1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism
  4. Online First Articles
  5. Online First Article
image of Protracted development in the heritage lexicon
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

Research on heritage language acquisition at the school age has shown protracted development and early stabilisation in morphosyntax and the lexicon. Our study examined the properties of resultative verb compound (RVC), a structure at the crossroads of the lexicon and morphosyntax, in second-generation child heritage speakers in the UK who had continuous input in Mandarin Chinese since birth. We analysed three subclasses of RVCs produced by the heritage children ( = 27, age 4–14) and their parents ( = 18) in an oral narration task and compared them with those by children in Beijing ( = 48, age 4–9) from existing databases. Our results show that the heritage children produced RVCs quite frequently and felicitously yet highly repetitively and conservatively, with a remarkably large proportion of their RVCs consisting of a strongly lexicalised subclass with direct lexical equivalents in English. Correlational analyses show that the heritage children’s RVCs improve with age, rather than provision of RVC in the parental input, indicating the role of cumulative input in RVC acquisition. Overall, the development of RVC in heritage Mandarin is delayed rather than stabilised or attrited, supporting the lexical account for grammatical vulnerabilities in proficient heritage speakers.

© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/lab.23001.sha
2024-03-15
2024-12-09

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/lab.23001.sha
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Bayram, F., Rothman, J., Iverson, M., Kupisch, T., Miller, D., Puig-Mayenco, E., & Westergaard, M.
    (2019) Differences in use without deficiencies in competence: passives in the Turkish and German of Turkish heritage speakers in Germany. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, (), –. 10.1080/13670050.2017.1324403
     https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2017.1324403 [Google Scholar]
  2. Benjamini, Y., & Hochberg, Y.
    (1995) Controlling the False Discovery Rate: A Practical and Powerful Approach to Multiple Testing. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, (), –.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Berman, R. A., & Slobin, D. I.
    (1994) Relating events in narrative: A crosslinguistic developmental study. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Blom, E., Polišenskà, D., & Weerman, F.
    (2008) Articles, adjectives and age of onset: The acquisition of Dutch grammatical gender. Second Language Research, , –. 10.1177/0267658308090183
     https://doi.org/10.1177/0267658308090183 [Google Scholar]
  5. Brinton, L., & Traugott, E.
    (2005) Lexicalization and Language Change. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511615962
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511615962 [Google Scholar]
  6. Chen, J.
    (2006) The Acquisition of Verb Compounding in Mandarin. InE. V. Clark, & B. F. Kelly (Eds.), Constructions in Acquisition (pp.–). CSLI Publications.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. (2017) When transparency doesn’t mean ease: Learning the meaning of resultative verb compounds in Mandarin Chinese. Journal of Child Language, (), –. 10.1017/S0305000916000192
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000916000192 [Google Scholar]
  8. Chen, L., & Guo, J.
    (2010) From language structures to language use: A case from Mandarin motion expression classification. Chinese Language and Discourse, (), –. 10.1075/cld.1.1.02che
     https://doi.org/10.1075/cld.1.1.02che [Google Scholar]
  9. Chondrogianni, V., & Schwartz, R. G.
    (2020) Case marking and word order in Greek heritage children. Journal of Child Language, (), –. 10.1017/S0305000919000849
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000919000849 [Google Scholar]
  10. Correia, L., & Flores, C.
    (2017) The role of input factors in the lexical development of European Portuguese as a heritage language in Portuguese–German bilingual speakers. Languages, (), . 10.3390/languages2040030
     https://doi.org/10.3390/languages2040030 [Google Scholar]
  11. Coskun Kunduz, A., & Montrul, S.
    (2022) Sources of variability in the acquisition of Differential Object Marking by Turkish heritage language children in the United States. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, (), –. 10.1017/S1366728921001000
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728921001000 [Google Scholar]
  12. Cuza, A., & Miller, L.
    (2015) The protracted acquisition of past tense aspectual values in child heritage Spanish. InR. Klassen, J. M. Liceras, & E. Valenzuela (Eds.), Hispanic linguistics at the crossroad: Theoretical linguistics, language acquisition and language contact (pp.–). John Benjamins. 10.1075/ihll.4.11cuz
     https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.4.11cuz [Google Scholar]
