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Article published In: Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism
Vol. 10:1 (2020) ► pp.5–34

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The good, the bad, and the gradient

The role of losers in code-switching

ORCiD logo with link | Penn State University / Center for Language Science
 | Penn State University / Center for Language Science
Published online: 21 June 2017
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.16008.put
Abstract
Although formal analyses of code-switching have enjoyed some success in determining which structures and interfaces are more fertile environments for switches than others, research exposing recalcitrant counter-examples to proposed constraints and axioms responsible for governing code-switching is abound. We advance the claim here that sub-optimal representations, i.e., losers, stand to reveal important information regarding the interaction of grammatical principles and processing strategies of bilingual speakers and that any comprehensive analysis of code-switching phenomena should include them. These losers are the result of gradient activation in both input and output forms. We demonstrate how the formalism Gradient Symbolic Computation (GSC; Smolensky, P., Goldrick, M., & Mathis, D. (2014). Optimization and quantization in gradient symbol systems: A framework for integrating the continuous and the discrete in cognition. Cognitive Science, 381, 1102–1138. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) can account for both of these observed facets of bilingual grammars in a unified manner. Building upon the work of Goldrick et al. (Goldrick, M., Putnam, M., & Schwarz, L. (2016a). Coactivation in bilingual grammars: A computational account of code mixing. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 9(5), 857–876. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, (2016b). The future of code mixing research: Integrating psycholinguistic and formal grammatical theories. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 9(5), 903–906. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), we provide an analysis of mixed determiner phrases (DPs) as an example of the fundamental components of a GSC-analysis.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Gradient Symbolic Computation (GSC) and the role of losers
  • 3.The distinction between mixes and blends in GSC
  • 4.Conclusion: Why losers matter
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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