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

Codeswitching is a language-contact phenomenon which is characterized by the simultaneous use of the two languages of the bilingual and which has been used as a tool to investigate how these two languages interact in the mind of the bilingual. The present investigation focuses on English-Spanish codeswitching within Determiner Phrases (DP switches) and within copulative constructions with an Adjective Phrase (Adj switches). By following the minimalist premises proposed by MacSwan (1999, 2000) and by Liceras et al. (2005, 2008, 2016), two issues have been under consideration: (i) the directionality of the switch, and (ii) the gender agreement mechanisms in Spanish DP switches and in Spanish Adj switches (i.e., the analogical criterion, both [+AC] and [-AC], and the masculine as default). Experimental data have been collected via three experiments from two groups of L1 Spanish &#8211; L2 English bilingual speakers (i.e., children and adults): (i) an eyetracking during reading task, (ii) a reaction time task in Gorilla, and (iii) a visual world paradigm task. Thus, both offline and online experimental data have been elicited and analyzed, as well as compared to those in previous studies. Overall, regarding the directionality of the switch, the results indicate that English DP switches and English Adj switches are processed faster and are preferred. In the case of the gender agreement mechanisms, the results point to a hierarchy (i.e., [+AC] < masculine as default < [-AC]), which shows how strongly represented Spanish gender features are in the mind of these bilinguals for whom Spanish is their L1. However, children and adults show differences which could be attributed to (i) the complexity of the structure in terms of lexical access (i.e., Adj switches are more complex than DP switches), (ii) the type of data (i.e., different patterns are found depending on whether offline data or online data are considered), (iii) the implementation of the requirements imposed by feature strength (i.e., children&#8217;s performance is affected when experimental conditions make the task harder), and (iv) the interplay between the three.La alternancia de código es un fenómeno de contacto de lenguas que se caracteriza por el uso simultáneo de las dos lenguas del bilingüe y que se ha utilizado como herramienta para investigar cómo estas interactúan en el cerebro del bilingüe. La presente investigación se centra en la alternancia de código entre el inglés y el español en sintagmas determinante y estructuras copulativas con un sintagma adjetivo. Se parte de la premisa minimalista propuesta por MacSwan (1999, 2000) y Liceras et al. (2005, 2008, 2016) para situar el foco en dos aspectos: (i) la direccionalidad del cambio de código y (ii) la concordancia de género gramatical (el criterio analógico, tanto [+AC] como [-AC], y el masculino por defecto). Se han recogido datos experimentales de dos grupos de participantes L1 español &#8211; L2 inglés (niños y adultos) mediante tres experimentos: (i) uno de lectura con seguimiento ocular, (ii) uno de tiempos de reacción en Gorilla y (iii) uno del paradigma del mundo visual. Así, se han recogido y analizado datos experimentales offline y online y a su vez se han comparado con los de estudios previos. En general, en cuanto a la direccionalidad, los resultados indican lo mismo para ambas estructuras: mayor facilidad de procesamiento y preferencia por las estructuras donde el determinante y el adjetivo están en inglés. En cuanto a la concordancia de género, los resultados apuntan a una jerarquía ([+AC] < masculino por defecto < [-AC]) que refleja cómo de fuerte es la representación de los rasgos de género en la mente de estos bilingües para los que el español es la L1. Sin embargo, existen diferencias entre los dos grupos de participantes que se atribuyen (i) a la complejidad de la estructura en términos de acceso léxico (los sintagmas adjetivos son más complejos que los sintagmas determinantes), (ii) al tipo de datos (se han encontrado patrones diferentes dependiendo de si los datos son online u offline), (iii) a la implementación de los requisitos que impone el cotejo de rasgos (la actuación de los niños se ve afectada cuando las condiciones experimentales se endurecen) y (iv) a la interacción entre estos tres aspectos.Escuela de DoctoradoDoctorado en Estudios Ingleses Avanzados: Lenguas y Culturas en Contact

Does the ending matter? Revisiting the acquisition of L2 Spanish grammatical gender by gendered and ungendered L1 adults

