Abstract:

This research surveys the degree of transparency of two related Scandinavian languages Norwegian and Swedish and the relation to learnability. Transparency is assumed to facilitate intelligibility and learnability, especially for adult L2 learners. Based on a set of opacity features formulated within the framework of Functional Discourse Grammar, the degree of transparency of the two languages is compared. The results show that the languages differ minimally with respect to transparency but that Swedish is more transparent in the placement of verbal arguments. The scarce cross-linguistic research on the acquisition of Scandinavian languages reviewed also shows that this is an area where learners differ, thus providing support for the hypothesis that transparency and learnability can be linked.

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