  13. Czapka, S., Topaj, N., & Gagarina, N.
    (2021) A Four-Year Longitudinal Comparative Study on the Lexicon Development of Russian and Turkish Heritage Speakers in Germany. Languages, (), . 10.3390/languages6010027
     https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6010027 [Google Scholar]
  14. Daskalaki, E., Chondrogianni, V., Blom, E., Argyri, F., & Paradis, J.
    (2019) Input effects across domains: The case of Greek subjects in child heritage language. Second Language Research, (), –. 10.1177/0267658318787231
     https://doi.org/10.1177/0267658318787231 [Google Scholar]
  15. Daskalaki, E., Blom, E., Chondrogianni, V., & Paradis, J.
    (2020) Effects of parental input quality in child heritage language acquisition. Journal of Child Language, (), –. 10.1017/S0305000919000850
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000919000850 [Google Scholar]
  16. Deng, X.
    (2019) The Acquisition of Resultative Verb Compounds in Mandarin Chinese. Journal of Chinese Linguistics, (), –. 10.1353/jcl.2019.0002
     https://doi.org/10.1353/jcl.2019.0002 [Google Scholar]
  17. Dixon, L. Q., Zhao, J., Quiroz, B. G., & Shin, J.-Y.
    (2012) Home and community factors influencing bilingual children’s ethnic language vocabulary development. International Journal of Bilingualism, (), –. 10.1177/1367006911429527
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006911429527 [Google Scholar]
  18. Feng, L.
    (2017) An experimental study on the processing of Chinese VR constructions: A case study of ku-shi and tui-dao types. Language Teaching and Linguistic Studies, , –.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Filipović, L.
    (2011) Speaking and remembering in one or two languages: bilingual vs. monolingual lexicalization and memory for motion events. International Journal of Bilingualism, (), –. 10.1177/1367006911403062
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006911403062 [Google Scholar]
  20. Flores, C.
    (2015) Understanding heritage language acquisition: Some contributions from the research on heritage speakers of European Portuguese. Lingua, , –. 10.1016/j.lingua.2014.09.008
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2014.09.008 [Google Scholar]
  21. Flores, C., & Barbosa, P.
    (2014) When reduced input leads to delayed acquisition: a study on the acquisition of clitic placement by Portuguese heritage speakers. International Journal of Bilingualism, (), –. 10.1177/1367006912448124
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006912448124 [Google Scholar]
  22. Flores, C., Rinke, E., Torregrossa, J., & Weingärtner, D.
    (2022) Language separation and stable syntactic knowledge: verbs and verb phrases in bilingual children’s narratives. Journal of Portuguese Linguistics, (), –. 10.16995/jpl.8043
     https://doi.org/10.16995/jpl.8043 [Google Scholar]
  23. Flores, C., Santos, A. L., Jesus, A., & Marques, R.
    (2017) Age and input effects in the acquisition of mood in Heritage Portuguese. Journal of Child Language, (), –. 10.1017/S0305000916000222
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000916000222 [Google Scholar]
  24. Hammer, C. S., Lawrence, F. R., & Miccio, A. W.
    (2008) Exposure to English Before and After Entry into Head Start: Bilingual Children’s Receptive Language Growth in Spanish and English. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, (), –. 10.2167/beb376.0
     https://doi.org/10.2167/beb376.0 [Google Scholar]
  25. Hao, J., & Chondrogianni, V.
    (2021) Comprehension and production of non-canonical word orders in Mandarin-speaking child heritage speakers. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, (), –. 10.1075/lab.20096.hao
     https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.20096.hao [Google Scholar]
  26. Hoff, E., Core, C., Place, S., Rumiche, R., Señor, M., & Parra, M.
    (2012) Dual language exposure and early bilingual development. Journal of Child Language, (), –. 10.1017/S0305000910000759
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000910000759 [Google Scholar]
  27. Hsu, N., Rispoli, M., & Hadley, P. A.
    (2019) Mastering the Grammar of Complex Events: Evidence from Mandarin Resultative Verb Compounds. Language Learning and Development, (), –. 10.1080/15475441.2019.1590204
     https://doi.org/10.1080/15475441.2019.1590204 [Google Scholar]
  28. Huang, B., & Liao, X.
    (2017) Modern Chinese (6th Edition). Beijing: Higher Education Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Huang, C.
