Lexical Transfer in Written Corpus of Learners of Portuguese as a Foreign Language

This article presents a study on lexical deviations due to borrowings and neologisms made by 15 proficient learners of Portuguese whose native language (L1) was Italian, based on the analysis of ninety texts. The main objectives were twofold: (i) to identify the lexical deviations with the highest number of occurrences and (ii) to verify whether the language most frequently used in the deviations was the L1 or a previously acquired foreign language (FL). The data analysis resulted in the identification of 28 lexical deviations, mostly neologisms, as well as the use of the L1 as the preferred source language. Research findings challenge Kellerman’s (1977) psychotypological hypothesis of languages, which asserts that the language typologically closest to L1, rather than L1 itself, is most frequently employed in lexical deviations. Explanations to the study outcomes will be based on research findings from Garcia-Lecumberri & Gallardo (2003) and Llach (2010).