In this study, we examined how numeric imprecision is expressed and interpreted in Portuguese. Sp... more In this study, we examined how numeric imprecision is expressed and interpreted in Portuguese. Specifically, we looked at approximators (APs) (e.g., umas 40 pessoas 'some 40 people', quase 10 alunos 'almost 10 students'), which are lexical items that make the semantic boundaries of expressions containing numeric values vague. APs are generally not part of the language curricula or textbooks for non-native speakers despite them being highly present in everyday communication. With this in mind, our goal is to create a pedagogical reference list of the most commonly used APs in Portuguese, as this information can assist Portuguese language instructors and material creators, especially those serving populations whose native language is Spanish, as it is often the case in the US. Using the data from 57 Brazilian Portuguese native speakers, we analyzed the range and frequency of APs produced during a written elicited production task, as well as their interpretation of the meaning of imprecise quantities in a forced-choice task. Descriptive and inferential statistics showed that (i) APs are employed with high frequency, (ii) several different APs are used, and (iii) APs that exist or are cognates in Spanish do not always share the same semantic meaning in Portuguese.
We investigate whether dominance, language experience, and increased interaction have an effect o... more We investigate whether dominance, language experience, and increased interaction have an effect on the development of heritage bilingual children’s knowledge of the discourse-pragmatic constraints guiding null and overt subjects. A group of child heritage bilinguals (n = 18, mean age = 5;5) and comparison groups of adults: Mexican Spanish monolinguals (n = 15), heritage bilinguals in the United States (n = 16), and English monolinguals in the United States (n = 16) completed a language background questionnaire, a portion of the Bilingual English-Spanish Assessment (BESA) in English and Spanish, a forced-choice task (FCT) in Spanish, and two acceptability judgment tasks (AJT s): one in English and one in Spanish. Results showed that heritage children and adults pattern similarly and differently from adult monolinguals. Increased interaction at home has a positive effect on accuracy in the pragmatic conditions that license null subjects in Spanish without affecting overt subject patte...
Differential object marking (DOM) in Spanish refers to the overt morphological marking of certain... more Differential object marking (DOM) in Spanish refers to the overt morphological marking of certain direct objects. Specifically, this a-marking of direct objects is driven by animacy and usually precedes human objects. Other features such as specificity and definiteness matter to a lesser extent. This direct object a-marking has also been attested in Brazilian Portuguese (BP), but with more restrictions than in Spanish. Thus, BP is typically not considered a DOM language. This article discusses the acquisition of DOM in second language (L2) Spanish among BP speakers. Seventy-four adult Brazilians with various levels of L2 proficiency completed three experimental tasks: elicited production, acceptability, and productive vocabulary knowledge, which measures productive lexical knowledge and was designed specifically to assess this language pair. We analyzed our data to uncover the knowledge that BP-speaking L2 learners of Spanish possess of DOM and to determine whether their knowledge o...
The Spanish approximatorscomoandcomo que(“sort of,” “as if,” “kind of,” “seems,” “like”) serve mu... more The Spanish approximatorscomoandcomo que(“sort of,” “as if,” “kind of,” “seems,” “like”) serve multiple pragmatic functions. They can be employed in similar contexts to express vagueness when speakers experience uncertainty or to hedge and avoid being straightforward. Furthermore, these forms can alternate according to context since they represent two ways of saying the same thing. This study investigated the use ofcomoandcomo quein two speech events: narratives of personal experience (non-institutional) and therapeutic interviews (institutional), which were generated by Spanish speakers of several varieties, educational levels, and lengths of residence in the United States. The study was informed by the theoretical frameworks of sociolinguistic and pragmatic variation, and the data were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative approaches. The findings revealed that whilecomowas the preferred form among the speakers of the study they employed como que more often in the therapeuti...
In Spanish, imprecise quantities are typically expressed through approximators (APs) (e.g., casi ... more In Spanish, imprecise quantities are typically expressed through approximators (APs) (e.g., casi $60 ‘almost’, como $30 ‘like’, and 90 y pico ‘-ish’). APs make semantic boundaries fuzzy, but they provide instructions for utterance interpretation by establishing upper limits (e.g., casi), lower limits (e.g., y pico), or no specific limits (e.g., como). While APs occur frequently in naturally occurring language, they are rarely included in second language (L2) classrooms or textbooks, limiting learners’ exposure to these forms. This study examined how intermediate L2, advanced L2, and native Spanish speakers (n = 20 per group) discussed imprecise quantities during oral interviews in which they responded to money-related questions. The study investigated the effect of L2 proficiency and cumulative length of exposure abroad in the learners’ lexical knowledge of APs. GLMMs revealed that, overall, an increased L2 proficiency correlated to a more frequent and more natural use of APs. A sig...
