Abstract
In his model of the architecture of the bilingual mind, MacSwan (1999, 2000) proposes to allow all kinds of code-switching as long as the grammars of the two languages involved are respected. Following this approach, we claim that mixed DPs uttered by bilingual children are well-formed. Particularly, we think that the analysis of gender assignment in mixed DPs will shed light on how the two lexicons of bilinguals interact. Looking at spontaneous speech from Italian/German children (age 1; 8–5), we predict that the gender of the noun will be switched together with the noun. As a consequence, the gender encoded on the determiner will correspond to the noun's gender although the determiner is from the other language and the equivalent noun in that language may have a different gender. We argue that this occurs because gender is an abstract lexical feature of nouns which is stored in the lexicon and thus reject the view that gender is a functional head in syntax. Further, we will discuss recent neuro-linguistic results which concern gender representation and relate these to our findings on gender selection in bilingual children's mixed DPs.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.