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Two gender systems in one mind

The acquisition of grammatical gender in Norwegian-Russian bilinguals
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Abstract

This study investigates the simultaneous acquisition of two different grammatical gender systems by Norwegian-Russian children. The main difference between the two languages is transparency of gender assignment: Gender is relatively predictable in Russian, while it is more or less idiosyncratic in Norwegian. We also focus on the effect of parental input in terms of one or two Russian-speaking parents. Semi-spontaneous production data from twelve bilingual children are compared to data from nine Norwegian and fourteen Russian monolingual children. The comparison reveals that both transparency and the amount of parental input in the minority language have an effect on the acquisition of grammatical gender.

Abstract

This study investigates the simultaneous acquisition of two different grammatical gender systems by Norwegian-Russian children. The main difference between the two languages is transparency of gender assignment: Gender is relatively predictable in Russian, while it is more or less idiosyncratic in Norwegian. We also focus on the effect of parental input in terms of one or two Russian-speaking parents. Semi-spontaneous production data from twelve bilingual children are compared to data from nine Norwegian and fourteen Russian monolingual children. The comparison reveals that both transparency and the amount of parental input in the minority language have an effect on the acquisition of grammatical gender.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introducing a new series ix
  4. Multilingualism, language contact, and urban areas 1
  5. Language acquisition, contact and change
  6. Voice onset time across the generations 19
  7. Investigating second language pronunciation 39
  8. Ethnolects in Northern Norway 63
  9. Two gender systems in one mind 95
  10. Multilingual identities
  11. Selfing and othering through categories of race, place, and language among minority youths in Rotterdam, The Netherlands 129
  12. Multilingualism and identity 165
  13. Ethnolect studies in the German and the Netherlandic area 177
  14. Urban spaces
  15. The delicate search for language in spaces 209
  16. The management of multilingualism in a city-state 227
  17. Multilingual communication in Hamburg 257
  18. Education
  19. Current research on language transfer 289
  20. Multilingual education in India 305
  21. Fostering early literacy learning using dual language books 327
  22. Measuring success when English isn’t your native language 349
  23. Name index 369
  24. Subject index 377
Multilingualism and Language Diversity in Urban Areas
This chapter is in the book Multilingualism and Language Diversity in Urban Areas
https://doi.org/10.1075/hsld.1.05rod

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introducing a new series ix
  4. Multilingualism, language contact, and urban areas 1
  5. Language acquisition, contact and change
  6. Voice onset time across the generations 19
  7. Investigating second language pronunciation 39
  8. Ethnolects in Northern Norway 63
  9. Two gender systems in one mind 95
  10. Multilingual identities
  11. Selfing and othering through categories of race, place, and language among minority youths in Rotterdam, The Netherlands 129
  12. Multilingualism and identity 165
  13. Ethnolect studies in the German and the Netherlandic area 177
  14. Urban spaces
  15. The delicate search for language in spaces 209
  16. The management of multilingualism in a city-state 227
  17. Multilingual communication in Hamburg 257
  18. Education
  19. Current research on language transfer 289
  20. Multilingual education in India 305
  21. Fostering early literacy learning using dual language books 327
  22. Measuring success when English isn’t your native language 349
  23. Name index 369
  24. Subject index 377
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