In this study, we examined how numeric imprecision is expressed and interpreted in Portuguese. Sp... more In this study, we examined how numeric imprecision is expressed and interpreted in Portuguese. Specifically, we looked at approximators (APs) (e.g., umas 40 pessoas 'some 40 people', quase 10 alunos 'almost 10 students'), which are lexical items that make the semantic boundaries of expressions containing numeric values vague. APs are generally not part of the language curricula or textbooks for non-native speakers despite them being highly present in everyday communication. With this in mind, our goal is to create a pedagogical reference list of the most commonly used APs in Portuguese, as this information can assist Portuguese language instructors and material creators, especially those serving populations whose native language is Spanish, as it is often the case in the US. Using the data from 57 Brazilian Portuguese native speakers, we analyzed the range and frequency of APs produced during a written elicited production task, as well as their interpretation of the meaning of imprecise quantities in a forced-choice task. Descriptive and inferential statistics showed that (i) APs are employed with high frequency, (ii) several different APs are used, and (iii) APs that exist or are cognates in Spanish do not always share the same semantic meaning in Portuguese.
We investigate whether dominance, language experience, and increased interaction have an effect o... more We investigate whether dominance, language experience, and increased interaction have an effect on the development of heritage bilingual children’s knowledge of the discourse-pragmatic constraints guiding null and overt subjects. A group of child heritage bilinguals (n = 18, mean age = 5;5) and comparison groups of adults: Mexican Spanish monolinguals (n = 15), heritage bilinguals in the United States (n = 16), and English monolinguals in the United States (n = 16) completed a language background questionnaire, a portion of the Bilingual English-Spanish Assessment (BESA) in English and Spanish, a forced-choice task (FCT) in Spanish, and two acceptability judgment tasks (AJT s): one in English and one in Spanish. Results showed that heritage children and adults pattern similarly and differently from adult monolinguals. Increased interaction at home has a positive effect on accuracy in the pragmatic conditions that license null subjects in Spanish without affecting overt subject patte...
Differential object marking (DOM) in Spanish refers to the overt morphological marking of certain... more Differential object marking (DOM) in Spanish refers to the overt morphological marking of certain direct objects. Specifically, this a-marking of direct objects is driven by animacy and usually precedes human objects. Other features such as specificity and definiteness matter to a lesser extent. This direct object a-marking has also been attested in Brazilian Portuguese (BP), but with more restrictions than in Spanish. Thus, BP is typically not considered a DOM language. This article discusses the acquisition of DOM in second language (L2) Spanish among BP speakers. Seventy-four adult Brazilians with various levels of L2 proficiency completed three experimental tasks: elicited production, acceptability, and productive vocabulary knowledge, which measures productive lexical knowledge and was designed specifically to assess this language pair. We analyzed our data to uncover the knowledge that BP-speaking L2 learners of Spanish possess of DOM and to determine whether their knowledge o...
The Spanish approximatorscomoandcomo que(“sort of,” “as if,” “kind of,” “seems,” “like”) serve mu... more The Spanish approximatorscomoandcomo que(“sort of,” “as if,” “kind of,” “seems,” “like”) serve multiple pragmatic functions. They can be employed in similar contexts to express vagueness when speakers experience uncertainty or to hedge and avoid being straightforward. Furthermore, these forms can alternate according to context since they represent two ways of saying the same thing. This study investigated the use ofcomoandcomo quein two speech events: narratives of personal experience (non-institutional) and therapeutic interviews (institutional), which were generated by Spanish speakers of several varieties, educational levels, and lengths of residence in the United States. The study was informed by the theoretical frameworks of sociolinguistic and pragmatic variation, and the data were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative approaches. The findings revealed that whilecomowas the preferred form among the speakers of the study they employed como que more often in the therapeuti...
In Spanish, imprecise quantities are typically expressed through approximators (APs) (e.g., casi ... more In Spanish, imprecise quantities are typically expressed through approximators (APs) (e.g., casi $60 ‘almost’, como $30 ‘like’, and 90 y pico ‘-ish’). APs make semantic boundaries fuzzy, but they provide instructions for utterance interpretation by establishing upper limits (e.g., casi), lower limits (e.g., y pico), or no specific limits (e.g., como). While APs occur frequently in naturally occurring language, they are rarely included in second language (L2) classrooms or textbooks, limiting learners’ exposure to these forms. This study examined how intermediate L2, advanced L2, and native Spanish speakers (n = 20 per group) discussed imprecise quantities during oral interviews in which they responded to money-related questions. The study investigated the effect of L2 proficiency and cumulative length of exposure abroad in the learners’ lexical knowledge of APs. GLMMs revealed that, overall, an increased L2 proficiency correlated to a more frequent and more natural use of APs. A sig...
Uploads
Papers by Abril Jimenez