Bilingual language experience and code-switching acceptability judgments: A constructive replication of the work by Stadthagen-González et al. (2019),Balam et al. (2020),and Stadthagen-González et al. (2018)
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online December, 2025
Bilingual language experience and code-switching acceptability judgments: A constructive replication of the work by Stadthagen-González et al. (2019),Balam et al. (2020),and Stadthagen-González et al. (2018)
While a significant body of research has examined bilinguals’ preferences with respect to the acceptability of different structures in intrasentential code-switching, this line of work has largely ignored the potential effect of language experience on bilinguals’ judgments. Within bilingual language experience, two particular variables have garnered significant attention: language dominance and code-switching experience. The current study presents a constructive replication of three prior studies and examines the potential modulating role of language experience.
Design/methodology:
Seventy-one Spanish–English bilinguals participated in a constructive replication of three previously published studies. Experiment 1, replicating the study by Stadthagen-González et al. (2019), examines comparative judgments of noun–adjective order. Experiment 2, replicating the work of Balam et al. (2020), analyzes bilingual verbs. Experiment 3, replicating the study by Stadthagen-González et al. (2018), examines the adjacency condition. Bilinguals provided code-switching judgments via a two-alternative forced-choice (2AFC) task and information about their language experience via a language-dominance questionnaire and a code-switching experience questionnaire.
Data and analysis:
Relative rankings of the different bilingual constructions, using Thurstone’s law of comparative judgments, allowed for comparison with previous studies. The effect of language dominance and code-switching experience was assessed using binomial logistic regressions.
Findings/conclusions:
Broad agreement with results from each of the replicated studies was found. In addition, results show a significant impact of language dominance on acceptability judgments across all three experiments and an impact of code-switching experience in one of the three experiments.
Originality:
This study responds directly to an ongoing call for replication studies in the field of bilingualism and is among the first to consider the role of prior language experiences on acceptability judgments.
Significance/implications:
The strong replicability of prior results serves to support prior findings in the literature. Moreover, this study highlights the potential impact of prior linguistic experiences, including language dominance and code-switching experience, on bilingual behaviors.
AmengualM.ChamorroP. (2016). The effects of language dominance in the perception and production of the Galician mid vowel contrasts. Phonetica, 72(4), 207–236. http://doi.org/10.1159/000439406
2.
BalamO. (2015). Code-switching and linguistic evolution: The case of “Hacer + V” in Orange Walk, Northern Belize. Lengua y Migración/Language and Migration, 7(1), 83–109. https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=519551619004
3.
BalamO. (2016). Language use, language change and innovation in Northern Belize contact Spanish [Doctoral dissertation]. University of Florida.
4.
BalamO.Parafita CoutoM. D. C.Stadthagen-GonzálezH. (2020). Bilingual verbs in three Spanish/English code-switching communities. International Journal of Bilingualism, 24(5–6), 952–967. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006920911449
5.
BalamO.Stadthagen-GonzalezH.Rodríguez-GonzálezE.Parafita CoutoM. D. C. (2023). On the grammaticality of passivization in bilingual compound verbs. International Journal of Bilingualism, 27(4), 415–431. https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069221097772
6.
Beatty-MartínezA. L.DussiasP. E. (2017). Bilingual experience shapes language processing: Evidence from codeswitching. Journal of Memory and Language, 95, 173–189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2017.04.002
7.
Beatty-MartínezA. L.TitoneD. A. (2021). The quest for signals in noise: Leveraging experiential variation to identify bilingual phenotypes. Languages, 6, 168. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6040168
8.
BerinskyA. J.MargolisM. F.SancesM. W. (2013). Separating the shirkers from the workers? Making sure respondents pay attention on self-administered surveys. American Journal of Political Science, 58(3), 739–753. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12081
BirdsongD. (2016). Dominance in bilingualism: Foundations of measurement, with insights from the study of handedness. In Silva-CorvalánC.Treffers-DallerJ. (Eds.), Language dominance in bilinguals: Issues of measurement and operationalization (pp. 85–105). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107375345.005
11.
BirdsongD.GertkenL. M.AmengualM. (2012). Bilingual Language Profile: An easy-to-use instrument to assess bilingualism. COERLL, University of Texas at Austin. https://sites.la.utexas.edu/bilingual/
12.
BoschJ. E.UnsworthS. (2021). Cross-linguistic influence in word order: Effects of age, dominance and surface overlap. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 11(6), 783–816. https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.18103.bos
13.
BraniganH. P.PickeringM. J. (2017). An experimental approach to linguistic representation. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 40, Article e282. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X16002028
14.
BullockB.ToribioA. J. (2009). Themes in the study of code-switching. In BullockB.ToribioA. J. (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of linguistic code-switching (pp. 163–181). Cambridge University Press.
15.
BustinA.MuntendamA.SundermanG. (2022). Subject pronouns in Spanish-English code-switching: A test of two models. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 14(3), 310–339.
