Noun phrase structure in German-English codeswitching: Variation in gender assignment and article use

Abstract

This article investigates the construction of the grammatical frame in codeswitching in terms of the roles played by the two languages in contact, referred to here as the Matrix Language(ML) and Embedded Language(EL). In “classic” codeswitching, the ML sets the grammatical frame; in addition, however, we claim that the ML frame may be synchronically variable and may converge toward the EL with increased duration of bilingualism. This process has been called an ML turnover, and these data show the roots of this development. We present data from German-English codeswitching on grammatical gender assignment and article use in noun phrases. These features have been chosen for analysis because they are aspects of the noun phrase in which English and German exhibit structural differences, and it is important to study how bilinguals deal with the lack of congruence in codeswitching structures. For grammatical gender assignment, the ML(in this case, German) determines the codeswitching structure, yet this does not result in a homogenous patterning of gender marking. While there is a strong tendency toward the use of the cognate strategy, there is also much variation due to conflicting strategies and the lack of one strategy which applies in all contexts. In article use, we find that speakers with longer exposure to bilingualism will use English-influenced patterns in noun phrases containing English nouns. Thus, we claim that both synchronic and diachronic variation are to be expected in codeswitching structures.