Shachter’s view of language transfer is perhaps the most distinguished from the traditional view of transfer. She claims that transfer is not a process at all, but is a constraint on the acquisition process[3]. According to Shachter, a learner’s previous knowledge constrains the hypothesis that the learner can make about the second language. The previous knowledge includes not only knowledge of the native language or other language known, but it cumulative in that whatever is acquired of the target language becomes part of one’s previous knowledge and is thus available for us in further learning.
Odlin formulated a working definition of transfer as : transfer is the influence resulting from similarities and difference between the target language and any other language that has been previously acquired[4].
To sum up, language transfer refers to a situation where the learning of a skill in one language transfers to a second language. For example, learning to read in Chinese will facilitate the ability to learn to read in English in an individual who speaks Spanish and is learning English.
1.2 The causes of language transfer
Native language transfer is one kind of inevitable phenomenon in the second language acquire. Review the production and develops of native language transfer research, we can check the causes of language transfer from cultural differences, different modes of thinking and disadvantages of traditional teaching methods.
1.2.1 Cultural differences
As for language transfer, we should first mention the peculiar character of each language. In spite of the biological and functional universals and the consequently caused linguistic universals, the great differences such as the unique grammatical and lexical structures of different language do exist. These linguistic differences are due to obvious cultural differences. Whorf once cited a number of lexical examples to show the influence of cultural elements. For example: Eskimo has a rich vocabulary for different kinds of snow whereas English has only two. The reason why Eskimo has a large number of snow terms is that snow plays an important part in the life of Eskimos[5].
Language and culture is closely related. Language and culture have a dialectical relationship. On the one hand, every language is part of a culture. It cannot but serve and reflect cultural needs. And the arbitrariness is within the limits set by the specific needs of a culture, so language is influenced and shaped by culture. On the other hand, language is not a passive reflector of culture. It will in turn reinforce and preserve beliefs and customs of a culture. Language is the symbolic representation of a nation, comprising their historical and cultural backgrounds, their customs, their ways of life and so on.
As part of a culture, people’s different ways of life influence the languages of different countries. Many idioms, saying and expressions can be found their sources and origins from the legends as well as the daily life. For example: One student once described a public pool like this:“The pool is too crowded and the water is so dirty like dumplings being cooked in sesame paste”. The dumplings and sesame paste are Chinese traditional food, so this expression doesn’t conform to the standard English. As an English learner, we should try to learn the standard English usage. The native speakers use“packed like sardines” to describe a crowded place because the canned sardines are common food for them in everyday life.
Many English idioms originated from famous literature works especially the Bible and the writings by Shakespeare. Such as “the apple of the eye”, “to entertain an angel unawares”, “to point the lily” and so on. These idioms have been handed down generation by generation and been accepted by people as the standard expressions, so they cannot be changed freely. Students who create English idioms by translating Chinese idioms directly into English may be misunderstood by the native speakers. And the idioms they create by themselves can be called Chinglish because they do not conform to the standard English usage.
Chinese students must learn to use native like expressions and try to know something about their cultural backgrounds so that they can improve their writing ability a lot.
1.2.2 Different modes of thinking
Language and thought interact each other. On the one hand, language is the dress of thought and reflects thought. On the other hand, language facilitates thought. Through language, people perceive and understand the world. Through language, people express their inner feeling and emotions, and communicate with others mentally and emotionally. Language reflects people’s worldviews, modes of thinking as well as their psychic states. Therefore, people’s modes of thinking influence their modes of expression.
Chinese people are better at thinking in images, while westerners are good at abstract thinking, so the ways in which they make sentences are different. Chinese students prefer using some specific and subjective images to express one meaning, while the native speakers use some abstract expressions. For example, sometimes Chinese students use the sentence “His body is very healthy.” in their compositions while English people simply use “he is very healthy”. In the Chinese verb-object constructions such as “吃饭”，“付钱”,the objects are often mentioned, but in English, the objects are understood and generally omitted. Some Chinese students who write sentences according to their Chinese modes of thinking often produce awkward-sounding sentences such as“We have eaten our meals”,“I can’t paid the money” and so on. Also because of these different modes of thinking, they use many imagery words in their compositions. From this, we can understand why they use the sentence“In the past, the Chinese people led a life in deep water and hot fire”.
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