Bilingual patterns of path encoding: A study of Polish L1-German L2 and Polish L1-Spanish L2 speakers

Abstract

Abstract The encoding of path shows systematic inter-typological variation, with speakers of satellite-framed languages (S-language; e. g. German, Polish) typically conveying path outside the main verb (in particles, prefixes, etc.) and speakers of verb-framed languages (V-language; e. g. Spanish) typically conveying path in the main verb. However, less is known about intra-typological variation in the expression of path, especially for bilingual patterns of path encoding. In this paper, we examine path descriptions produced by two groups of bilinguals and compare the descriptions made by these bilinguals with those made by native speakers of the corresponding L1 and L2 languages. The first group consisted of native Polish speakers who were L2 German speakers (intra-typological L1-L2 transition), while the second group comprised native Polish speakers who were L2 Spanish speakers (inter-typological L1-L2 transition). Our results provide evidence for greater alignment to L2 among bilinguals learning an L2 from a different typological group (i. e. Polish L1-Spanish L2 bilinguals), and closer alignment to L1 among bilinguals learning an L2 from the same typological group (i. e. Polish L1-German L2 bilinguals).