause I’ve heard ‘therapy’ added to the first bit, and the first bit sounds like it comes from Latin or something and I always do that I guess and make it sound like it should be.

In this CS subtype (‘substitution plus’), learners can also ‘create a non-existing L2 word by applying a supposed L2 rule to an existing L2 word’ (p.360), thus employing grammatical word coinage. In the example below, it can be seen that NNS8 is uncertain of the word ‘vecinidad’, since she also applied the CS own accuracy check to see whether the word is correct or if the NS understands her. When commenting on the use of this word, she clarifies that she meant something more similar to ‘neighbourhood’, ‘vecindario’ in Spanish, which is the word given by the NS.

Example 4.10 Grammatical word coinage

NNS8: ...colegio eh tuve eh mis amigos muy diferentes de aquí eh porque mis amigos

...school eh I had eh my friends very different from here eh because my friends

eh de mi vecinidad↑ De mi

eh of my *vicinity↑ of my

NS: [vecindario

[neighbourhood

Retrospective comments NNS8: I wanted to say of my area so I said ‘vicinity’, well I thought it was ‘vecinidad’ is that right?

Learners can also employ literal translation by resorting to their L1 or L3 to translate literally their message partially or completely, as can be seen in the excerpt below, where NNS5 realises that she used the wrong word when uttering ‘preguntar por dinero’ (‘ask about money’) instead of ‘pedir dinero’ (‘ask for money’). As she could not probably remember the correct word, she opted for translating it literally from the English ‘ask for money’.

Example 4.11 literal translation

NNS5: cuando no tengo mucho y y tengo que eh hablar con mi mamá-risa-y eh pregunta la a por dinero-risa-porque no tengo-risa-

when I don’t have much and and I have to eh speak to mi mom-laugh-and eh ask her ah for money-laugh-because I don’t have-laugh-

Retrospective comments NNS5: then I meant ‘ask for money’ (preguntar?) oh yeah is that for question right? Laugh- oh I just used the wrong word-laugh.

The last mechanism within the ‘subtitution plus’ CSs addresses a new phenomenon observed in the data, and thus added to this adapted framework: use of cognates. This new CS refers to the use of an existing L2 word that looks the same as the L1 equivalent, but which has a different L2 meaning.

Example 4.12 use of cognates

NNS13: entonces mi mamá me meee di dijo que es una buena manera para paaraaaa copiarr no copiar para (0.2) estar con esa

then my mom tol told me mee that it is a good way to too copy no copy to (0.2) to be with that

Retrospective comments NNS13: I wanted to say ‘to deal with it’ but I had no idea how to say that (cope?) yeah but that’s wrong isn’t it, it’s like ‘copy’... sometimes you can translate verbs like so easily, but I knew that it wasn’t ‘copiar’ so I just said it (to yourself?) yeah and then I said ‘no’ ‘cause I didn’t want everyone to know that that was the right thing, so probably to everyone as well like ‘no no I didn’t mean that’-laugh.

The following subtype of CS within the ‘lexical subcategory of PSM’ refers to what has been labelled by Dӧrnyei & Kormos (1998) as ‘macro reconceptualisation’ which comprises the CS restructure. This mechanism is defined as ‘abandoning the execution of a verbal plan because of language difficulties, leaving the utterance unfinished and communicating the intended message according to an alternative plan’ (p.360). In several cases, this CS could be easily observed, even when comments had not been provided, in instances where for example the speaker starts producing his/her message, and then there is a sudden immediate change of that message leaving the former one unfinished, as shown in the following example.

Example 4.13 restructure

NNS23: …tres meses o algo así para practicar un poco el portugués es que ahora hoy estoy muy tengo muchas ganas hoy pero es que antes todo sería…

…three months or something like that to practise Portuguese a little it’s because now today I am very I feel much eager but it’s because before everything would be... Retrospective comments NNS23: I was gonna say 'yo soy like nervioso' or, but I couldn't think of the right word so I changed what I was saying.

The last CS subtype presented in the ‘lexical PSM’ refers to what is called ‘micro conceptualisation’ and which comprises two strategies: circumlocution and semantic word coinage. The former one has to do with exemplifying, describing or illustrating features of the L2 item or action to compensate for the exact word/s. In the excerpt below, for example, NNS5 does not know how to say ‘he is locking the car’, thus she tries to explain that the car (thing) is safe by saying ‘cuando cosa es seguro’ (‘when thing is safe’).

Example 4.14 circumlocution

NNS5: eh no abre-gestos-pero cuando cosa es seguro es-risa eh does not open-gestures-but when thing is safe is-laugh

Retrospective comments NNS5: I wanted to say ‘he’s locking’ but I didn’t know how to say ‘lock’.

The last CS within this subcategory has to do with a new mechanism which was observed in the data, and therefore added to this adapted framework: offering two alternatives. It refers to those problem related instances where the learner utters two related L2 words at the same time, because of feeling uncertain which one is correct, and in the belief that by producing both the interlocutor will understand either item and thus will comprehend the message. This can be observed in the following example, where NNS12 expresses in her comments that she was not sure whether it was ‘saber’ or ‘conocer’, both verbs meaning ‘to know’, and although she does not expand on her explanation, it is clear that she tried both verbs in order for the NS to understand her message.

Example 4.15 Offering two alternatives

NS: ah y tú estudias español y francés y alemán no?

ah and do you study Spanish and French and German, right?

NNS12: noo no no no sé o no conozco

noo I don’t don’t don’t know or don’t know* [‘know’, target word: conocer, conozco]

NS: ya

ok

Retrospective comments NNS12: I was like ‘no I don’t know them’ like ‘I don’t speak them’ like I was thinking ‘I don’t speak them’ and then I was like ‘is it saber or conocer’ like ‘to know’...

The latter CS above mentioned semantic word coinage was not observed in the present study hence it has been excludedfrom this framework.

The other two main subcategories of ‘PSM related to RD’ will be now presented together with their corresponding CSs.