ABSTRACT
This study aims to investigate the acquisition of semantic classifiers by L2M2 listeners learning Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) in two different levels: intermediate and advanced. Based on Paiva (2005Paiva, V. L. M. de O. (2005). Modelo fractal de aquisição de línguas. In F. T. C. Bruno (Ed.), Ensino-aprendizagem de línguas estrangeiras: reflexão e prática (pp. 23-36). Editora Clara Luz.) and Larsen-Freeman (2006Larsen-Freeman, D. (2006). The emergence of complexity, fluency, and accuracy in the oral and written production of five Chinese learners of English. Applied linguistics, 27(4), 590-619. https://www.academia.edu/38727423/The_Emergence_of_Complexity_Fluency_and_Accuracy_in_the_Oral_and_Written_Production_of_Five_Chinese_Learners_of_English
https://www.academia.edu/38727423/The_Em...
), it argues that the linguistic modality of Libras is an attractor of the complex system and can act as a fixed attractor or as a strange attractor. Through a transversal methodology, it relies on data from two groups of learners who told a narrative after having watched a non-verbal film about a pear. Results show that the learners’ choices were diverse when describing quantity, shape, and volume of a basket as well as when demonstrating its location in the space. Analysis demonstrated that the performance of the visual-manual modality as a fixed attractor generated productions which were distant from L2M2, while its performance as a strange attractor favored productions that were similar to the so-called targets. Findings also pointed out that in this movement of attraction learners cross critical thresholds with the presentation of creative adaptations in the complex system.
Keywords:
Brazilian Sign Language; second language acquisition; second modality; complex system