Doctoral Dissertation Research: Phonological Aspects of word-internal Spanish/ English codeswitching

University Of Illinois At Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

One essential goal of research on bilingualism is to understand the ways in which two or more linguistic systems interact inside a speaker's mind. The bilingual phenomenon of code-switching, or the use of two languages in a single linguistic unit, embodies this interaction of linguistic systems. This unit can be a conversation, a sentence or even a word. Although code-switching was previously thought to be a 'substandard' use of language, researchers have determined that it is in fact systematic and rule-governed. Thus, the study of code-switching provides a unique lens with which to view the rules that constrain language. A primary question of interest regards the minimal linguistic unit within which code-switching can occur. While it appears that a single word can be composed of morphemes (i.e., the smallest meaning-bearing linguistic unit) from two different languages, researchers have claimed that the sounds used to produce that word must come from a single language. However, these claims have never been tested empirically. This dissertation project takes a laboratory phonology approach to determining the minimum linguistic unit within which a bilingual can combine elements from their two phonological (i.e., sound) systems. Intraword code-switching by Mexican Spanish/English early bilinguals will be examined using two experimental paradigms: a production study, and an aural acceptability judgment task. The results from these experiments will inform whether bilinguals produce phonologically switched words and accept phonologically switched words as licit outputs of their linguistic systems, thus confirming or rejecting the hypothesis that the word is the minimal unit for phonological code-switching. In addition to its theoretical contributions, dissemination of this research in the local Chicago community will contribute to the goal of informing the general public and bilingual educators/administrators about the use of code-switching as a standard bilingual speech practice that is rule governed like any natural language. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.