HL Mandarin Speakers Toss the Same Way as Fluent Mandarin Speakers

Abstract

Abstract Heritage language (HL) speakers often show weaker semantics in HL words than speakers who continue to learn and use the language. In this study, we tested whether HL Mandarin speakers simplified near-synonyms of throw verbs by diminishing the difference between the near-synonyms and/or by diminishing the difference between the generic throw verb and other near-synonyms. Two participant groups, HL Mandarin speakers and English second-language learners, acted out six Mandarin near-synonyms of throw verbs and the English verb throw. The results showed more similarities than differences between the two groups in the core features of throw verb semantics (force, speed, and direction). We observed few signs of simplification. One interpretation of these results is that early and/or naturalistic exposure to Mandarin was an important predictor of speakers’ knowledge of conceptual features. These results add to the literature showing that there can be factors beyond proficiency that contribute to speakers’ lexical semantics.