Use of the first-acquired language modulates pupil size in the processing of island constraint violations

Traditional studies of the population called "heritage speakers" (HS) have treated this group as distinct from other bilingual populations, e.g., simultaneous or late bilinguals (LB), focusing on group differences in the competencies of the first-acquired language or "heritage language". While several explanations have been proposed for such differences (e.g., incomplete acquisition, attrition, differential processing mechanisms), few have taken into consideration the individual variation that must occur, due to the fluctuation of factors such as exposure and use that characterize all bilinguals. In addition, few studies have used implicit measures, e.g., psychophysiological methods (ERPs; Eye-tracking), that can circumvent confounding variables such as resorting to conscious metalinguistic knowledge.

This study uses pupillometry, a method that has only recently been used in psycholinguistic studies of bilingualism, to investigate pupillary responses to three syntactic island constructions in two groups of Spanish/English bilinguals: heritage speakers and late bilinguals. Data were analyzed using generalized additive mixed effects models (GAMMs) and two models were created and compared to one another: one with group (LB/HS) and the other with groups collapsed and current and historical use of Spanish as continuous variables.

Results show that group-based models generally yield conflicting results while models collapsing groups and having usage as a predictor yield consistent ones. In particular, current use predicts sensitivity to L1 ungrammaticality across both HS and LB populations. We conclude that individual variation, as measured by use, is a critical factor tha must be taken into account in the description of the language competencies and processing of heritage and late bilinguals alike.