What are two factors that can interfere with morpheme acquisition order?

What are two factors that can interfere with morpheme acquisition order?

• A. Cognitive and First Language Interference
• B. Sociocultural Factors Only
• C. Phoneme Inventory Alone
• D. Motivation and Attendance

Answer: (A)

Morpheme acquisition order can be shaped by how a learner processes language and by transfer from the learner’s first language. If processing demands are high—limited working memory, heavy input, or complex parsing—some grammatical markers that require more mental juggling may come in later, shifting the usual sequence. At the same time, interference from the first language—especially when the L1 lacks a comparable morpheme or expresses it differently—can lead learners to rely on L1 structures or skip certain English morphemes until more exposure or support is available. While factors like sociocultural context, phoneme inventory, or motivation and attendance affect how fast learners progress, they don’t determine the order in which morphemes appear as learners develop their interlanguage.

Morpheme acquisition order can be shaped by how a learner processes language and by transfer from the learner’s first language. If processing demands are high—limited working memory, heavy input, or complex parsing—some grammatical markers that require more mental juggling may come in later, shifting the usual sequence. At the same time, interference from the first language—especially when the L1 lacks a comparable morpheme or expresses it differently—can lead learners to rely on L1 structures or skip certain English morphemes until more exposure or support is available. While factors like sociocultural context, phoneme inventory, or motivation and attendance affect how fast learners progress, they don’t determine the order in which morphemes appear as learners develop their interlanguage.