Signalling Plurality in Learner English

Abstract

Noun plurals in the conversational English of French and Polish adult learners of English have been analysed using descriptive and conceptual approaches. The data was collected over a period of eighteen months, during which time all learners showed some development in the signaling of plurality. However, the development followed different paths for different learners. Some showed increasing proficiency in the use of the regular plural morpheme in obligatory contexts, while others developed new structures for signaling plurality. None of the learners relied on the plural morpheme as the sole means of expressing noun plurality, and particular linguistic contexts were found to influence the use of plural markers. The findings of the current study are interpreted as supporting the symbolic approach to morphology and morpheme acquisition.