Gender assignment strategies and L1 effects in the elicited production of mixed Spanish-Basque DPs

Abstract

This paper investigates the strategies involved in gender assignment in Basque-Spanish mixed Determiner Phrases (DPs) with a gendered Spanish determiner (elM /laF) and a Basque ungendered noun. Previous studies on Spanish-Basque mixed DPs have revealed conflicting results regarding the determining factor affecting gender assignment, namely, phonological ending vs. analogical gender. We designed a forced-switch elicitation task in order to elicit mixed DPs with a Spanish determiner and a Basque noun (controlled for both phonological vs. analogical cues). Thirty highly proficient Spanish-Basque bilinguals with different profiles and sociolinguistic backgrounds participated in the study. Three cues were significant in the selection of the Spanish M/F determiner: the analogical gender and two phonological cues, the word ending and the root ending of the Basque noun. Further statistical analyses revealed participants’ L1 as a strong factor in the variability attested: bilinguals with Spanish as (one of) their L1(s) rely predominantly on the analogical criterion, whereas speakers with only Basque as L1 follow mainly the phonological criterion. Overall, this study provides an explanation for the previous conflicting results and highlights the fact that bilinguals may use different strategies depending on their bilingual profile and the morpho-phonological properties of the languages in contact.

Adjective position in the code-switched speech of Spanish and Papiamento heritage speakers in the Netherlands: Individual differences and methodological considerations

“…Gullberg et al, 2009), a method used to elicit nominal constructions consisting of a determiner, noun and adjective (e.g., "above the green painting is a blue lamp"). This task, which has been used before by Bellamy et al (2018) andMunarriz Ibarrola et al (2022), consists of a board game involving two people; the director and the matcher. The participants sit The goal is for the director to communicate to the matcher where to put the cards, describing the images on each card.…”

“…Variation at the individual level has been observed by Boers et al (2020) and van Osch et al (2022) , who demonstrate that differences between speakers with respect to gender agreement strategies in code-switching are related to differences in dominance, in terms of proficiency, use and exposure. Similarly, Liceras et al (2008) and Munarriz-Ibarrola et al (2022) report differences in code-switching patterns between groups of bilinguals that seem to be related to the order of acquisition of the languages in the particular bilingual group.…”

What Can L2ers Tell Us about Codeswitching? Mood Selection in Spanish

“…It is important to point out that these participants and those in Prada Pérez et al (2021) were all English-dominant speakers who differed in exposure to CS and L1. In Munarriz-Ibarrola et al (2021), Basque L1 and Spanish L1 bilinguals were sensitive to the analogical criterion and the phonological criterion in the gender assignment of the determiner in Determiner-Noun switches depending on their L1. Thus, the L1 difference could also explain differences between our data and that in Prada Pérez et al (2021).…”

The role of grammatical gender in Spanish-English switched DPs and copula constructions..

“…Most of these studies point to a preference for [+AC] structures (e.g., Ezeizabarrena, 2009;Iriondo, 2017;Munarriz-Ibarrola et al, 2021). Yet, others indicate that these bilinguals rely on the shape-based strategy, that is, they associate the Basque definite marker '-a' with the feminine gender so that they use the feminine Det as a default gender regardless of the gender of the translation equivalent guided by the ending of the Basque N Munarriz-Ibarrola et al, 2021;Parafita Couto et al, 2015).…”

“…Most of these studies point to a preference for [+AC] structures (e.g., Ezeizabarrena, 2009;Iriondo, 2017;Munarriz-Ibarrola et al, 2021). Yet, others indicate that these bilinguals rely on the shape-based strategy, that is, they associate the Basque definite marker '-a' with the feminine gender so that they use the feminine Det as a default gender regardless of the gender of the translation equivalent guided by the ending of the Basque N Munarriz-Ibarrola et al, 2021;Parafita Couto et al, 2015). The shape-based strategy has also been observed in the Spanish Det + Purepecha N switched DPs, since participants assign the feminine gender to Purepecha Ns which end in -a, although the translation equivalent is masculine in Spanish (Bellamy et al, 2018).…”