Cross-linguistic influence in third language acquisition: evidence from refusal strategies of Uyghur–Mandarin–English trilinguals

Abstract

This study analysed the cross-linguistic influence (CLI) of refusal strategies in Uyghur–Mandarin–English trilinguals through discourse completion tasks and retrospective interviews. The occurrence of CLI from L1 Uyghur and L2 Mandarin to L3 English was determined through inter-group comparisons between L3 English learners and native speakers of Uyghur, Mandarin, and English, with 32 participants in each group. It was found that both L1 Uyghur and L2 Mandarin exerted pragmatic influence on L3 English with the pattern of ‘L2 positive transfer > L1 positive transfer > L2 negative transfer > L1 negative transfer’, suggesting a greater influence from L2 and a prominent positive impact of the prior languages. The result lends credence to the Scalpel Model, showing that the influence of previous languages on L3 refusal strategies does not occur holistically but in a specific strategy-to-strategy manner. Language input and processing play a pivotal role in the interaction between L2 and L3, and the linguistic medium through which learners acquire a new language may have a significant impact on the pragmatic dimensions of the target language.