astronomy

Marit Westergaard

Marit Westergaard is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Marit Westergaard rather than just read about it. In short: Marit Kristine Richardsen Westergaard (born 12 August 1956) is a Norwegian linguist, known for her work on child language acquisition and multilingualism. She defended her PhD thesis The Development of Word Order in Norwegian Child Language: The Interaction of Input and Economy Principles in the Acquisition of V2 at the University of Tromsø in 2005.

Key takeaways

Marit Westergaard belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
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Reproduce the core statement of Marit Westergaard from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Marit Kristine Richardsen Westergaard (born 12 August 1956) is a Norwegian linguist, known for her work on child language acquisition and multilingualism. She defended her PhD thesis The Development of Word Order in Norwegian Child Language: The Interaction of Input and Economy Principles in the Acquisition of V2 at the University of Tromsø in 2005. She was hired as a professor at the University of Tromsø in 2009, and also has held an adjunct professor position at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology since 2015. She has been a fellow of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters since 2016.

Research Much of Westergaard's work has been focused on language acquisition and multilingualism. In her role as AcqVA (Acquisition, Variation, and Attrition) Aurora Center Director, she oversees projects on multilingual acquisition of gender (together with Terje Lohndal) and acquisition and processing of morphosyntax. One of the most prominent areas of Westergaard's expertise is micro-variation and the role of micro-variation in multilingual context. Her work explores the nature of language acquisition as it relates to micro-variation as well as language change.

The Linguistic Proximity Model of third language acquisition Westergaard proposed an influential model of third language acquisition: the Linguistic Proximity Model (LPM). This model is based on property-by-property acquisition of the target language grammar, and it claims that the acquisition mechanism is based on the typological similarity between the target language property and the previous languages acquired by the language learner. For example, a person who already speaks Russian is likely to transfer the Russian system of gender and the English article system while acquiring German. Westergaard's LPM model is closely related to other partial-transfer models (such as Slabakova's Scalpel Model and Flynn's Cumulative-Enhancement Model) and stands in opposition to wholesale transfer models like Typological Proximity Model. In 2020, Westergaard published a keynote article in SLR, arguing for what she called Full Transfer Potential (FTP), where rather than assuming that 'everything does transfer', she argues that 'anything may transfer'.

The Micro-cue Model of first language acquisition Westergaard is also the author of the Micro-cue Model of L1 acquisition, arguing that children are sensitive to fine distinctions in syntax and information structure from early on (micro-cues). The model has also been used to account for diachronic change. The model is currently receiving increased attention, resulting in invitations as keynote speaker and contributor to handbooks.

Cooperation and contributions In cooperation with Antonella Sorace and Bilingualism Matters at the University of Edinburgh, Westergaard runs an advice and information service called Flere språk til flere for bilingual families and the general public, based on current research in the field.

Honors and awards Outstanding Research Award 2019, UiT The Arctic University of Norway. Member of The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, 2016-. Member of The Royal Norwegian Society of Science and Letters, 2019-. Member of Academia Borealis, Academy of Science and Letters North Norway, 2016-. Member of the Executive Committee of IASCL (International Association for the Study of Child Language), 2011-2017.

Selected bibliography Rodina, Yulia, Tanja Kupisch, Natalia Meir, Natalia Mitrofanova, Olga Urek & Marit Westergaard. 2020. Internal and External Factors in Heritage Language Acquisition: Evidence from Heritage Russian in Israel, Germany, Norway, Latvia and the UK. Frontiers in Psychology. Leivada, Evelina & Marit Westergaard. 2019. Universal linguistic hierarchies are not innately wired: Evidence from multiple adjectives. PeerJ. Anderssen, Merete, Björn Lundquist & Marit Westergaard. 2018. Crosslinguistic similarities and differences in bilingual acquisition and attrition. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 21:4, 748-764. Wolleb, Anna, Antonella Sorace & Marit Westergaard. 2018. Exploring the role of cognitive control in syntactic processing: Evidence from cross-language priming in bilingual children. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism 8:5, 606-636. Rodina, Yulia, and Marit Westergaard. "Grammatical gender in bilingual Norwegian–Russian acquisition: The role of input and transparency." Bilingualism: Language and cognition 20.1 (2017): 197-214. Westergaard, Marit, et al. "Crosslinguistic influence in the acquisition of a third language: The Linguistic Proximity Model." International Journal of Bilingualism 21.6 (2017): 666-682. Rodina, Yulia & Marit Westergaard. 2012. A cue-based approach to the acquisition of grammatical gender in Russian. Journal of Child Language 39.5, 1077-1106. Westergaard, Marit. 2009. The Acquisition of Word Order: Micro-cues, Information Structure and Economy. John Benjamins. (Reviewed in Norsk Lingvistisk Tidsskrift 2009, Journal of Linguistics 2011).

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Marit Westergaard

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Marit Westergaard claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Marit Westergaard before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Marit Westergaard ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Marit Westergaard

In research: Marit Westergaard appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Marit Westergaard in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Marit Westergaard is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1956 births, Academic staff of the University of Tromsø, Linguists from Norway, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Marit Westergaard outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Marit Westergaard in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Marit Westergaard means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Marit Westergaard out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Marit Westergaard in simple terms?

Why does Marit Westergaard matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Marit Westergaard?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Marit Westergaard.