Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article examines the acquisition of wh-questions in a Polish-Mandarin bilingual child (2;0-3;1) with a focuson how computational difficulty shapes cross-linguistic influence. The analysis draws on a longitudinal corpusof naturalistic interactions and targets the contrast between ‘what’ (Polish co, Mandarin shénme) and ‘where’ (Polish gdzie, Mandarin nǎlǐ) questions in Polish, Mandarin, and Polish-matrix (code-mixed) utterances. Twocomplexity measures are applied: (1) a movement-based derivational index and (2) a feature-reassemblyindex that incorporates the feature inventory, constructional markedness, and meaning-form mapping burden.The results reveal a systematic wh-type asymmetry that is not captured by dominance alone. In Polish-directedproduction, ‘what’ questions show stronger Mandarin influence, including frequent use of Mandarin wh-lexemesand in-situ configurations, whereas ‘where’ questions more often display Polish-like fronting evenwhen Mandarin lexical material is used. In Mandarin-directed production, residual Polish influence is moreevident in the ‘where’ domain than in the ‘what’ domain. These patterns align with the feature-reassemblymetric: the Polish ‘what’ domain imposes a higher mapping burden due to case-conditioned alternants, whilethe ‘where’ domain remains morphologically stable. The findings support a complexity-sensitive accountof selective cross-linguistic influence in bilingual wh-development.
Source: Językoznawstwo
DOI: 10.25312/j.10698
Author: Anna Yang
Institution: Beijing Foreign Studies University
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7223471119