    (2006) Resultatives and unaccusatives: A parametric view. Bulletin of the Chinese Linguistic Society of Japan, , –. 10.7131/chuugokugogaku.2006.1
     https://doi.org/10.7131/chuugokugogaku.2006.1 [Google Scholar]
  30. Huang, C., Li, Y., & Li, Y.
    (2009) The Syntax of Chinese. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9781139166935
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139166935 [Google Scholar]
  31. Jia, R., & Paradis, J.
    (2020) The acquisition of relative clauses by Mandarin heritage language children. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, (), –. 10.1075/lab.16015.jia
     https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.16015.jia [Google Scholar]
  32. Kan, P. F., & Kohnert, K.
    (2005) Preschoolers learning Hmong and English: lexical-semantic skills in L1 and L2. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, (), . 10.1044/1092‑4388(2005/026)
     https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2005/026) [Google Scholar]
  33. Karayayla, T.
    (2020) Effects of first language attrition on heritage language input and ultimate attainment. InB. Brehmer, & J. Treffers-Daller (Eds.), Lost in Transmission: The role of attrition and input in heritage language development (pp.–). John Benjamins. 10.1075/sibil.59.02kar
     https://doi.org/10.1075/sibil.59.02kar [Google Scholar]
  34. Li, C. N., & Thompson, S. A.
    (1981) Mandarin Chinese: A functional reference grammar. University of California Press. 10.1525/9780520352858
     https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520352858 [Google Scholar]
  35. Li, Y.
    (1999) Cross-componential causativity. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, , –. 10.1023/A:1006236828263
     https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006236828263 [Google Scholar]
  36. MacWhinney, B.
    (2000) The CHILDES Project: Tools for Analyzing Talk (3rd Edition). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Mai, Z., Zhao, L., & Yip, V.
    (2022) The Mandarin ba-construction in school-age heritage speakers and their parental input. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, (), –. 10.1075/lab.18025.mai
     https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.18025.mai [Google Scholar]
  38. Mayer, M.
    (1969) Frog, where are you?New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. (1974) Frog goes to dinner. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Montrul, S.
    (2015) The Acquisition of Heritage Languages. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9781139030502
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139030502 [Google Scholar]
  41. (2018) Heritage language development: Connecting the dots. International Journal of Bilingualism, (), –. 10.1177/1367006916654368
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006916654368 [Google Scholar]
  42. (2022) Heritage Languages: Language Acquired, Language Lost, Language Regained. Annual Review of Linguistics, , –. 10.1146/annurev‑linguistics‑030521‑050236
     https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-030521-050236 [Google Scholar]
  43. Muysken, P.
    (2013) Language contact outcomes as the result of bilingual optimization strategies. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, (), –. 10.1017/S1366728912000727
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728912000727 [Google Scholar]
  44. Packard, J.
    (2000) The Morphology of Chinese: A Linguistic and Cognitive Approach. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511486821
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511486821 [Google Scholar]
  45. Perez-Cortes, S.
    (2022) Lexical frequency and morphological regularity as sources of heritage speaker variability in the acquisition of mood. Second Language Research, (), –. 10.1177/0267658320918620
     https://doi.org/10.1177/0267658320918620 [Google Scholar]
  46. Polinsky, M., & Scontras, G.
    (2020) Understanding heritage languages. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, (), –. 10.1017/S1366728919000245
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728919000245 [Google Scholar]
  47. R Core Team
    R Core Team (2019) R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. https://www.R-project.org/
     [Google Scholar]
  48. Sheng, L.
    (2014) Lexical-semantic skills in bilingual children who are becoming English-dominant: A longitudinal study. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, (), –. 10.1017/S1366728913000746
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728913000746 [Google Scholar]
  49. Sheng, L., Lu, Y., & Kan, P. F.
    (2011) Lexical development in Mandarin–English bilingual children. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, (), –. 10.1017/S1366728910000647
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728910000647 [Google Scholar]
  50. Sherkina-Lieber, M., Pérez-Leroux, A., & Johns, A.
    (2011) Grammar without speech production: The case of Labrador Inuttitut heritage receptive bilinguals. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, (), –. 10.1017/S1366728910000210
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728910000210 [Google Scholar]
  51. Silva-Corvalán, C.
    (1994) Language contact and change: Spanish in Los Angeles. Oxford University Press. 10.1093/oso/9780198242871.001.0001
     https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198242871.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  52. Smith, C.
