ABSTRACT
Second language tense-aspect systems have proven a fruitful area of study of form-meaning associations. Some studies have demonstrated that second language learners show a mastery of form that exceeds their mastery of targetlanguage form-meaning associations (Bardovi-Harlig, 1992a; Dietrich, Klein, & Noyau, 1995). Other studies have focused on the temporal semantics of interlanguage, either beginning with meaning and investigating what forms learners use to express it (the meaning-oriented approach) or beginning with form and investigating what meanings the forms take on as interlanguage develops (the form-oriented approach; see Shirai, chap. 5 in this vol.). Both approaches have resulted in a growing understanding of form-meaning associations in interlanguage and how they develop and change with continued exposure to the second language. This chapter uses meaning-oriented approach to investigate expressions of futurity.
