Abstract
Here, we used event-related potentials to test the predictions of two prominent accounts of code-switching in bilinguals: The Matrix Language Framework (MLF; Myers-Scotton, 1993) and an application of the Minimalist Programme (MP; Cantone and MacSwan, 2009). We focused on the relative order of the noun with respect to the adjective in mixed Welsh–English nominal constructions given the clear contrast between pre- and post-nominal adjective position between Welsh and English. MP would predict that the language of the adjective should determine felicitous word order (i.e., English adjectives should appear pre-nominally and Welsh adjectives post-nominally). In contrast, MLF contends that it is the language of the finite verb inflexion rather than that of a particular word that governs felicitous word order. To assess the predictions of the two models, we constructed sentences featuring a code-switch between the adjective and the noun, that complied with either English or Welsh word-order. Highly proficient Welsh–English bilinguals made semantic acceptability judgements upon reading the last word of sentences which could violate MP assumptions, MLF assumptions, both assumptions, or neither. Behaviourally, MP violations had no significant effect, whereas MLF violations induced an average drop of 11% in acceptability judgements. Neurophysiologically, MP violations elicited a significant Left Anterior Negativity (LAN) modulation, whereas MLF violations modulated both P600 and LAN mean amplitudes. In addition, there was a significant interaction between MP and MLF status in the P600 range: When MP was violated, MLF status did not matter, and when MP criteria were met, MLF violations resulted in a P600 modulation. This interaction possibly reflects a general preference for noun over adjective insertions, and may provide support for MLF over MP at a global sentence processing level. Model predictions also manifested differently in each of the matrix languages (MLs): When the ML was Welsh, MP and MLF violations elicited greater P600 mean amplitudes than MP and MLF adherences, however, this pattern was not observed when the ML was English. We discuss methodological considerations relating to the neuroscientific study of code-switching, and the extent to which our results shed light on adjective-noun code-switching beyond findings from production and experimental-behavioural studies.
Highlights
It is common for bilinguals to mix their languages in the same sentence or conversation
Whilst other studies have reported that morphosyntactic violations modulate N400 mean amplitude (e.g., Guajardo and Wicha, 2014; Lau et al, 2016), we focused on the left anterior negativity (LAN) to ensure consistency with the two other event-related potentials (ERPs) studies (Parafita Couto et al, 2017; Pablos et al, 2018) that have investigated the grammaticality of adjective-noun code-switching
A main effect of Minimalist Programme (MP) was found in the LAN range, F(1,17) = 9.94, p = 0.006,η2p = 0.369, with nouns embedded in MP− sentences eliciting more negative mean ERP amplitudes (M = −1.58, SE = 0.34) than nouns embedded in MP+ sentences (M = −0.80, SE = 0.33; Figure 3)
Summary
It is common for bilinguals to mix their languages in the same sentence or conversation. Due to the generally low occurrence of attributive adjectives in production data, determining the grammatical constraints that may predict code-switching patterns has been the focus of attention of many studies, on Welsh– English code-switching (Parafita Couto et al, 2015, 2017) and on adjective-noun code-switching in other language pairs where the switch point constitutes a conflict site (e.g., Spanish–English, Papiamento–Dutch, or French–Dutch) Most of these studies examined patterns of adjective-noun switching in different bilingual populations and using different methodologies, to evaluate the predictions of two theoretical accounts: the Matrix Language Framework (MLF, Myers-Scotton, 1993) and the Minimalist Programme approach (MP, Cantone and MacSwan, 2009). An overview of these studies is provided in section “Previous studies evaluating the predictions of the MLF vs. MP,” but we first provide a brief review of the theoretical accounts that we are testing
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