This study investigates inalienable possession in Spanish-English code-switching among US heritage speakers, using an acceptability judgment task (AJT) and an elicited production task (EPT). Results from both tasks show a clear rejection of the English definite determiner in switched contexts, and a strong preference for a preverbal clitic with Spanish verbs, particularly in the AJT. However, the tasks diverge in production patterns, with no clitic appearing in a third of the Spanish verb tokens in the EPT, suggesting flexible bilingual alignments and a greater prevalence of English possessive determiners in code-switching contexts.
Lingüística
Preposition stranding in Spanish-English code-switching
Article published in Languages.
This study tests the acceptability of preposition stranding in the intrasentential code- switching of US heritage speakers of Spanish. Because languages vary when extracting determiner phrases from prepositional phrases, known as preposition stranding or p-stranding, a contrast arises for Spanish–English bilinguals. English allows p-stranding, but in Spanish the preposition is traditionally pied-piped with the DP. Heritage speakers of Spanish, though, have shown variability, with child sequential bilinguals requiring said pied-piping, but simultaneous bilinguals allowing p-stranding in Spanish. Participants (n = 24) completed a written acceptability judgment task with a 7-point Likert scale. The task included code-switched sentences (n = 16) with p-stranding, switching from either English to Spanish or vice versa, with comparison monolingual equivalents for Spanish (n = 8) and English (n = 8) included as well. The results found that the simultaneous bilinguals accepted p-stranding in both languages, while also showing no restriction in either code-switching condition. Child sequential bilinguals, however, showed the expected monolingual distinction between Spanish and English, and p-stranding was only accepted with Spanish determiner phrases extracted from an English prepositional phrase (i.e., Spanish-to-English). These findings support the previously reported differentiation between simultaneous and child sequential bilinguals regarding p-stranding, while expanding it to code-switching.
doi: 10.3390/languages7010045
Adverbs in Spanish-English code-switching: Comparing verb raising and non-raising
Article published in the International Journal of Bilingualism.
Using generative syntactic theory regarding verb raising, predictions are made about adverb position in intra-sentential Spanish– English code-switching. Since both languages allow for non-raising, pre-verbal adverbs should be acceptably switched. However, since verb raising is only available in Spanish, post-verbal adverbs should only be allowed with a Spanish finite verb.
Spanish–English early bilinguals (n=24) completed a written acceptability judgment task with a 7-point Likert-type scale. The Spanish–English code-switched sentences contained a finite verb switched with a post-verbal or pre-verbal adverb. In addition, comparison sets of monolingual equivalents were tested, targeting adverb order in Spanish and English.
A total of 192 judgments were included in the analysis, and z-scores of the mean ratings provided by the participants were calculated. After a descriptive analysis of the results compared language and adverb order, statistical analyses were conducted via analyses of variance (ANOVAs).
Participants showed a preference for non-raising in English, while they accepted both orders in Spanish, but only with adverbs of completion and manner. For code- switching, non-raising was always acceptable, but verb raising varied. The availability of switched non-raising directly follows from the literature. However, the language of the finite verb did not predict availability of verb raising in code-switching. The results suggest that the language of the adverb is crucial to the availability of switching, not solely the verb.
The status of adverbs in code-switching has been left relatively unexplored. This study provides important details regarding adverb position both in mixed Spanish–English utterances and in monolingual contexts for this particular bilingual population.
These findings have a broader impact by providing data about adverb-position preferences in Spanish for a different community of speakers. In particular, it shows even more variability in the idiosyncratic behavior of different adverbs in Spanish.
doi: 10.1177/13670069211057955
Bilingual preposition-stranding acceptability in heritage speaker Spanish, English, and code-switching
Paper presented virtually at the 2nd Heritage Language Syntax, Utrecht, Netherlands. [PDF]
This study examines preposition stranding (p-stranding) in US heritage Spanish speakers, comparing monolingual English, monolingual Spanish, and code-switching contexts. Results show that English prepositions allow p-stranding regardless of the bilingual type, while simultaneous bilinguals are more likely to accept p-stranding with Spanish prepositions compared to sequential bilinguals. These findings suggest that the preposition, rather than the determiner, governs whether p-stranding is permissible in both monolingual and code-switching contexts.
Comparing heritage speaker p-stranding acceptability in Spanish, English, and code-switching
This study examines preposition stranding (p-stranding) in heritage speakers (HSs) of Spanish, comparing sequential and simultaneous bilinguals. While previous research found that sequential HSs reject p-stranding in Spanish, and simultaneous HSs are more permissive, this study expands the analysis to English and code-switching contexts. Results show that simultaneous HSs accept p-stranding across languages and contexts, while sequential HSs only accept it in English and in Spanish-to-English code-switching, supporting distinct grammatical patterns between the two groups.
Preposition stranding in Spanish-English code-switching: Evidence from an acceptability judgment task
This study investigates preposition stranding (p-stranding) in heritage speakers of Spanish, focusing on sequential and simultaneous bilinguals, and includes an analysis of code-switching contexts. The results show that sequential bilinguals accept p-stranding only in English and in Spanish-to-English code-switching, while simultaneous bilinguals accept it in both languages but prefer English. These findings provide further evidence of distinct grammatical patterns between heritage speaker groups with regard to p-stranding.
Student and instructor beliefs about Spanish second language writing assignments: A web-based survey study
This study explores beliefs about second language (L2) writing assessments in basic Spanish language programs at three US universities, focusing on both instructors and students. Using an online Likert-scale and ranked-choice questionnaire, the results show that while there is some misalignment in perceptions of the purpose of L2 writing assignments, both groups broadly agree on using a writing-to-learn approach to develop specific and general linguistic skills. These findings highlight key areas of overlap and divergence in stakeholder perspectives on L2 writing assessments in language programs.
Subject-predicate code-switching: Testing the need of a matrix language through embedding
Book chapter published in the edited volume Hispanic linguistics: Current issues and new directions.
There is continued debate on what determines the rule-governed behavior of intrasentential code-switching. Central to this debate is whether it is essential to differentiate between the languages involved, i.e., a matrix language and an embedded language. In favor of such an approach is Myers-Scotton’s (1993, 2002) Matrix Language Frame Model, whereas MacSwan’s (1999, 2014) Minimalist approach to code-switching operates independently of such a notion. To compare these two frameworks, a written Acceptability Judgment Task was completed by highly proficient Spanish-English bilinguals. The results suggest that the (un)grammaticality of the subject-predicate switch in embedded contexts does not align with the predictions made by the proposal by Jake (1994), an analysis that operates under the Matrix Language Frame Model. Proposals within the Minimalist approach to code-switching, both van Gelderen and MacSwan (2008) and González-Vilbazo and Koronkiewicz (2016), however, are effective at predicting grammaticality.
doi: 10.1075/ihll.26.12kor
Los bilingües siempre prefer non-raising: Adverbs in Spanish-English code-switching
Paper presented at the Hispanic Linguistics Symposium (HLS), El Paso, Texas. [PDF]
This study investigates adverb placement in Spanish-English code-switching, focusing on verb-raising and non-raising constructions. A written acceptability judgment task with Spanish-English bilinguals revealed that while non-raising adverb placement was generally acceptable regardless of verb language, verb-raising was less accepted, particularly with switched Spanish verbs. The unexpected results suggests more investigation is needed regarding verb movement in code-switching contexts.