16.
CantoneK. F.MacSwanJ. (2009). The syntax of DP-internal codeswitching. In IsurinL.WindordD.Botde (Eds.), Multidisciplinary approaches to code switching (pp. 243–278). John Benjamins.
17.
de BruinA. (2019). Not all bilinguals are the same: A call for more detailed assessments and descriptions of bilingual experiences. Behavioral Sciences, 9(33), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs9030033
18.
de BruinA.BakT. H.Della SalaS. (2015). Examining the effects of active versus inactive bilingualism on executive control in a carefully matched non-immigrant sample. Journal of Memory and Language, 85, 15–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2015.07.001
19.
DewaeleJ. M.WeiL. (2014). Attitudes towards code-switching among adult mono- and multilingual language users. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 35(3), 235–251. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2013.859687
20.
GeneseeF. (2016). Shifting perspectives on bilingualism. In NicoladisE.MontanariS.MacSwanJ. (Eds.), Bilingualism across the lifespan (pp. 9–19). De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1037/14939-002
21.
GertkenL. M.AmengualM.BirdsongD. (2014). Assessing language dominance with the bilingual language profile. In LeclercqP.EdmondsA.HiltonH. (Eds.), Measuring L2 proficiency: Perspectives from SLA (pp. 208–225). Multilingual Matters.
22.
GiancasproD. (2015). Code-switching at the auxiliary-VP boundary: A comparison of heritage speakers and L2 learners. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 5(3), 379–407. https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.5.3.04gia
23.
GreenD. W.AbutalebiJ. (2013). Language control in bilinguals: The adaptive control hypothesis. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 25(5), 515–530. https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2013.796377
GrosjeanF. (2008). Studying bilinguals. Oxford University Press.
26.
Guzzardo TamargoR. E. (2012). Linking comprehension costs to production patterns during the processing of mixed language [Doctoral dissertation]. Pennsylvania State University.
27.
HauserD. J.SchwarzN. (2016). Attentive Turkers: MTurk participants perform better online attention checks than do subject pool participants. Behavioral Research, 48, 400–407. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-015-0578-z
HüffmeierJ.MazeiJ.SchultzeT. (2016). Reconceptualizing replication as a sequence of different studies: A replication typology. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 66, 81–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2015.09.009
30.
IsagerP. M.Van AertR.BahníkŠ.BrandtM. J.DeSotoK. A.Giner-SorollaR.. . .LakensD. (2021). Deciding what to replicate: A decision model for replication study selection under resource and knowledge constraints. Psychological Methods, 28(2), 438–451. https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000438
31.
KootstraG. J.DoedensW. J. (2016). How multiple sources of experience influence bilingual syntactic choice: Immediate and cumulative cross-language effects of structural priming, verb bias, and language dominance. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 19(4), 710–732. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728916000420
32.
KupischT. (2007). Determiners in bilingual German–Italian children: What they tell us about the relation between language influence and language dominance. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 10(1), 57–78. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728906002823
33.
MacSwanJ. (2009). Generative approaches to code-switching. In BullockB.ToribioA. J. (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of linguistic code-switching (pp. 309–335). Cambridge University Press.
34.
MacSwanJ. (2020). Theoretical approaches to the grammar of code-switching. In AdamouE.MatrasY. (Eds.), Routledge handbook of language contact (pp. 88–109). Routledge.
35.
Mallonee GertkenS. E. (2013). Priming of relative clause attachment during comprehension in French as a first and second language [Doctoral dissertation]. University of Texas at Austin. https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/21778
36.
MarianV.BlumenfeldH. K.KaushanskayaM. (2007). The Language Experience and Proficiency Questionnaire (LEAP-Q): Assessing language profiles in bilinguals and multilinguals. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 50, 940–967. https://10.1044/1092-4388(2007/067)
37.
MartinJ. M.AltarribaJ.KazanasS. A. (2020). Is it possible to predict which bilingual speakers have switched language dominance? A discriminant analysis. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 41(3), 206–218. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2019.1603236
38.
Montes-AlcaláC. (2000). Attitudes towards oral and written codeswitching in Spanish–English bilingual youths. In RocaA. (Ed.), Research on Spanish in the U.S. (pp. 218–227). Cascadilla Press.
39.
MontrulS. (2016). Dominance and proficiency in early and late bilingualism. In Silva-CorvalánC.Treffers-DallerJ. (Eds.), Language dominance in bilinguals: Issues of measurement and operationalization (pp. 15–35). Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107375345
40.
MorettL. M.MacWhinneyB. (2013). Syntactic transfer in English-speaking Spanish learners. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 16(1), 132–151. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728912000107
41.
MuyskenP. (2000). Bilingual speech: A typology of code-mixing. Cambridge University Press.
42.
Myers-ScottonC. (1993). Social motivations for code-switching. Clarendon Press.
43.
