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Cross-linguistic influence in French–English bilingual children's possessive constructions*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 November 2011

ELENA NICOLADIS
ELENA NICOLADIS*
Affiliation:
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
*
Address for Correspondence: Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, P2-17 Biological Sciences Building, Edmonton AB, T6G 2E9, Canadaelenan@ualberta.ca
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Abstract

The purpose of this article was to test the predictions of a speech production model of cross-linguistic influence in French–English bilingual children. A speech production model predicts bidirectional influence (i.e., bilinguals’ greater use of periphrastic constructions like the hat of the dog relative to monolinguals in English and reversed possessive constructions like *chien chapeau to refer to a dog's hat). In contrast, other explanations predict unidirectional influence from French to English. Possessive constructions were elicited from preschool French–English bilingual children as well as preschool French and English monolinguals within the same age range. The results showed bidirectional influence, consistent with a speech production model.

Keywords

simultaneous bilingual acquisitioncross-linguistic influencespeech production
Type
Research Article
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 15 , Issue 2 , April 2012 , pp. 320 - 328
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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Footnotes

*

This study received funding from a Discovery Grant to Elena Nicoladis from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Thanks to all the children who participated in this study, along with their parents and their daycare directors and educators. Rolande Cormier helped locate the French monolinguals. Mélody Cesar and Richard Landry helped with testing the children.

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