Radboud University, Centre for Language Studies, Netherlands.
Radboud University, Netherlands.
J Child Lang. 2022 Sep;49(5):897-929. doi: 10.1017/S0305000921000337. Epub 2021 Jun 28.
Although cross-linguistic influence at the level of morphosyntax is one of the most intensively studied topics in child bilingualism, the circumstances under which it occurs remain unclear. In this meta-analysis, we measured the effect size of cross-linguistic influence and systematically assessed its predictors in 750 simultaneous and early sequential bilingual children in 17 unique language combinations across 26 experimental studies. We found a significant small to moderate average effect size of cross-linguistic influence, indicating that cross-linguistic influence is part and parcel of bilingual development. Language dominance, operationalized as societal language, was a significant predictor of cross-linguistic influence, whereas surface overlap, language domain and age were not. Perhaps an even more important finding was that definitions and operationalisations of cross-linguistic influence and its predictors varied considerably between studies. This could explain the absence of a comprehensive theory in the field. To solve this issue, we argue for a more uniform method of studying cross-linguistic influence.
尽管语言间形态句法层面的影响是二语儿童研究中最受关注的课题之一，但这种影响发生的条件仍不清楚。在本元分析中，我们测量了 26 项实验研究中 17 种不同语言组合的 750 名同时和早期顺序双语儿童的跨语言影响的效应量，并系统评估了其预测因子。我们发现跨语言影响的平均效应量较小，但具有统计学意义，表明跨语言影响是双语发展的重要组成部分。语言优势（以社会语言来操作化）是跨语言影响的显著预测因子，而表面重叠、语言领域和年龄不是。也许更重要的发现是，跨语言影响及其预测因子的定义和操作化在研究之间差异很大。这可以解释该领域缺乏全面理论的原因。为了解决这个问题，我们主张采用更统一的方法来研究跨语言影响。
