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Multidisciplinary Approaches to Bilingualism in the Hispanic and Lusophone World
Edited by Kate Bellamy, Michael W. Child, Paz González, Antje Muntendam and M. Carmen Parafita Couto
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 13] 2017
► pp. 283–311

Chapter 12
Bilingual production of relative clauses in languages with opposite head-complement directionality

| University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)
| University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)
| University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)
The so-called SR advantage, based on the observation that S(ubject) R(elatives) are easier to acquire, comprehend or process as compared to O(bject) R(elatives) in many Verb-Object languages, contrasts with the pattern attested in some languages with prenominal relative clauses and/or Object-Verb word order. This study analyses the elicited production of relative clauses by four groups of Spanish-Basque bilinguals in their two languages. Results reveal a generally (similar or) higher accuracy in SR than in OR production across groups, regardless of language specificities (VO vs. OV, prenominal vs. postnominal RCs) and participants’ language and/or age profiles. A more detailed analysis of the non-target productions revealed that adult and even six-year-old bilinguals make use of language specific cues to distinguish SRs and ORs in their two languages discarding any crosslinguistic influence in this particular contact situation.
Keywords: language acquisition, relative clause, bilingualism, Basque, Spanish
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Relative clauses in Spanish and Basque
    • 2.1Spanish relative clauses
    • 2.2Basque relative clauses
    • 2.3Ambiguous relative clauses in Spanish and Basque
    • 2.4Complexity of SRs and ORs
  • 3.The study
    • 3.1Participants
    • 3.2Materials
    • 3.3Procedure
  • 4.Results
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 31 May 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.13.12eze
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