2025/09/29 by Mercedes Martinez Bruera, Daniel Weingärtner, Andrea Listanti +5 · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Computer Science · #Natural Language Processing Techniques #Spanish Linguistics and Language Studies #Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
paper · doi:10.1163/15507076-bja10048
openalex publication_date 2025/09/29 · openalex created_date 2025/10/14 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Abstract Some differences between the grammars of heritage and monolingual speakers have been attributed to grammatical innovation, such that heritage behavior may reflect ongoing patterns of diachronic change. We examined this claim by comparing the acceptability of clitic doubling in three different speaker groups: monolingual and heritage speakers of European Spanish, and Rioplatense Spanish monolinguals. Accusative clitic doubling is grammaticalized in Rioplatense but not in European Spanish, consistent with Rioplatense Spanish being a more diachronically innovative variety. If heritage speakers mirror diachronic change, they may perform more similarly to Rioplatense than European monolinguals. The results of an acceptability judgement task showed that heritage speakers had robust knowledge of clitics but did not show evidence of progressive behavior with accusative clitic doubling. We propose that grammatical innovation may crucially depend on the demographic characteristics of heritage speakers and on the grammatical properties of the phenomenon tested.