Producción CientíficaThe acquisition of Spanish grammatical gender has been widely investigated in the L2 and 2L1 literatures. Previous studies have focused on identifying the difficulties L2 speakers encounter and on whether they attain a native-like performance. This has been widely researched with ungendered L1 speakers (mainly English) and with gendered languages such as Russian or German. This chapter aims at reviewing the most relevant works recently published on the acquisition of grammatical gender in L2 Spanish by setting the focus on the role played by the gender transparency of the noun and how the latter influences the speaker’s acquisition depending on the presence or absence of gender in their L1

Where the eye takes you: the processing of gender in codeswitching

Producción CientíficaLa alternancia de códigos posee gran potencial para explorar cómo interactúan dos sistemas lingüísticos en la mente del bilingüe. Exploramos esta situación de lenguas en contacto a través de datos de seguimiento ocular de bilingües de español L1 e inglés L2. Dado que las comunidades bilingües inglés-español muestran una clara tendencia a producir alternancia entre determinante y nombre (la window / the ventana), desde un punto de vista formal analizamos la direccionalidad de la alternancia y el tipo de mecanismo de concordancia de género implícita que se produce en el caso del determinante español (la/el window // el/la book). Los resultados muestran que se tardan más en procesar tanto la alternancia con determinante español como la del determinante español sin género analógico. Interpretamos estos resultados a la luz de propuestas formales de representación del género y argumentamos que la gramaticalidad del género en la L1 de los participantes determina los costes de procesamiento en este tipo de alternancia.Junta de Castilla y León - FEDER (project VA009P17)Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades - FEDER (project PGC2018-097693-B-I00

Un pencil o una pencil? The importance of Spanish gender in switched DPs

This MA dissertation explores experimental data involving Spanish-English switched DPs (Spanish Determiner + English Nouns, such as in “lathe house”) from sequential and simultaneous English-Spanish bilinguals with different age ranges. The purpose is two-fold: (i) to explore whether the different gender properties of each language (English has no grammatical gender, while Spanish does) affect the selection of the gender of the Spanish Determiner when judging and producing each structure; and which strategy (analogical criterion as in “lafem housefem”, analogical criterion helped by canonical markers as –o and –a, or masculine as the default gender as in “el masc default house Spanish fem”) is used; and (ii) to determine whether these properties and strategies are produced and judged in the same way by the different participant groups. The study shows that Spanish gender properties have an impact on this selection and that the strategy used depends on the participant’s strong or dominant language. Thus, L1 Spanish participants opt for the analogical criterion due to the influence of their L1; L1 English speakers are helped by canonical markers; and heritage children as well as L1 English speakers favor the masculine as the default option. These results point to the different representation of grammatical gender in the mind of English-Spanish bilingual participants.Departamento de Filología InglesaMáster en Estudios Ingleses Avanzados: Lenguas y Culturas en Contact

Infectious Diseases, Social, Economic and Political Crises, Anthropogenic Disasters and Beyond: Venezuela 2019 – Implications for Public Health and Travel Medicine

During last months, there have been a significant increase in the evidences showing the catastrophic health situation in Venezuela. There are multiple epidemics, increase in emerging and reemerging infectious, tropical and parasitic diseases as consequences of the social, economic and political crises, which would be considered today a clearly anthropogenic disaster. Venezuela is facing in 2019, the worse sanitary conditions, with multiple implications for public health and travel medicine. So far, from a global perspective, this situation will be an impediment for the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDG) in 2030. In this multiauthor review, there is a comprehensive analysis of the situation for infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, their impact in the Americas region, given the migration crisis as well as the comparative status of the SDG 2030. This discussion can provide input for prioritizing emerging health problems and establish a future agenda

Infectious Diseases, Social, Economic and Political Crises, Anthropogenic Disasters and Beyond: Venezuela 2019 – Implications for Public Health and Travel Medicine