    (1990) Event types in Mandarin. Linguistics, (), –. 10.1515/ling.1990.28.2.309
     https://doi.org/10.1515/ling.1990.28.2.309 [Google Scholar]
  53. Song, L., Sheng, L., & Luo, R.
    (2024) Comprehension skills of Chinese-English dual language learners: relations across languages and associations with language richness at home. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, (), –. 10.1080/13670050.2022.2137386
     https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2022.2137386 [Google Scholar]
  54. Sun, C.
    (2013) Chinese resultative verb compounds: lexicalization and grammaticalization. InG. Cao, H. Chappell, R. Djamouri, & T. Wiebusch (Eds.), Breaking Down the Barriers: Interdisciplinary Studies in Chinese Linguistics and Beyond (pp.–). Academia Sinica.
     [Google Scholar]
  55. Sybesma, R.
    (1999) The Mandarin VP. Kluwer Academic Publishers. 10.1007/978‑94‑015‑9163‑8
     https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9163-8 [Google Scholar]
  56. Tang, S.
    (1997) The parametric approach to the resultative construction in Chinese and English. UCI Working Papers in Linguistics, , –.
     [Google Scholar]
  57. Thompson, S. A.
    (1973) Resultative Verb Compounds in Mandarin Chinese: A Case for Lexical Rules. Language, (), –. 10.2307/412459
     https://doi.org/10.2307/412459 [Google Scholar]
  58. Thordardottir, E.
    (2011) The relationship between bilingual exposure and vocabulary development. International Journal of Bilingualism, (), –. 10.1177/1367006911403202
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006911403202 [Google Scholar]
  59. (2019) Amount trumps timing in bilingual vocabulary acquisition: Effects of input in simultaneous and sequential school-age bilinguals. International Journal of Bilingualism, (), –. 10.1177/1367006917722418
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006917722418 [Google Scholar]
  60. Tsimpli, I.
    (2014) Early, late or very late? Timing acquisition and bilingualism. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, (), –. 10.1075/lab.4.3.01tsi
     https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.4.3.01tsi [Google Scholar]
  61. Uchikoshi, Y.
    (2014) Development of vocabulary in Spanish-speaking and Cantonese-speaking English language learners. Applied Psycholinguistics, (), –. 10.1017/S0142716412000264
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716412000264 [Google Scholar]
  62. Unsworth, S., Argyri, F., Cornips, L., Hulk, A., Sorace, A., & Tsimpli, I.
    (2014) The role of age of onset and input in early child bilingualism in Greek and Dutch. Applied Psycholinguistics, (), –. 10.1017/S0142716412000574
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716412000574 [Google Scholar]
  63. Unsworth, S.
    (2016) Quantity and quality of language input in bilingual language development. InE. Nicoladis, & S. Montanari (Eds.), Bilingualism across the lifespan: Factors moderating language proficiency (pp.–). Mouton de Gruyter.
     [Google Scholar]
  64. Viner, K. M.
    (2016) Second-generation NYC bilinguals’ use of the Spanish subjunctive in obligatory contexts. Spanish in Context, (), –. 10.1075/sic.13.3.02vin
     https://doi.org/10.1075/sic.13.3.02vin [Google Scholar]
  65. (2017) Subjunctive use in the speech of New York City Spanish heritage language bilinguals: A variationist analysis. Heritage Language Journal, (), –. 10.46538/hlj.14.3.5
     https://doi.org/10.46538/hlj.14.3.5 [Google Scholar]
  66. Wei, L., & Lee, S.
    (2001) L1 Development in an L2 Environment: The Use of Cantonese Classifiers and Quantifiers by Young British-born Chinese in Tyneside. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, (), –. 10.1080/13670050108667738
     https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050108667738 [Google Scholar]
  67. Yuan, B., & Zhao, Y.
    (2011) Asymmetric syntactic and thematic reconfigurations in English speakers’ L2 Chinese resultative compound constructions. International journal of bilingualism, (), –. 10.1177/1367006910371023
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006910371023 [Google Scholar]
  68. Zhang, J.
    (2014) A learner corpus study of L2 lexical development of Chinese resultative verb compounds. Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association, (), –.
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/lab.23001.sha
Loading
Protracted development in the heritage lexicon
John Benjamins ; https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.23001.sha
/content/journals/10.1075/lab.23001.sha
/content/journals/10.1075/lab.23001.sha
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keywords: protracted development ; heritage Mandarin ; parental input ; resultative verb compound

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error