Myers-ScottonC. (2002). Contact linguistics: Bilingual encounters and grammatical outcomes. Oxford University Press.
44.
NagleC. (2019). Developing and validating a methodology for crowdsourcing L2 speech ratings in Amazon Mechanical Turk. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 5(2), 294–323. https://doi.org/10.1075/jslp.18016.nag
45.
OlsonD. J. (2023). Measuring bilingual language dominance: An examination of the reliability of the Bilingual Language Profile. Language Testing, 30(3), 521–547. https://doi.org/10.1177/02655322221139162
46.
OlsonD. J. (2024a). The Bilingual Code-switching Profile: Assessing the reliability and validity of the BCSP questionnaire. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 14(3), 400–433. https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.21039.ols
PaapK. R.MyuzH. A.AndersR. T.BockelmanM. F.MikulinskyR.SawiO. M. (2017). No compelling evidence for a bilingual advantage in switching or that frequent language switching reduces switch cost. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 29(2), 89–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2016.1248436
49.
Parafita CoutoM. D. C.Stadthagen-GonzálezH. (2019). El book or the libro? Insights from acceptability judgments into determiner/noun code-switches. International Journal of Bilingualism, 23(1), 349–360. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006917728392
50.
PeerE.VosgerauJ.AcquistiA. (2014). Reputation as a sufficient condition for data quality on Amazon Mechanical Turk. Behavioral Research Methods, 46(4), 1023–1031. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-013-0434-y
51.
PfaffC. W. (1979). Constraints on language mixing: Intrasentential code-switching and borrowing in Spanish/English. Language, 55(2), 291–318. https://doi.org/10.2307/412586
52.
RadfordA.KupischT.KöppeR.AzzaroG. (2007). Concord, convergence and crash-avoidance in bilingual children. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 10(3), 239–256. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728907003057
53.
RoettgerT. B. (2021). Context sensitivity and failed replications in linguistics–a reply to Grieve. Linguistics, 59(5), 1357–1358. https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2020-0239
54.
SebbaM. (2009). On the notions of congruence and convergence in code-switching. In BullockB.ToribioA. J. (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of linguistic code-switching (pp. 40–57). Cambridge University Press.
55.
Solís-BarrosoC.StefanichS. (2019). Measuring language dominance in early Spanish/English bilinguals. Languages, 4(3), 62. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4030062
56.
SönningL.WernerV. (2021). The replication crisis, scientific revolutions, and linguistics. Linguistics, 59(5), 1179–1206. https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2019-0045
57.
Stadthagen-GonzálezH.LópezL.Parafita CoutoM. D. C.PárragaC. A. (2018). Using two-alternative forced choice tasks and Thurstone’s law of comparative judgments for code-switching research. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 8(1), 67–97. https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.16030.sta
58.
Stadthagen-GonzálezH.Parafita CoutoM. D. C.PárragaC. A.DamianM. F. (2019). Testing alternative theoretical accounts of code-switching: Insights from comparative judgments of adjective–noun order. International Journal of Bilingualism, 23(1), 200–220. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006917728390
ThurstoneL. L. (1927). A law of comparative judgment. Psychological Review, 34(4), 273–286.
61.
TomoschukB.FerreiraV. S.GollanT. H. (2019). When a seven is not a seven: Self-ratings of bilingual language proficiency differ between and within language populations. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 22(3), 516–536. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728918000421
62.
ToribioA. J. (2001). On the emergence of bilingual code-switching competence. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 4(3), 203–231. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728901000414
63.
ToribioA. J. (2017). Structural approaches to code-switching: Research then and now. In LopesR. E. V.OrnelasJ.Avelar de CyrinoS. M. L. (Eds.), Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory 12: Selected papers from the 45th Linguistic Symposium on Romance Languages (LSRL) (pp. 213–233). John Benjamins.
Valdés KroffJ.DussiasP. E.GerfenC.PerrottiL.BajoM. T. (2017). Experience with code-switching modulates the use of grammatical gender during sentence processing. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 7(2), 163–198. https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.15010.val
66.
VerreytN.WoumansE.VandelanotteD.SzmalecA.DuyckW. (2016). The influence of language switching experience on the bilingual executive control advantage. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 19(1), 181–190. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728914000352
67.
WeiL. (2000). Dimensions of bilingualism. In WeiL. (Ed.), The bilingualism reader (pp. 3–25). Routledge.
68.
WilsonD. V. (2013). One construction, two source languages: Hacer with an English infinitive in bilingual discourse. In CarvalhoA. M.BeaudrieS. (Eds.), Proceedings from the 6th international workshop on Spanish sociolinguistics (pp. 123–134). Cascadilla Proceedings Project.
69.
YimO.BialystokE. (2012). Degree of conversational code-switching enhances verbal task switching in Cantonese-English bilinguals. Bilingualism, 15(4), 873–888. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728912000478
70.
ZentellaA. C. (1997). Growing up bilingual. Blackwell Publishing.
