Les phénomènes de code-switching dans les conversations adulte-enfant(s) en basque-espagnol : une approche syntaxique

Le présent article étudie la syntaxe des structures langagières mixtes en basque-espagnol à partir d’observations de situations d’interaction entre adulte et enfant(s), réalisées aussi bien dans le cadre d’études longitudinales que transversales. L’objectif de la contribution est double. Elle vise, d’une part, le développement d’une typologie d’exemples de code switching (CS) permettant de délimiter le corpus adéquat pour tester différentes hypothèses relatives à la grammaire du CS (Jake et al. 2005, MacSwam 2005, 2008, Liceras et al. 2005, 2008). D’autre part, la quantification des données permet un approfondissement des connaissances sur le phénomène du CS dans des productions précoces. Elle incite à relativiser l’importance des énoncés mixtes comme indicateurs d’une majeure ou mineure compétence grammaticale des enfants bilingues dans le cadre de productions langagières (L1 et L2) en situation de communication habituelle avec d’autres partenaires enfants et adultes.Basque-Spanish code-switching in adult-child conversations: a syntactic approach.This paper deals with the syntax of mixed Basque-Spanish structures produced in conversations between children and adults. On the one hand, data obtained across several longitudinal and cross-sectional databases are used to examine the variety of mixed structures produced, as well as the predictive validity of some of the syntactic approaches to the grammar of code-switching (Jake et al. 2005, MacSwam 2005, 2008, Liceras et al. 2005, 2008). On the other hand, the quantification of the children’s data contributes to our knowledge of early CS phenomenon, suggesting that the low frequency of mixed structures observed in many bilingual databases weakens the relevance of mixed utterances as an indication of grammatical (in)competence of early bilinguals in their L1 or L2 during spontaneous conversations with adult and age peered partners

Cross-linguistic patterns in the acquisition of quantifiers.

Learners of most languages are faced with the task of acquiring words to talk about number and quantity. Much is known about the order of acquisition of number words as well as the cognitive and perceptual systems and cultural practices that shape it. Substantially less is known about the acquisition of quantifiers. Here, we consider the extent to which systems and practices that support number word acquisition can be applied to quantifier acquisition and conclude that the two domains are largely distinct in this respect. Consequently, we hypothesize that the acquisition of quantifiers is constrained by a set of factors related to each quantifier's specific meaning. We investigate competence with the expressions for "all," "none," "some," "some…not," and "most" in 31 languages, representing 11 language types, by testing 768 5-y-old children and 536 adults. We found a cross-linguistically similar order of acquisition of quantifiers, explicable in terms of four factors relating to their meaning and use. In addition, exploratory analyses reveal that language- and learner-specific factors, such as negative concord and gender, are significant predictors of variation.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the National Academy of Sciences via http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.160134111

Length of Utterance, in Morphemes or in Words?: MLU3-w, a Reliable Measure of Language Development in Early Basque

The mean length of utterace (MLU), which was proposed by Brown (1973) as a better index for language development in children than age, has been regularly reported in case studies as well as in cross-sectional studies on early spontaneous language production. Despite the reliability of MLU as a measure of (morpho-)syntactic development having been called into question, its extensive use in language acquisition studies highlights its utility not only for intra- and inter-individual comparison in monolingual language acquisition, but also for cross-linguistic assessment and comparison of bilinguals' early language development (Müller, 1993; Yip and Matthews, 2006; Meisel, 2011). An additional issue concerns whether MLU should be measured in words (MLU-w) or morphemes (MLU-m), the latter option being the most difficult to gauge, since new challenges have arisen regarding how to count zero morphemes, suppletive and fused morphemes. The different criteria have consequences, especially when comparing development in languages with diverging morphological complexity. A variant of MLU, the MLU3, which is calculated out of the three longest sentences produced (MLU3-w and MLU3-m), is included among the subscales of expressive language development in CDI parental reports (Fenson et al., 1993, 2007). The aim of the study is to investigate the consistency and utility of MLU3-w and MLU3-m as a measure for (morpho-)syntactic development in Basque, an agglutinative language. To that end, cross-sectional data were obtained using either the Basque CDI-2 instrument (16- to 30-month-olds) or the Basque CDI-3 (30- to 50-month-olds). The results of analyzing reports on over 1,200 children show three main findings. First, MLU3-w and MLU3-m can report equally well on very young children's development. Second, the strong correlations found between MLU3 and expressive vocabulary in the Basque CDI-2 and CDI-3 instruments, as well as between MLU3 and both nominal and verbal morphology scales, confirm the consistency not only of MLU3 but also of the two Basque CDI instruments. Finally, both MLU3-w and MLU3-m subscales appear sensitive to input after age 2, which emphasizes their utility for identifying developmental patterns in Basque bilinguals

Gestos y palabras antes de los 2 años: efecto de la edad y el género

Los datos de producción gestual, comprensión y producción de vocabulario de 754 niños y niñas de entre 8 y 24 meses obtenidos con el CDI-1v (adaptación vasca del cuestionario parental CDI-1) confirman la relación existente entre el lenguaje temprano no-verbal y el verbal. Además del efecto de la edad, en todas las escalas, se aprecian algunas diferencias de género en el inventario de Gestos y acciones y en el tamaño del vocabulario (receptivo). Coincidiendo con estudios que muestran diferencias de género entre 8 y 18 meses, a favor de las niñas, en las escalas CDI-1 en otras lenguas, los datos obtenidos con el CDI-1v en una franja de edad más amplia (8-24 meses) evidencian diferencias, que varían en función de las escalas, no solo en grado (mayores en Gestos que en vocabulario), sino que también en direccionalidad (favorables a las niñas en algunos Gestos y acciones, pero a los niños en otros)

Gender Assignment to Spanish Pseudowords by Monolingual and Basque-Spanish Bilingual Children

This study examines gender marking in the Spanish of Basque-Spanish bilingual children. We analyze data collected via a production task designed to elicit 48 DPs, controlling for gender of referents and for number and types of morphological cues to grammatical gender. The goals were to determine the extent to which participants rely on biological cues (female referent =>FEM gender, male referent =>MASC gender) and morpho-phonological cues (-a ending =>FEM, -o ending =>MASC, others =>MASC or FEM) to assign gender to pseudowords/novel words; and whether bilinguals’ language dominance (Spanish strong/weak) has an effect. Data were collected from 49 5- to 6-year-old Spanish-speaking children—28 monolingual L1 Spanish (L1Sp) and 21 Basque-dominant (L1 Basque-L2 Spanish) bilinguals (BDB). Results reveal a general preference for MASC gender across conditions, especially in BDB children, who produced masculine modifiers for 83% of items, while the L1Sp children did so for only 63% of items. Regression analyses show that for both groups, morphological cues have more weight than the nature of the referent in participants’ assignment of gender to novel words, and that the L1Sp group is more attentive to FEM morphological markers than the BDB group, pointing towards the existence of differences in the strength of cue-patterns for gender marking