Referential expressions in bilingual acquisition
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Ludovica Serratrice
Abstract
Just like monolingual children, bilingual children need to carve up the referential space to understand and produce discourse-appropriate referential expressions. In the case of bilinguals, this demanding task additionally requires language-specific form-function mappings that may be structurally similar or different in their two languages. Cases of partial form-function overlap across languages, especially with respect to third person pronouns, have been the focus of much scrutiny in connection with the issue of cross-linguistic influence. In this chapter we review naturalistic and experimental evidence showing how the degree of structural overlap across two languages, the degree of variability in the target language(s), and the amount of input that is necessary to home in on the target grammar(s) constrain the comprehension and production of referential expressions in bilingual acquisition.
Abstract
Just like monolingual children, bilingual children need to carve up the referential space to understand and produce discourse-appropriate referential expressions. In the case of bilinguals, this demanding task additionally requires language-specific form-function mappings that may be structurally similar or different in their two languages. Cases of partial form-function overlap across languages, especially with respect to third person pronouns, have been the focus of much scrutiny in connection with the issue of cross-linguistic influence. In this chapter we review naturalistic and experimental evidence showing how the degree of structural overlap across two languages, the degree of variability in the target language(s), and the amount of input that is necessary to home in on the target grammar(s) constrain the comprehension and production of referential expressions in bilingual acquisition.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
- The acquisition of nominal determiners 25
- Mapping information structure and word order 51
- Children’ use of intonation in reference and the role of input 83
- The role of gesture in referential communication 105
- The role of cognitive accessibility in children’s referential choice 123
- Acquisition and use of pronouns in a dialogic perspective 155
- From early to late mastery of reference 181
- Online evidence for children’s interpretation of personal pronouns 213
- Children’s sensitivity to caregiver cues and the role of adult feedback in the developmentof referential communication 241
- The cognitive underpinnings of referential abilities 263
- Production and comprehension of pronouns and reflexives in atypical populations 285
- Referential expressions in bilingual acquisition 311
- Language index 335
- Subject index 337
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
- The acquisition of nominal determiners 25
- Mapping information structure and word order 51
- Children’ use of intonation in reference and the role of input 83
- The role of gesture in referential communication 105
- The role of cognitive accessibility in children’s referential choice 123
- Acquisition and use of pronouns in a dialogic perspective 155
- From early to late mastery of reference 181
- Online evidence for children’s interpretation of personal pronouns 213
- Children’s sensitivity to caregiver cues and the role of adult feedback in the developmentof referential communication 241
- The cognitive underpinnings of referential abilities 263
- Production and comprehension of pronouns and reflexives in atypical populations 285
- Referential expressions in bilingual acquisition 311
- Language index 335
- Subject index 337
