| Language transfer as an applied linguistic concept has always been considered and seen as a phenomenon which occurs in language learning situations. Numerous studies on language transfer are confined to bilingualism. Multilingualism acquisition is often considered to be a simple variation on bilingualism and second language acquisition. By analyzing the manifestations of transfer in interlanguage of German (L3), a second foreign language of Chinese university students of English major at TUT, we have found in the situation of cognate L2 & L3: (1) L1 and L2 influence L3A simultaneously; (2) L1 transfer is much covert and L2 transfer is much overt; (3) a much distant L1 cannot only influence L3, but can also be affected by L3; and (4) influenced by L1 & L2, the development of L3 IL is a curved line instead of a smooth one, forwarding to L3, but the rate and efficiency of L3A is much accelerated by the joint force of L2 along with L1, which shows the improvement of the learner's cognition. In addition, we discuss the constraints on transfer in L3A from linguistic, psychological, cognitive, cultural and individual aspects. Hopefully, a good use of transfer in way of Contrastive analysis teaching will facilitate learners' acquisition of third language.This thesis contains five chapters and is organized as follows:The first chapter serves as an introduction to the study, in which a general information of SLA and language transfer, along with the purpose of the study, is presented.The second chapter is a review on literature relevant to transfer, in which theories including Contrastive Analysis, Error Analysis, Interlanguage and Transfer Analysis, are introduced, as well as the new trends in this field.The third chapter, the focus of the thesis, presents rich evidence of transfer in German acquisition (L3A) from English majors of Taiyuan University of Technology, who are at a beginner level. By means of most qualitative analyses, the cross-linguistic influence in different subsystems (phonetics, morphology, lexicon, semantics, syntax and pragmatics) is detected and the distributions of L1 & L2 influence are discussed in L3A. Cross-linguistic influence among the three involved languages is widely found in respective directions. Based on it, the author proposes that except L1 & L2, the development of L3 IL is influenced by other internal and external factors, which play different roles at different stages to different learners. Interacting with other factors in the course of L3A, many factors are positively changing. For instance, the learner's psychological distance to the target language is shortened, anxiety is consequently reduced, and the cognition is totally improved. As a result, the rate of L3A is greatly accelerated. To make it clear, the author illustrates the development of L3 1L with a curved line at the head tending to get smooth in the end.The fourth chapter discusses the factors which influence transfer in L3A. Linguistic, psychological, cognitive, cultural and individual perspectives are concerned.The fifth chapter is implications of the study for teaching L3. The role of L1 is reassessed while the role of L2 is also acknowledged. Contrastive Analysis is also reassessed. And the induced Contrastive teaching method for L3 is proposed.The sixth chapter, also the last chapter, we come to the conclusion that cross-linguistic influence in multilingualism is much evident and complex. Each language involved in multilingualism has a potential strength to influence the other two. The explanation of transfer in multilingualism falls in a much broader range than in bilingualism.
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