Anaphoric Expressions of EFL Speakers in Cameroon

Abstract

This paper examines how francophone learners of English in Cameroon use and interpret anaphoric expressions [with regard to the theoretical framework of Chomsky (1981) which characterises the behaviour of anaphors, pronouns and referential expressions in terms of the Binding Theory]. In order to investigate this, three production tasks were designed - the sentence translation task (STT), the multiple choice task (MCT) and the gap test task (GTT) - to elicit specific answers in the respondents’ use and interpretation of these expressions. A total of 73 respondents performed all the tasks. The findings reveal that respondents do not deploy purely English feature specifications in their use and interpretation of anaphoric expressions, as in a considerable number of instances they do not adopt the feature of structural dependency in the processing of co-reference. The phenomenon of language transfer and or influence apparently plays a significant role in this milieu.