Gender assignment in Basque/Spanish mixed determiner phrases

2018 ◽  
pp. 15-38
Author(s):  
Lucia Badiola ◽  
Ariane Sande
Keyword(s):  
Gender Assignment ◽  
Determiner Phrases

Gender assignment strategies and L1 effects in the elicited production of mixed Spanish-Basque DPs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amaia Munarriz-Ibarrola ◽  
Maria-José Ezeizabarrena ◽  
Varun DC Arrazola ◽  
M. Carmen Parafita Couto
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analyses ◽  
Gender Assignment ◽  
Determiner Phrases ◽  
Languages In Contact ◽  
Determining Factor ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract This paper investigates the strategies involved in gender assignment in Spanish-Basque mixed Determiner Phrases (DPs) with a gendered Spanish determiner (el M /la F) and a Basque ungendered noun. Previous studies on Spanish-Basque mixed DPs have revealed conflicting results regarding the determining factor affecting gender assignment, namely, phonological ending vs. analogical gender. We designed a forced-switch elicitation task in order to elicit mixed DPs with a Spanish determiner and a Basque noun (controlled for both phonological vs. analogical cues). Thirty highly proficient Spanish-Basque bilinguals with different profiles and socio­linguistic backgrounds participated in the study. Three cues were significant in the selection of the Spanish M/F determiner: the analogical gender and two phonological cues, the word ending and the root ending of the Basque noun. Further statistical analyses revealed participants’ L1 as a strong factor in the variability attested: bilinguals with Spanish as (one of) their L1(s) rely predominantly on the analogical criterion, whereas speakers with only Basque as L1 follow mainly the phonological criterion. Overall, this study provides an explanation for the previous conflicting results and highlights the fact that bilinguals may use different strategies depending on their bilingual profile and the morpho-phonological properties of the languages in contact.

Gender assignment to Spanish-English mixed DPs

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 392-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugenia Casielles-Suárez
Keyword(s):  
Oral Discourse ◽  
Gender Assignment ◽  
Spanish Translation ◽  
Written Discourse ◽  
Determiner Phrases ◽  
Translation Equivalent ◽  
Mixed Language ◽  
Language Text ◽  
Masculine Gender

Abstract Previous studies on gender assignment to Spanish-English mixed Determiner Phrases (DPs) have noticed a tendency to default to the masculine gender (e.g. el store). However, some studies have revealed that other factors such as the gender of the Spanish translation equivalent (analogical criterion) are also relevant, particularly in written discourse (e.g. la conference). Further, it has been hypothesized that feminine-marked mixed DPs in oral discourse, which are viewed as exceptions to the default gender strategy, should be highly restricted to singleton switches (Valdés Kroff 2016). This paper investigates if feminine-marked mixed DPs are restricted to singleton switches in written discourse by analyzing a mixed-language text, which contains both types of switches (singleton and multiword). The results confirm the importance of the analogical criterion in written discourse and show that feminine-marked DPs are not restricted to singleton switches, and that the analogical criterion is relevant to both singleton and multiword switches.

Primi appunti sulla manipolazione dell’assegnazione del genere in sanvalentinese

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-350
Author(s):  
Diana Passino
Keyword(s):  
Peculiar Feature ◽  
Gender Assignment ◽  
African Languages ◽  
Gender Shift

"Preliminary Notes on Gender Assignment Manipulation in Sanvalentinese. This contribution draws attention on a peculiar feature of the Italo-Romance dialect spoken in San Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore, where a subgroup of feminine nouns displays both feminine and masculine plural options. Gender shift to masculine in the plural seems to be exploited to obtain semantic differences related to countability and evaluation, namely to refer respectively to weak differentiation and pejorative meaning. This phenomenon, known as recategorization or gender assignment manipulation, is rather common in African languages of different families, but less pervasive and systematic in Romance. Gender and recategorization in Sanvalentinese are discussed in relation to inflectional classes, of which this contribution provides a sketch. Keywords: gender, number, recategorization, inflectional class, overdifferentiation, collective plural, Romance dialectology, metaphony."

scholarly journals Gender Assignment in Six North Scandinavian Languages: Patterns of Variation and Change

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 264-315
Author(s):  
Briana Van Epps ◽  
Gerd Carling ◽  
Yair Sapir
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Word Frequency ◽  
Old Norse ◽  
Gender Assignment ◽  
Feminine Gender ◽  
The Feminine ◽  
Old Swedish ◽  
Gender System ◽  
Gender Change

This study addresses gender assignment in six North Scandinavian varieties with a three-gender system: Old Norse, Norwegian (Nynorsk), Old Swedish, Nysvenska, Jamtlandic, and Elfdalian. Focusing on gender variation and change, we investigate the role of various factors in gender change. Using the contemporary Swedish varieties Jamtlandic and Elfdalian as a basis, we compare gender assignment in other North Scandinavian languages, tracing the evolution back to Old Norse. The data consist of 1,300 concepts from all six languages coded for cognacy, gender, and morphological and semantic variation. Our statistical analysis shows that the most important factors in gender change are the Old Norse weak/strong inflection, Old Norse gender, animate/inanimate distinction, word frequency, and loan status. From Old Norse to modern languages, phonological assignment principles tend to weaken, due to the general loss of word-final endings. Feminine words are more susceptible to changing gender, and the tendency to lose the feminine is noticeable even in the varieties in our study upholding the three-gender system. Further, frequency is significantly correlated with unstable gender. In semantics, only the animate/inanimate distinction signifi-cantly predicts gender assignment and stability. In general, our study confirms the decay of the feminine gender in the Scandinavian branch of Germanic.

The effects of language impairment on the use of direct object pronouns and verb inflections in heritage Spanish speakers: A look at attrition, incomplete acquisition and maintenance

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
PEGGY F. JACOBSON
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairment ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Gender Assignment ◽  
Verb Inflection ◽  
Heritage Spanish Speakers ◽  
Third Person ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Verb Inflections ◽  
Incomplete Acquisition

This study examined object clitic pronouns (OCPs) and verb inflections in twenty-five school-age children with typical development (TD) and twenty children with bilingual language impairment (BLI). MANOVA and ANOVA were used to explore differences according to grade level and language status (TD vs. BLI). Although children with BLI produced higher rates of grammatical errors overall, accuracy on number and gender assignment for OCPs was better for both groups in the higher grades. Although the rate of verb inflection errors did not differ for children with TD and BLI in the lower grades, a significant interaction yielded higher error rates on subject–verb agreement for third person singular and plural inflections in the later grades for children with BLI. Greater accuracy on OCP use in later grades weakens claims that bilingualism exacerbates language impairment. For BLI, whether incomplete acquisition or delayed development is the determining factor for verb inflection errors remains undetermined.

Number and Gender Assignment to loanwords in Arabic: Implications from Varieties

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sami Hamdi
Keyword(s):  
Gender Assignment ◽  
The Core ◽  
Grammatical Categories ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
And Gender

Number and gender are two of the core grammatical categories in Arabic. The assignment of number and gender to foreign words is an area of conflict between MSA and other Arabic varieties. This paper investigates the factors that stand behind the seemingly irregularity of number and gender assignment in Arabic. It appears that speakers follow a form standardized by MSA or enforce another form following their dialects and community conventions. This variation in number and gender assignment to loans gives rise to multiple competing forms that may not be recognized by MSA or some other varieties of Arabic. Yet, the findings demonstrate consistency in assigning number and gender to loans by applying native patterns motivated by frequency of use andthe semantics of the referents.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document