Crosslinguistic influence in development of reference realization: A comparison of foreign language learners and heritage language learners

Abstract

Abstract Recent developments in the study of crosslinguistic influence have started to account for how the dynamic interaction between language and cognition influences transfer phenomena. This study examined the acquisition and use of referring expressions in narratives produced by 80 English-dominant learners of Chinese representing two proficiency levels (Low vs. High) and two linguistic backgrounds (Foreign Language vs. Heritage Language), as compared to two baseline groups of 40 Chinese native speakers (NSs) and 40 English NSs. Results showed that, while heritage language learners (HLLs) demonstrated a more idiomatic use of referential forms to introduce new characters and maintain reference to them than did foreign language learners (FLLs) at the same low-proficiency level, the advantage of early language exposure diminished at the high-proficiency level when HLLs were compared to High FLLs who had prolonged in-country experience. Meanwhile, three types of production errors persisted, including (i) failing to use definite reference when obligatory for simple bare nouns, (ii) struggling to supply item-specific classifiers, and (iii) avoidance of zero anaphora, when discourse coherence would prefer such a strategy. All three of these features involve the restructuring of L1 preferences to accommodate L2-specific patterns due to L1-L2 typological differences.