Cross-linguistic aspects in child L2 acquisition

Abstract

Cross-linguistic effects in successive childhood bilingualism have received increased attention in the last few years. The goal of this special issue is to bring together studies that investigate crosslinguistic influence in child second language (L2) learners by examining how first language (L1) and L2 properties develop and interact in the context of child L2 acquisition. Specifically, the articles in this special issue address the following questions: (a) What is the role of cross-linguistic influence at the syntax-discourse interface? (b) How do target language properties influence L2 developmental paths? (c) Does the L2 influence the L1 when acquiring a syntax-semantics interface phenomenon? (d) What does cross-linguistic influence look like in the context of atypical bilingual acquisition? These questions are answered in the context of diverse child L2 populations growing up in different acquisition settings and with varied degrees of exposure to the two languages. Keywords Successive childhood bilingualism, cross-linguistic influence, transfer effects, language impairment Cross-linguistic aspects in child second language acquisitionThe last decade has seen a sharp increase in the studies on second language (L2) acquisition in successive bilingual children, that is, in children who are exposed to the L2 after the age of three or four years and before the age of seven years (Chondrogianni, 2008;Schwartz, 2004;Unsworth, 2005; see Haznedar & Gavruseva, 2008; Ionin, 2013 for overviews). As Schwartz (2004) observed, the study of successive childhood bilingualism or child L2 acquisition has its own merit as it can provide insights into how the first language (L1) and the L2 develop and interact in a population that is cognitively and maturationally different from both L1 children and L2 adults. The investigation of L2 children and their comparison with L1 children and L2 adults has both theoretical and empirical relevance. On a theoretical level, it can shed light on theories of L1 and L2 acquisition

Uyghur–Chinese early successive bilingual children's acquisition of voluntary motion expressions

“…Ma, 2012;Zheng, 2011). They are therefore early successive bilinguals (Chondrogianni & Vasić, 2016;Meisel, 2018) who acquire their L2 naturalistically. A relevant affordance of this unique bilingual setting, which contrasts with much of previous research, concerns bilingual children's relative exposure to and use of their two languages.…”

“…The bilinguals consisted of four age groups with each containing 24 participants: 4-year-olds (B04; age range 3;11-4;7; mean age 4;6), 6-year-olds (B06; age range 5;9-6;6; mean age 6;5), 8-year-olds (B08; age range 7;9-8;4; mean age 8;4) and 10-yearolds (B10; age range 9;8-10;7; mean age 10;6). They were recruited from Chinese immersion kindergartens and primary schools in Ürümchi, Xinjiang and were early successive bilinguals as the exposure to their L2 started at a mean age of 3;2 (range = 3;1-3;4) (Chondrogianni & Vasić, 2016;Meisel, 2018). The recruitment process started with an initial teachers' screening that involved identifying those who grew up in Uyghur families, and for the 4-year-olds, those who were perceived as highly proficient in Chinese.…”