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Code-switching – Experimental Answers to Theoretical Questions: In honor of Kay González-Vilbazo
Edited by Luis López
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 19] 2018
► pp. 63–100

Adjective placement in Spanish and Basque mixed DPs

| The University of Illinois at Chicago
| The University of Illinois at Chicago

The present study examines the relative order of noun-adjective sequences within a code-switched DP among Basque/Spanish bilinguals. Several hypotheses have been considered: is this a property defined by the determiner (Bartlett, 2013), the adjective (Cantone & MacSwan, 2009) or the noun (Arnaus et al., 2012)? We propose a new look at the problem by using code-switching of Basque/Spanish, two languages whose typological properties partially overlap. The Basque adjective is rigidly post nominal, while Spanish adjectives range from obligatory pre-nominal to obligatory post-nominal. We found that neither the N nor the D seem to play a role. Furthermore, the study showed that the adjective is responsible for word order in these contexts. Thus, our results confirm Cantone and MacSwan (2009).

Keywords: code-switching, Basque/Spanish bilinguals, code-switched DPs
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background
    • 2.1Differences within the DP between Spanish and Basque
      • 2.1.1Adjective placement in Spanish and Basque DPs
      • 2.1.2Determiner placement in Spanish and Basque
    • 2.2Previous studies
      • 2.2.1The determiner is responsible
      • 2.2.2The adjective is responsible
      • 2.2.3The noun is relevant
  • 3.Research questions and hypotheses
  • 4.Methodology
    • 4.1Participants
    • 4.2Target DPs
    • 4.3Procedure
  • 5.Results and discussion
    • 5.1Analysis for the D
    • 5.2Analysis for the N
    • 5.3Analysis for the A
    • 5.4AS NB sequence
  • 6.Discussion
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgments
  • References
Published online: 16 November 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.19.04nic
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