Language Dominance Affects Bilingual Performance and Processing Outcomes in Adulthood

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Psycholinguistics
• Bilingualism Research

Background:

• Early bilingualism research often focuses on L1 or L2 development in isolation.
• Studies typically immerse child L2 learners in their second language environment.
• The role of language dominance (LD) in early bilingual linguistic outcomes requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the influence of language dominance on linguistic competence in early bilingual children.
• To compare Catalan and Spanish linguistic structures in L1 Spanish-L2 Catalan and L1 Catalan-L2 Spanish bilinguals.
• To investigate how L1 dominance affects the maintenance of target-like linguistic structures.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of linguistic structures in two groups of early bilingual children in Catalonia.
• Examination of Sentential Negation (SN) with Negative Concord Items (NCI) in Catalan.
• Analysis of Differential Object Marking (DOM) in Spanish.

Main Results:

• Bilingual children maintaining dominance in their first language (L1) showed better retention of target-like linguistic behaviors.
• Language dominance was found to be a significant factor in linguistic competence outcomes.
• Specific linguistic phenomena (SN, NCI, DOM) reflected the influence of L1 dominance.

Conclusions:

• First language dominance plays a crucial role in the linguistic development and maintenance of early bilinguals.
• Understanding language dominance is essential for comprehending bilingual linguistic competence.
• The findings highlight the importance of L1 maintenance in bilingual education and research.