Gaskins D, Backus A, Quick AE (2019)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2019
Book Volume: 4
Article Number: 8
Journal Issue: 1
How does the bilingual child assemble her first multiword constructions? Can switch placement in bilingual combinations be explained by language usage? This study traces the emergence of frozen and semi-productive patterns throughout the diary collection period (0;10.10–2;2.00) to document the acquisition of constructions. Subsequently the focus falls on most frequently produced monolingual and bilingual combinations captured through 30 video recordings (1;10.16–2;5.11) which are linked to the diary data to confirm their productivity. First, we verify that like in monolingual development, frequency-based piecemeal acquisition of constructions can be reproduced in our bilingual diary data: in the child’s earliest combinations 87% are deemed as semi-productive slot-and-frame patterns. Second, video recordings show that productivity, understood as a function of type frequency, plays a role in determining the switch placement in early bilingual combinations only to some extent. A more accurate explanation for why frames from one language take slot fillers from another is their autonomous use and semantic independence. We also highlight limitations of input: while the child was raised with two languages separated in the input, she continued to switch languages which suggests that switching is developmental.
APA:
Gaskins, D., Backus, A., & Quick, A.E. (2019). Slot-and-frame schemas in the language of a Polish-and english-speaking child: The impact of usage patterns on the switch placement. Languages, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4010008
MLA:
Gaskins, Dorota, Ad Backus, and Antje Endesfelder Quick. "Slot-and-frame schemas in the language of a Polish-and english-speaking child: The impact of usage patterns on the switch placement." Languages 4.1 (2019).
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