During last months, there have been a significant increase in the evidences showing the catastrophic health situation in Venezuela. There are multiple epidemics, increase in emerging and reemerging infectious, tropical and parasitic diseases as consequences of the social, economic and political crises, which would be considered today a clearly anthropogenic disaster. Venezuela is facing in 2019, the worse sanitary conditions, with multiple implications for public health and travel medicine. So far, from a global perspective, this situation will be an impediment for the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDG) in 2030. In this multiauthor review, there is a comprehensive analysis of the situation for infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, their impact in the Americas region, given the migration crisis as well as the comparative status of the SDG 2030. This discussion can provide input for prioritizing emerging health problems and establish a future agenda

Codeswitching experimental data: grammatical gender in copula constructions with codeswitching

This investigation focuses on the role of Spanish grammatical gender in English-Spanish switched copulative constructions with an adjective as subject complement (e.g., la casa is beautiful / the house es bonita). In particular, the aim of this study is to determine (i) which directionality is preferred and easier to process (i.e., switches in which Spanish provides the subject determiner phrase (DP) and English provides the adjective or structures in which the subject DP is in English while the adjective is in Spanish -e.g., la casa is beautiful vs. the house es bonita-); and (ii) which gender agreement mechanisms are preferred and easier to process in copulative switches in which Spanish provides the adjective. Regarding the latter, two mechanisms are under consideration: the analogical criterion (AC), i.e., whether there is gender agreement between the Spanish adjective and the translation of the equivalent of the English DP subject ([+AC] switches; e.g., the house-SP FEM. es bonita-FEM.) or the lack of the analogical criterion ([-AC] switches; e.g., the house-SP FEM. es bonito-MASC./ the book-SP MASC. es bonita-FEM.); and the masculine as default, i.e., whether masculine adjectives are preferred and easier to process regardless of the gender of the translation equivalent of the English DP (e.g., the book-SP MASC. es bonito-DEFAULT and the house-SP FEM. es bonito-DEFAULT).UVALAL(1.) GENERAL INFORMATION: (1.1.) Title of dataset; (1.2.) Author information: (1.2.1.) PI and co-PI, (1.2.2.) Lab, (1.2.3.) People involved in the data collection; (1.3.) Objectives; (1.4.) Funding sources; (1.5.) Citing information. (2.) ACCESS INFORMATION: (2.1.) Licenses or restrictions; (2.2.) Publications. (3.) METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION: (3.1.) Data elicitation: (3.1.1.) Offline data, (3.1.2.) Online data: (3.1.2.1.) Visual world paradigm task, (3.1.2.2.) Reaction time task in Gorilla; (3.2.) Data codification procedure; (3.3.) Data extraction procedure; (3.4.) Data classification procedure: variables: (3.4.1.) Offline dataset variables; (3.4.2.) Online dataset variables (visual world paradigm task); (3.4.3.) Online dataset variables (reaction time task in Gorilla). (4.) DATA: (4.1.) Database; (4.2.) Last update; (5.) RELATED DATASETS Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) [PGC2018-097693-B-I00]Regional Government of Castile and León (Spain) and European Social Fund (ESF) (ORDEN EDU/556/2019, 5 junio)University of Valladolid & Banco Santander (contratos predoctorales 2018)Regional Government of Castile and León (Spain) and ERDF [VA009P17]International Council for Canadian Studies & Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade [Canada-Europe Award]Regional Government of Castile and León (Spain) [VA046A06]Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology and ERDF [BFF2002-00442

