The aim of this study is to improve our understanding of code-switching (CS) at conflict sites (where the grammars of two languages have conflicting rules). We examine Determiner-Noun-Adjective...Show moreThe aim of this study is to improve our understanding of code-switching (CS) at conflict sites (where the grammars of two languages have conflicting rules). We examine Determiner-Noun-Adjective switches produced by Kaqchikel-Spanish bilinguals. Both languages differ in gender and word order: (i) Spanish has gender, Kaqchikel does not, and (ii) the adjective in Spanish is normally postnominal while in Kaqchikel it is prenominal (Bosque & Picallo, 1996; Brown, Maxwell & Little, 2006) (see examples 1 & 2, respectively). (1) Spanish: la casa roj-a def. .art fem house red-fem ‘The red house’ (2) Kaqchikel: ri käq jay def.art red house ‘The red house’ Predictions on mixed nominal constructions (NCs), based on two theoretical approaches, the Matrix Language Frame model (MLF) (Myers-Scotton, 2002) and the Minimalist Program (MP) (Chomsky, 1995, 2000) are examined. Both approaches provide contrasting predictions regarding the language of the determiner and adjective position. The MP predicts that (i) the determiner language is provided by the language with the ‘richest array of grammatical features’ (Liceras, Spradlin & Fernández Fuertes, 2005; Moro Quintanilla, 2014) and (ii) the adjective language dictates the relative order of the adjective with respect to the noun (Cantone & MacSwan, 2009). The MLF model predicts that (i) the determiner language is provided by the Matrix Language (ML) of the clause, and (ii) the ML dictates the relative order of the adjective with respect to the noun. Previous studies, both based on naturalistic and experimental data, report different outcomes when examining the prediction accuracy of the two approaches for language of the determiner and adjective position in different language pairs (e.g. Herring, Deuchar, Parafita Couto & Moro Quintanilla, 2010; Parafita Couto & Gullberg, 2017; Blokzijl, Deuchar, Parafita Couto, 2017, Fairchild & Van Hell, 2015; Parafita Couto, Deuchar & Fusser, 2015; Stadthagen-González, Parafita Couto, Parraga & Damian, 2017; Balam & Parafita Couto, 2019; Pablos, Parafita Couto, Boutonnet, De Jong, Perquin, De Haan & Schiller, 2019). In the present study, a total of 277 mixed NCs were elicited from 20 Kaqchikel-Spanish bilinguals through a Director-Matcher task (Gullberg, Indefrey & Muysken, 2009). Results show that (i) the determiner always appeared in Kaqchikel, supporting the predictions of the MLF (because the ML was always Kaqchikel) but not the MP, (ii) the adjective always occurred in postnominal position. In 164 out of 174 cases, the adjective language was Kaqchikel. This postnominal position was not predicted by any of the theoretical approaches. In monolingual Kaqchikel nominal constructions in this task, the adjective also occurred predominantly in postnominal position. Possible explanations for this can be drawn upon recent studies that report a task-effect (Bellamy, Parafita Couto & Stadthagen-González, 2018).Show less
