The Use of Pronoun Interpretation Biases in L1 Spanish: The Role of Language Proficiency, Exposure, and Use in Heritage Speakers

Abstract

Abstract In an offline sentence comprehension task, we test the interpretation biases for null and overt pronouns and anaphoric and cataphoric pronouns in heritage speakers (HSs) whose first language (L1) is Spanish (L2 English). Previous studies have shown that Spanish HSs can interpret overt anaphoric pronouns differently than monolingual speakers. A question that remains unexplored is how HSs interpret cataphoric pronouns and how L1 experience affects pronoun resolution biases in these individuals. We recruited 48 HSs and 48 monolingual Spanish speakers. The results show that pronoun interpretation in HSs differs from monolingual biases, with HSs demonstrating a higher subject antecedent preference for anaphoric and cataphoric pronouns. The results further show that a continuous measure of language proficiency, exposure, and use may contribute to explaining pronoun interpretation biases in heritage Spanish. We discuss the findings in light of recent research demonstrating that language experience can contribute to shape discourse patterns.