On language acquisition and language change
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Federica Cognola
Abstract
Whether multilingual heritage settings can lead to imperfect language acquisition and language change is debated in the literature (Lightfoot 1991; Meisel 2010; Montrul 2004; Montrul & Potowski 2007; Pascual Y Cabo & Rothman 2012; Silva-Corvalán 1994; Sorace 2004). By investigating the syntax of subject pronouns and the pro-drop parameter in pre-school children (aged 4.7–6.5) in one such context, this paper provides evidence that they do not. It is shown that all considered children acquired the pro-drop parameter target-like in both languages. The reduced system of subject pronouns instantiated in the heritage language by two children is shown not to follow from imperfect acquisition, but from their being simultaneous bilinguals, who have been exposed to less input in the heritage language than successive bilinguals. On this basis, we conclude that language acquisition in heritage contexts follows the general mechanisms of successive and simultaneous bilingual language acquisition and does not automatically lead to transmission failure (Meisel 2007, 2010).
Abstract
Whether multilingual heritage settings can lead to imperfect language acquisition and language change is debated in the literature (Lightfoot 1991; Meisel 2010; Montrul 2004; Montrul & Potowski 2007; Pascual Y Cabo & Rothman 2012; Silva-Corvalán 1994; Sorace 2004). By investigating the syntax of subject pronouns and the pro-drop parameter in pre-school children (aged 4.7–6.5) in one such context, this paper provides evidence that they do not. It is shown that all considered children acquired the pro-drop parameter target-like in both languages. The reduced system of subject pronouns instantiated in the heritage language by two children is shown not to follow from imperfect acquisition, but from their being simultaneous bilinguals, who have been exposed to less input in the heritage language than successive bilinguals. On this basis, we conclude that language acquisition in heritage contexts follows the general mechanisms of successive and simultaneous bilingual language acquisition and does not automatically lead to transmission failure (Meisel 2007, 2010).
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
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Part one: Synchronic variation in phonology and syntax
- Germanic and Romance onset clusters – how to account for microvariation 25
- The use of gerunds and infinitives in perceptive constructions 53
- Adverb and participle agreement 89
- Why a bed can be slept in but not under 119
- Deriving idiolectal variation 145
- On the variable nature of head final effects in German and English 177
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Part two: Diachronic variation in phonology and syntax
- Variation and change in Italian phonology 205
- Which clues for which V2 237
- Parameter typology from a diachronic perspective 259
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Part three: On the relationship between language variation and language change in bilingual settings
- Attrition at the interfaces in bilectal acquisition (Italian/Gallipolino) 295
- Little v and cross-linguistic variation 317
- On language acquisition and language change 337
- Index 371
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
-
Part one: Synchronic variation in phonology and syntax
- Germanic and Romance onset clusters – how to account for microvariation 25
- The use of gerunds and infinitives in perceptive constructions 53
- Adverb and participle agreement 89
- Why a bed can be slept in but not under 119
- Deriving idiolectal variation 145
- On the variable nature of head final effects in German and English 177
-
Part two: Diachronic variation in phonology and syntax
- Variation and change in Italian phonology 205
- Which clues for which V2 237
- Parameter typology from a diachronic perspective 259
-
Part three: On the relationship between language variation and language change in bilingual settings
- Attrition at the interfaces in bilectal acquisition (Italian/Gallipolino) 295
- Little v and cross-linguistic variation 317
- On language acquisition and language change 337
- Index 371
