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Language dominance and language nativeness

The view from English-Spanish codeswitching
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Abstract

Investigating the interpretation and production of codeswitched structures involving functional and lexical categories by bilingual speakers constitutes a reliable tool to assess language dominance and/or nativeness. Language dominance has been described and measured in the context of bilingualism while nativeness is more rooted in the characterization of primary versus non-primary acquisition. Both concepts are intended to identify the specific ways in which language is represented in the mind of a bilingual. We draw from three different hypotheses formulated in the context of formal linguistics: the Grammatical Features Spell-Out Hypothesis, the Gender Double-Feature Valuation Mechanism, and the PF Interface Condition to show whether and how the codeswitching conditions established by these hypotheses constitute a diagnostic for language dominance and language nativeness.

Abstract

Investigating the interpretation and production of codeswitched structures involving functional and lexical categories by bilingual speakers constitutes a reliable tool to assess language dominance and/or nativeness. Language dominance has been described and measured in the context of bilingualism while nativeness is more rooted in the characterization of primary versus non-primary acquisition. Both concepts are intended to identify the specific ways in which language is represented in the mind of a bilingual. We draw from three different hypotheses formulated in the context of formal linguistics: the Grammatical Features Spell-Out Hypothesis, the Gender Double-Feature Valuation Mechanism, and the PF Interface Condition to show whether and how the codeswitching conditions established by these hypotheses constitute a diagnostic for language dominance and language nativeness.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgements viii
  4. Introduction: Multiple influencing factors, diverse participants, varied techniques 1
  5. I. Codeswitching, identity, attitudes, and language politics
  6. Spanglish 11
  7. Codeswitching and identity among Island Puerto Rican bilinguals 37
  8. Codeswitching among African-American English, Spanish and Standard English in computer-mediated discourse 61
  9. II. Links between codeswitching and language proficiency and fluency
  10. Hablamos los dos in the Windy City 83
  11. Language dominance and language nativeness 107
  12. The role of unintentional/involuntary codeswitching 139
  13. III. Codeswitching in written corpora
  14. The stratification of English-language lone-word and multi-word material in Puerto Rican Spanish-language press outlets 171
  15. Socio-pragmatic functions of codeswitching in Nuyorican & Cuban American literature 191
  16. “Show what you know” 215
  17. IV. Bilingual structure in codeswitching
  18. Tú y yo can codeswitch, nosotros cannot 237
  19. On the productive use of ‘hacer + V’ in Northern Belize bilingual/trilingual codeswitching 261
  20. Mixed NPs in Spanish-English bilingual speech 281
  21. Comprehension patterns of two groups of Spanish-English bilingual codeswitchers 301
  22. Index 323
Spanish-English Codeswitching in the Caribbean and the US
This chapter is in the book Spanish-English Codeswitching in the Caribbean and the US
https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.11.05lic

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgements viii
  4. Introduction: Multiple influencing factors, diverse participants, varied techniques 1
  5. I. Codeswitching, identity, attitudes, and language politics
  6. Spanglish 11
  7. Codeswitching and identity among Island Puerto Rican bilinguals 37
  8. Codeswitching among African-American English, Spanish and Standard English in computer-mediated discourse 61
  9. II. Links between codeswitching and language proficiency and fluency
  10. Hablamos los dos in the Windy City 83
  11. Language dominance and language nativeness 107
  12. The role of unintentional/involuntary codeswitching 139
  13. III. Codeswitching in written corpora
  14. The stratification of English-language lone-word and multi-word material in Puerto Rican Spanish-language press outlets 171
  15. Socio-pragmatic functions of codeswitching in Nuyorican & Cuban American literature 191
  16. “Show what you know” 215
  17. IV. Bilingual structure in codeswitching
  18. Tú y yo can codeswitch, nosotros cannot 237
  19. On the productive use of ‘hacer + V’ in Northern Belize bilingual/trilingual codeswitching 261
  20. Mixed NPs in Spanish-English bilingual speech 281
  21. Comprehension patterns of two groups of Spanish-English bilingual codeswitchers 301
  22. Index 323
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