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(In)transitivity in L2 and heritage Brazilian Portuguese
This project examines knowledge of the distribution of argument structure across verb types (transitive, unaccusative, and unergative) in L2 and heritage Brazilian Portuguese bilinguals. While these verbs types exist across languages, their distribution in sentence structure is language-specific, presenting a challenge for bilingual speakers. This study tests a number of structures with differing patterns of grammaticality across verb types.
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 project seeks to examine the role of cross-linguistic influence in the acquisition of this distribution in Spanish/English bilinguals.
PREVIOUS...
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. (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
Adverb placement in L2 Spanish
This project examines second language learners’ ability to acquire the grammatical distribution of adverb placement in Spanish, which requires knowledge of the underlying syntactic structure (i.e., verb movement). Our experimental design also tests predictions for the placement of adverbs of different categories, as proposed by Zagona (2002).
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: