Generic reference in adult German bilinguals : how bilinguals deal with variation

Abstract

This study investigates subject nominals in German in adult simultaneous bilinguals (2L1s) with French or Italian as the other language, focusing on plural and mass nouns with a definite article. These have a specific interpretation in written Standard German, while they are ambiguous between a specific and a generic interpretation in the Romance languages and in some varieties of German. The aims are to (i) characterize the end-state grammar regarding a phenomenon that does not only show partially overlapping syntactic properties in the two target languages but also intra-linguistic variation, (ii) compare 2L1 and L1 end-state grammars, (iii) investigate the role of frequency of exposure and (iv) study the role of overlap with the contact languages. Results from an acceptability judgment task and a truth value judgment task suggest that 2L1s with frequent exposure to German are more conservative than monolinguals, tending towards overcorrection rather than cross-linguistic influence.