(In)transitivity and (dis)agreement in L2 Brazilian Portuguese
The first part of this project examines acquisition of argument structure across verb types (transitive, unaccusative, and unergative) in L2 Brazilian Portuguese.
The second part examines some unique asymmetries that occur in Brazilian Portuguese in terms of subject-verb agreement across verb types and variable word orders.
The acquisition of relative pronouns in Spanish and English
The distribution of relative pronouns in restrictive relative clauses in English and Spanish exhibits unique asymmetries with respect to the role of the [+/-human] feature corresponding to the subject or object of the relative clause. This bi-directional project seeks to examine the role of cross-linguistic influence in the acquisition of this distribution in Spanish/English bilinguals.
Pedagogical Implications of L2 Psych Verb Research
This project considers the pedadogical implications of the results of our work on the lexical semantics of psych verbs in L2 Spanish, considering how both formal linguistic theory and empirical research can inform L2 classroom teaching related to so-called 'verbs like gustar.'
Adverb placement in Spanish-English bilinguals
This project extends our prior research on adverb placement in L2 Spanish learners, incorporating data from heritage speakers to examine adverb placement by semantic category (following Zagona, 2002) and explore the roles of proficiency and language dominance.
Lexical semantics and the acquisition of Spanish psych verbs
This line of research examines the role of lexical semantics in argument structure through the lens of Spanish psych verbs, examining interpretations of syntax in three types of bilinguals: L1 English/L2 Spanish, L1 Spanish/L2 English, and Spanish heritage speakers.
Publications:
Gonzalez, B. (2025). Exploring factors that influence the accusative/dative experiencer alternation in Spanish psych verbs – data from three types of Spanish-English bilinguals. Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics, 18, 425-457. https://doi.org/10.1515/shll-2025-2014
Gonzalez, B. (2023). Syntactic licensing in heritage Spanish: psych verbs and the middle voice. International Journal of Bilingualism, 27 (5), 776-794. https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069221121750
Gonzalez, B. (2023). A lexical semantic approach to the L2 acquisition of Spanish psych verbs. Second Language Research, 39 (3), 731-758. https://doi.org/10.1177/026765832110662
Gonzalez, B. H. (2020). The Syntactic Distribution of Object Experiencer Psych Verbs in Heritage Spanish. Languages (Special Issue: "Contemporary Advances in Linguistic Research on Heritage Spanish"), 5(4), 63. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages5040063
Transfer and development in the acquisition of Brazilian Portuguese as a third language
Collaborators: Jennifer Cabrelli (University of Illinois at Chicago), Mike Iverson (Indiana University), David Giancaspro (University of Richmond)
This project focuses on the acquisition of Brazilian Portuguese (BP) in Spanish/English bilinguals – examining the syntactic transfer of Differential Object Marking (DOM), found in Spanish but not English or BP. At the L3 initial stages, data indicate Spanish transfer irrespective of its L1/L2 status. At later stages of L3 development, results suggest that non-facilitative transfer from the L1 has more lasting effects than L2 transfer.
Publications: