Bilingualism effects in Basque Subject Pronoun Expression

Abstract

Abstract The Interface Hypothesis (IH) (Sorace, 2011; Sorace & Filiaci, 2006; Sorace & Serratrice, 2009) proposes that structures involving an interface between syntax and other modules are less likely to be fully acquired. Whereas some studies have found evidence in favor of the IH (Michnowicz, 2015), others have reported that adult 2L1 and L2 speakers of differing proficiencies are equally efficient in acquiring the pragmatic constraints conditioning Subject Pronoun Expression (SPE) (Carvalho & Bessett, 2015; Prada-Pérez, 2015). In light of these contradictory results, this study tests the IH by exploring the acquisition of Basque SPE using naturally-occurring speech from 25 Basque-Spanish bilinguals. Results show that Basque L2-learners are responsive to discourse-pragmatic constraints. In fact, L2-Basque SPE is conditioned by a more complex set of constraints than native Basque SPE, for which we propose that L2 SPE results from a process of complexification (Dahl, 2004), triggered by transfer effects from Spanish.