The Syntactic Distribution of Object Experiencer Psych Verbs in Heritage Spanish
This paper contributes to our understanding of the grammatical architecture of heritage languages and, specifically, the role of lexical semantics, by examining the syntactic distribution of Spanish psych verbs. Object experiencer psych verbs in Spanish fall into two classes: Class II (e.g., <i&g...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Languages |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/5/4/63 |
| _version_ | 1797547732588560384 |
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| author | Becky Halloran Gonzalez |
| author_facet | Becky Halloran Gonzalez |
| author_sort | Becky Halloran Gonzalez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper contributes to our understanding of the grammatical architecture of heritage languages and, specifically, the role of lexical semantics, by examining the syntactic distribution of Spanish psych verbs. Object experiencer psych verbs in Spanish fall into two classes: Class II (e.g., <i>molestar</i> “to bother”) and Class III (e.g., <i>encantar</i> “to love”). Class II verbs allow numerous syntactic alternations, while Class III verbs are more restricted syntactically. The asymmetry under investigation here is attributed to a lexical semantic featural difference—Class II verbs can be [±change of state], while Class III verbs are always [−change of state]. Two groups of HSs, (intermediate (<i>n</i> = 21) and advanced (<i>n</i> = 18)), and a group of Spanish dominant bilinguals (<i>n</i> = 19) completed two judgment tasks, a standard proficiency measure, a vocabulary task, and a biographical questionnaire. Results reveal that the responses of both HS groups are consistent with the Spanish dominant bilinguals in nearly all conditions, indicating that HSs are highly sensitive to this syntactic distribution. These results also highlight the importance of considering the results of individual verbs in studies that focus on lexical semantics, as they not only help us understand aggregate trends, but also reveal, in this case, that even in cases of deviant underlying semantic representations, licensing restrictions at the syntax-lexical semantic interface remain intact, suggesting that this is an area of resilience in the Heritage Spanish grammar. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:48:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fd016a8619eb406a974a762b6a270edd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2226-471X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:48:18Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Languages |
| spelling | doaj.art-fd016a8619eb406a974a762b6a270edd2023-11-20T21:13:17ZengMDPI AGLanguages2226-471X2020-11-01546310.3390/languages5040063The Syntactic Distribution of Object Experiencer Psych Verbs in Heritage SpanishBecky Halloran Gonzalez0Department of Spanish and Portuguese, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USAThis paper contributes to our understanding of the grammatical architecture of heritage languages and, specifically, the role of lexical semantics, by examining the syntactic distribution of Spanish psych verbs. Object experiencer psych verbs in Spanish fall into two classes: Class II (e.g., <i>molestar</i> “to bother”) and Class III (e.g., <i>encantar</i> “to love”). Class II verbs allow numerous syntactic alternations, while Class III verbs are more restricted syntactically. The asymmetry under investigation here is attributed to a lexical semantic featural difference—Class II verbs can be [±change of state], while Class III verbs are always [−change of state]. Two groups of HSs, (intermediate (<i>n</i> = 21) and advanced (<i>n</i> = 18)), and a group of Spanish dominant bilinguals (<i>n</i> = 19) completed two judgment tasks, a standard proficiency measure, a vocabulary task, and a biographical questionnaire. Results reveal that the responses of both HS groups are consistent with the Spanish dominant bilinguals in nearly all conditions, indicating that HSs are highly sensitive to this syntactic distribution. These results also highlight the importance of considering the results of individual verbs in studies that focus on lexical semantics, as they not only help us understand aggregate trends, but also reveal, in this case, that even in cases of deviant underlying semantic representations, licensing restrictions at the syntax-lexical semantic interface remain intact, suggesting that this is an area of resilience in the Heritage Spanish grammar.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/5/4/63Spanishheritage languagesbilingualismsyntaxlexical semantics |
| spellingShingle | Becky Halloran Gonzalez The Syntactic Distribution of Object Experiencer Psych Verbs in Heritage Spanish Languages Spanish heritage languages bilingualism syntax lexical semantics |
| title | The Syntactic Distribution of Object Experiencer Psych Verbs in Heritage Spanish |
| title_full | The Syntactic Distribution of Object Experiencer Psych Verbs in Heritage Spanish |
| title_fullStr | The Syntactic Distribution of Object Experiencer Psych Verbs in Heritage Spanish |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Syntactic Distribution of Object Experiencer Psych Verbs in Heritage Spanish |
| title_short | The Syntactic Distribution of Object Experiencer Psych Verbs in Heritage Spanish |
| title_sort | syntactic distribution of object experiencer psych verbs in heritage spanish |
| topic | Spanish heritage languages bilingualism syntax lexical semantics |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/5/4/63 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT beckyhallorangonzalez thesyntacticdistributionofobjectexperiencerpsychverbsinheritagespanish AT beckyhallorangonzalez syntacticdistributionofobjectexperiencerpsychverbsinheritagespanish |