Linguistics

Acquiring L1-English L2-Spanish code-switching: The role of exposure to language mixing

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Article published in Languages.

This paper explores the code-switching behavior of second language (L2) bilinguals as a lens into the development of their L2 linguistic systems. Specifically, it investigates the acceptability judgments of L1-English L2-Spanish bilinguals on intra-sentential code-switching, comparing those judgments to a group of Spanish–English bilinguals who acquired both languages as an L1. The particular issues of proficiency and bilingual language behavior are analyzed, testing whether either factor has an effect on L2 code-switching intuitions. The results suggest that both proficiency and bilingual language behavior are relevant. L2 bilinguals with an intermediate/advanced proficiency level of Spanish were more likely to align with 2L1 bilinguals with regard to code-switching judgments, as were L2 bilinguals who reported prior experience with language mixing. L2 bilinguals with lower proficiency in Spanish, as well as those who reported never engaging in code-switching, however, were more likely to diverge from the 2L1 bilinguals in their judgments.

doi:10.3390/languages3030026

Monolingual data as a foundation for analyzing code-switching data

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Co-authored article published in Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism.

Among methodological concerns specific to code-switching (CS) research is the design of the target stimuli used in experiments with an acceptability judgment task. We argue here that research which makes use of CS data of this type must also incorporate monolingual stimuli into the experimental design, specifically monolingual stimuli judged by the same bilingual participants who judge the code-switched stimuli. We do so by reviewing two sets of experimental CS data we collected and exploring the role that monolingual stimuli can play in the analysis of that data. In each experiment, an analysis based solely on acceptability judgments of the CS stimuli leads to one interpretation, while incorporation of results from the monolingual stimuli leads to a distinct interpretation. We show that it is the interpretation integrating the monolingual acceptability judgments which is more valid, thereby arguing for the value of monolingual stimuli in design and analysis.

doi:10.1075/lab.16007.ebe

Tú y yo can code-switch, nosotros cannot: Pronouns in Spanish-English code-switching

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Co-authored book chapter published in the edited volume Spanish-English Codeswitching in the Caribbean and the US.

Pronouns have been generally reported to be ungrammatical in intrasentential codeswitching (CS) (Gumperz, 1977; Lipski, 1978; Timm, 1975; among others). However, pronouns can be found in a variety of syntactic, prosodic and/or phonological contexts, the full breadth of which has yet to be investigated systematically in Spanish-English CS. It is uncertain whether the inability to be codeswitched is generalizable to all Spanish and English pronouns regardless of context. To test this, an acceptability judgment task including pronouns in varied contexts was conducted with Spanish-English bilinguals in the United States. The results provide evidence that not all pronouns are unacceptable in intrasentential Spanish-English CS. Specifically, four different contexts are found to enable pronouns to be codeswitched: coordination, modification, prosodic stress and cleft constructions.

doi:10.1075/ihll.11.10gon