Codeswitching experimental data: grammatical person

This investigation focuses on codeswitching happening between the subject and the verb. In particular, it aims at determining how English-Spanish subject-verb switches are perceived and processed by taking into account three issues: (i) the directionality of the switch (i.e., Spanish subject – English verb switches vs. English subject – Spanish verb switches – e.g., el niño-SP DP SUBJ. drinks-EN V / él-SP 3rd PERS. SING. PRON. SUBJ. drinks-EN V vs. the boy-EN DP SUBJ. bebe-SP V/ he-EN 3rd PERS. SING. SUBJ. bebe-SP V); (ii) the categorial nature of the subject (i.e., determiner phrase -DP- vs. pronoun- e.g.,el niño-SP DP SUBJ. drinks-EN V vs. él-SP 3rd PERS. SING. PRON. SUBJ. drinks-EN V ); and (iii) the grammatical person in the case of the pronominal subjects (i.e., first and second person vs. third person pronominal subjects - e.g., I-EN 1st PERS. SING. PRON. SUBJ. quiero-SP V / you-EN 2nd PERS. SING. PRON. SUBJ. juegas-SP V vs. he-EN 3rd PERS. SING. SUBJ. bebe-SP V).UVALAL1. GENERAL INFORMATION : 1.1. Title of dataset ; 1.2. Author information: 1.2.1. PI and co-PI, 1.2.2. Lab, 1.2.3. People involved in the data collection; 1.3. Objectives; 1.4. Funding sources; 1.5. Citing information ; 2. ACCESS INFORMATION: 2.1. Licenses or restrictions; 2.2. Publications; 3. METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION: 3.1. Data elicitation and participant groups: 3.1.1. Offline data; 3.1.2. Online data; 3.2. Data codification procedure; 3.3. Data extraction procedure; 3.4. Data classification procedure: variables: 3.4.1. Offline database variables; 3.4.2. Online database variables; 4. DATA: 4.1. Database; 4.2. Last update; 5. RELATED DATASETS Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) [PGC2018-097693-B-I00]Regional Government of Castile and León (Spain) and ERDF [VA009P17]International Council for Canadian Studies & Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade [Canada-Europe Award]Regional Government of Castile and León (Spain) [VA046A06]Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology and ERDF [BFF2002-00442

Codeswitching experimental data: grammatical gender in DPs

This investigation focuses on the role of Spanish grammatical gender in English-Spanish switched determiner phrases (DPs). In particular, the aim of this study is to determine (i) which directionality is preferred and easier to process (e.g., English determiner switches vs. Spanish determiner switches - e.g., the casa vs. la house/el book-) and (ii) which gender agreement mechanisms are preferred and easier to process in the case of Spanish determiner switches. Regarding the latter, two mechanisms are under consideration: the analogical criterion (AC), i.e., whether there is gender agreement between the Spanish determiner and the Spanish translation equivalent of the English noun ([+AC] switches) (e.g., la-FEM. house-SP FEM. / el-MASC. book-SP MASC.) or the lack of it ([-AC] switches) (e.g., el-MASC. house-SP FEM. / la-FEM. book-SP MASC. ); and the masculine as default, i.e., whether masculine determiners are preferred and easier to process regardless of the gender of the translation equivalent of the English noun (e.g., el-DEFAULT house-SP FEM. / book-SP MASC.).UVALAL(1) GENERAL INFORMATION: (1.1.) Title of dataset; (1.2.) Author information: (1.2.1.) PI and co-PI, (1.2.2.) Lab, (1.2.3.) People involved in the data collection; (1.3.) Objectives; (1.4.) Funding sources; (1.5.) Citing information. (2.) ACCESS INFORMATION: (2.1.) Licenses or restrictions; (2.2.) Publications. (3.) METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION: (3.1.) Data elicitation and participant groups: (3.1.1.) Offline data, (3.1.2.) Online data; (3.2.) Data codification procedure; (3.3.) Data extraction procedure 3.4. Data classification procedure: variables: (3.4.1.) Offline dataset variables; (3.4.2.) Online database variables. (4.) DATA: (4.1.) Database; (4.2.) Last update. (5.) RELATED DATASETS.Gobierno regional de Castilla y León (España) y el Fondo Social Europeo (ORDEN EDU/556/2019, 5 junio)Universidad de Valladolid y Banco Santander (contratos predoctorales 2018)Regional Government of Castile and León (Spain) and ERDF [VA009P17]International Council for Canadian Studies & Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade [Canada-Europe Award]Regional Government of Castile and León (Spain) [VA046A06]Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology and ERDF [BFF2002-00442]Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) [PGC2018-097693-B-I00