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In:Varieties of German in Contact Settings: Studies in honor of William D. Keel
Edited by B. Richard Page and Michael T. Putnam
[Studies in Germanic Linguistics 10] 2025
► pp. 238–274

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Chapter 11
A spanning approach to bilingual representations

Initial explorations

 | University of Stavanger
 | University of the Western Cape
 | Penn State University
 | Penn State University
Published online: 27 November 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/sigl.10.11na
Abstract
Generative-oriented research has served as a useful tool in advancing our knowledge of aspects of bilingual acquisition, maintenance, and attrition across the lifespan. These analyses are, however, usually grounded in frameworks that focus on the (monolingual) ‘ideal speaker-hearer’. In this chapter we attempt to flip the script, adopting and elaborating on elements of current generative theory that are amenable to a system of bilingual primacy. We demonstrate that a neo-constructivist version of generative theory is capable of functioning as the basis of a bilingual system of grammatical representations.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical preliminaries
    • 2.1Features
    • 2.2Architecture of the model
    • 2.3Spans
  • 3.Representing bilingual grammars
    • 3.1Shared representations & Cross-linguistic influence (CLI)
    • 3.2Missing categories
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • References
References (99)
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