A Rare Structure at the Syntax-Discourse Interface: Heritage and Spanish-Dominant Native Speakers Weigh In

Leal, Tania; Rothman, Jason; Slabakova, Roumyana

doi:10.1080/10489223.2014.892946

Cited by 22 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 52 publications

(40 reference statements)

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“…), grammar systems undergoing some form of restructuring can take various paths. 2 They may show restructuring due 2 Probabilistic models such as Emergent Grammars (MacWhinney 2015), Harmonic Grammar (HG; Legendre et al 1990;Pater 2009;McCarthy and Pater 2016) and Gradient Symbolic Computation (GSC; Goldrick et al 2016aGoldrick et al , 2016b to cross-linguistic effects in the integration of syntactic features, lexical items, and discourse-related phenomena (Sánchez 2003(Sánchez , 2004Leal et al 2014), or they may show cross-linguistic influence at the morphosyntactic and syntactic levels (Cuza 2013).…”

Section: Differential Access In Heritage Grammarsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential Access: Asymmetries in Accessing Features and Building Representations in Heritage Language Grammars

2019

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In this article, we propose that elements of heritage language grammars—both in the form of axiomatic features and larger combined representational units—are not easily lost over the course of the lifespan. This view contrasts with alternative explanations for the steady-state representation of these grammars that suggest truncated acquisition or erosion are the primary culprits of perceived language loss. In production and comprehension processes for heritage bilinguals, particular elements are more difficult to access than others, leading to differential ways to access representations and feature values. To illustrate and support this hypothesis, we build on previous work by examining the interpretation and use of obligatory mood selection in Spanish desiderative constructions in three groups of heritage speakers with different levels of language proficiency.

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Section: Differential Access In Heritage Grammarsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential Access: Asymmetries in Accessing Features and Building Representations in Heritage Language Grammars

2019

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“…Ivanov (2012) also established successful acquisition of clitic left dislocation in L2 Bulgarian. Leal, Rothman and Slabakova (2014) investigated a very rare construction, rightdislocated clitic-doubled objects, which is felicitous in highly restricted contexts. Spanishdominant and heritage bilinguals were equally selective with the contexts in which they allowed clitic right dislocation.…”

Section: Evidence From Acquisition Of Semanticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Bottleneck Hypothesis updated

Slabakova

2019

Three Streams of Generative Language Acquisition Research

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The Bottleneck Hypothesis identifies parts of the grammar that are easier or more difficult to acquire in a second language. It argues that the functional morphology is the bottleneck in L2 acquisition because it bundles a variety of semantic, syntactic & phonological features that affect the meaning & acceptability of the whole sentence. In this chapter, the BH is updated after a decade since its proposal. Current views of Universal Grammar & parametric variation are outlined. Implications of those current views for adult L2A are spelled out. New evidence for the BH is reviewed from the L2A of semantics, morphophonology & syntax. Additional factors that complicate acquisition of the functional morphology are discussed and a pyramid of L2A difficulty is proposed.

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“…The predictions of this hypothesis have been tested against different types of bilingual populations (Sorace, 2011), including heritage speakers (Montrul & Polinsky, 2011), with some studies supporting the inherent complexity of the syntax-discourse domain (Belletti, Bennati & Sorace, 2007;Flores, 2012;Sorace & Filiaci, 2006;Montrul, 2004;Tsimpli, Sorace, Heycock & Filiaci, 2004, among others) and others indicating that syntax-discourse phenomena are not predetermined areas for fossilization (Domínguez, 2013;Donaldson, 2012;Judy, 2015;Judy & Rothman, 2014;Leal, Rothman, & Slabakova, 2014;Montrul & Rodríguez-Louro, 2006;Rothman, 2009a, among others).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To address this question, Sorace and colleagues have proposed the Interface Hypothesis (IH), an influential account within generative approaches to language acquisition, which predicts that morphosyntactic phenomena regulated by discourse–pragmatic conditions are more likely to lead to non-native outcomes than strictly syntactic aspects of the language (see Sorace, 2006, 2011, 2012; Sorace and Filiaci, 2006; Sorace and Serratrice, 2009; Tsimpli and Sorace, 2006; for an overview and critical discussion of the IH, see Montrul, 2011; White, 2011). The predictions of this hypothesis have been tested against different types of bilingual populations (Sorace, 2011), including heritage speakers (Montrul and Polinsky, 2011), with some studies supporting the inherent complexity of the syntax–discourse domain (see, amongst others, Belletti et al, 2007; Flores, 2012; Montrul, 2004; Sorace and Filiaci, 2006; Tsimpli et al, 2004) and others indicating that syntax–discourse phenomena are not predetermined areas for fossilization (see, amongst others, Domínguez, 2013; Donaldson, 2012; Judy, 2015; Judy and Rothman, 2014; Leal et al, 2014; Montrul and Rodríguez-Louro, 2006; Rothman, 2009a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Input effects across domains: The case of Greek subjects in child heritage language

Daskalaki

Chondrogianni

Blom

et al. 2018

Second Language Research

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A recurring question in the literature of heritage language acquisition, and more generally of bilingual acquisition, is whether all linguistic domains are sensitive to input reduction and to cross-linguistic influence and to what extent. According to the Interface Hypothesis, morphosyntactic phenomena regulated by discourse–pragmatic conditions are more likely to lead to non-native outcomes than strictly syntactic aspects of the language (Sorace, 2011). To test this hypothesis, we examined subject realization and placement in Greek–English bilingual children learning Greek as a heritage language in North America and investigated whether the amount of heritage language use can predict their performance in syntax–discourse and narrow syntactic contexts. Results indicated two deviations from the Interface Hypothesis: First, subject realization (a syntax–discourse phenomenon) was found to be largely unproblematic. Second, subject placement was affected not only in syntax–discourse structures but also in narrow syntactic structures, though to a lesser degree, suggesting that the association between the interface status of subject placement and its sensitivity to heritage language use among children heritage speakers is gradient rather than categorical.

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A Rare Structure at the Syntax-Discourse Interface: Heritage and Spanish-Dominant Native Speakers Weigh In

Cited by 22 publications

References 52 publications

Differential Access: Asymmetries in Accessing Features and Building Representations in Heritage Language Grammars

Differential Access: Asymmetries in Accessing Features and Building Representations in Heritage Language Grammars

The Bottleneck Hypothesis updated

Input effects across domains: The case of Greek subjects in child heritage language

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