Subject pronoun expression in bilinguals of two null subject languages
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Hilary Barnes
Abstract
This paper examines subject pronoun expression in the speech of Spanish-Veneto bilinguals in central Mexico. Non-target subject expression has been found among adult language learners, heritage speakers, and speakers undergoing L1 attrition. Such patterns have been variously attributed to transfer/interference and loss of discourse-pragmatic constraints, among other factors. The situation discussed here is unique in that both languages are null subject languages in an environment of sustained bilingualism. Drawing on a variationist analysis of naturalistic data, the present work reveals a marked increase in overall rates of pronoun expression in Chipilo contact Spanish relative to monolingual Mexican Spanish; however, the patterning of overt pronoun use is similar to that of monolingual varieties of Mexican Spanish. The increase is explained in terms of cognitive economy.
Abstract
This paper examines subject pronoun expression in the speech of Spanish-Veneto bilinguals in central Mexico. Non-target subject expression has been found among adult language learners, heritage speakers, and speakers undergoing L1 attrition. Such patterns have been variously attributed to transfer/interference and loss of discourse-pragmatic constraints, among other factors. The situation discussed here is unique in that both languages are null subject languages in an environment of sustained bilingualism. Drawing on a variationist analysis of naturalistic data, the present work reveals a marked increase in overall rates of pronoun expression in Chipilo contact Spanish relative to monolingual Mexican Spanish; however, the patterning of overt pronoun use is similar to that of monolingual varieties of Mexican Spanish. The increase is explained in terms of cognitive economy.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- Editors’ introduction 1
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Part 1. Language contact and bilingualism
- Subject pronoun expression in bilinguals of two null subject languages 9
- Where are hiatuses left? 23
- Loanword adaptation in the French of Spanish-speaking immigrants in Montréal 39
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Part 2. Phonology and interfaces
- Morphology and phonology of word-final vowel deletion in spoken Tuscan Italian 57
- Relativization, intonational phrases and rich left peripheries 73
- Stress domain effects in French phonology and phonological development 89
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Part 3. Syntax and morphophonology
- Syntactic realizations of plural in Romance and Germanic nominalizations 107
- The syntax of Spanish parecer and the status of little pro 125
- Two types of (apparently) ditransitive light verb constructions 139
- Modal ellipsis in French, Spanish and Italian 157
- Optional prepositions in Brazilian Portuguese 171
- An apparent ‘number case constraint’ in Romanian 185
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Part 4. Semantics and morphology
- Generic bare singulars in Brazilian Portuguese 203
- Aspect shift in stative verbs and their arguments 217
-
Part 5. Psycholinguistics
- Experimenting with wh -movement in Spanish 233
- How Spanish phonotactics informs psycholinuistic models of speech production 249
- Index 265
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- Editors’ introduction 1
-
Part 1. Language contact and bilingualism
- Subject pronoun expression in bilinguals of two null subject languages 9
- Where are hiatuses left? 23
- Loanword adaptation in the French of Spanish-speaking immigrants in Montréal 39
-
Part 2. Phonology and interfaces
- Morphology and phonology of word-final vowel deletion in spoken Tuscan Italian 57
- Relativization, intonational phrases and rich left peripheries 73
- Stress domain effects in French phonology and phonological development 89
-
Part 3. Syntax and morphophonology
- Syntactic realizations of plural in Romance and Germanic nominalizations 107
- The syntax of Spanish parecer and the status of little pro 125
- Two types of (apparently) ditransitive light verb constructions 139
- Modal ellipsis in French, Spanish and Italian 157
- Optional prepositions in Brazilian Portuguese 171
- An apparent ‘number case constraint’ in Romanian 185
-
Part 4. Semantics and morphology
- Generic bare singulars in Brazilian Portuguese 203
- Aspect shift in stative verbs and their arguments 217
-
Part 5. Psycholinguistics
- Experimenting with wh -movement in Spanish 233
- How Spanish phonotactics informs psycholinuistic models of speech production 249
- Index 265
