Relativas genitivas em bilíngues Português-Inglês e as estratégias do tipo não-padrão

Abstract

Bilingualism has been a target of studies for years, once questions related to the acquisition of additional languages have been developed by different theoretical fields, taking into account, for instance, difficulties apprentices may find. Considering generativism, when comparing mother tongues and additional languages, those difficulties are associated to distinct marking of parameters or values of different features (SLABAKOVA, 2016; GALLEGO, 2011). Semantic, morphologic and lexical aspects are some of the factors which tend to make a bilingual, especially a late one (after 7 years old), target of this research, use the process of transfer between the two languages (SLABAKOVA, 2016; ALVAREZ, 2002). This transfer happens when apprentices look for linguistic competences from L1 to produce sentences in L2, regardless of these structures’ acceptability in the target language. What also should be considered is that the cost of processing determined structures and the demands from each type of linguistic task may lead to results that are different from the native speakers’ (PARADIS, 2003; SQUIRES, 2016). This research aims at answering hypothesis raised about this phenomenon of transfer, focusing on genitive relative structure, which are commonly the target of variation for speakers of Brazilian Portuguese, as the standard strategy is usually linked to more formal contexts of written language. On the other hand, the non-standard strategies, resumptive and chopping versions, can be seen as natural possibilities of different types of genitive relative productions in BP, with the chopping version being more used than the resumptive version, usually stigmatized (TARALLO, 1983; MOLLICA, 1977; LESSA DE OLIVEIRA, 2009). In English, the chopping version is ungrammatical, and the resumptive version is seen as a last resort to save a derivation, or it is generated due to a high cost of processing (HORNSTEIN, 2001; MELTZER-ASSCHER, 2021). Additionally, studies have pointed out that languages which allow resumptive structures tend to transfer this strategy to L2 (SOLAIMANI, MYLES e LAWYER, 2023). To achieve the goal described here, three data collection tests were used: (i) oral production test, a genitive relative structures’ elicitation test, performed through an interaction between participants and the researcher, with time pressure, (ii) written production test, sent to the participants, with free time for answers and (iii) acceptability judgement test, via Google forms platform. They were applied to three different groups of participants: speakers of BP with no/little knowledge of English, speakers of English as L1, Portuguese-English bilingual speakers at an upper intermediate proficiency. In general, the results indicate that the chopping version, which is well evaluated and frequently used in BP, tends to be better evaluated and transferred, by Portuguese-English bilinguals, to productions in English as L2, even though speakers of English as L1 evaluate it badly and rarely use it. It seems to be the main transfer strategy used, considering that a substantial increase of the resumptive version was not observed in Portuguese-English bilinguals, although there is a slight better evaluation, restricted to resumptive genitives in subject position