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. 2019 Mar 19:10:461.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00461. eCollection 2019.

Case Marking in Hindi as the Weaker Language

Silvina Montrul  1 , Archna Bhatia  2 , Rakesh Bhatt  1 , Vandana Puri  1
Affiliations

Case Marking in Hindi as the Weaker Language

Silvina Montrul et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Does language dominance modulate knowledge of case marking in Hindi-speaking bilinguals? Hindi is a split ergative language with a rich morphological case system. Subjects of transitive perfective predicates are marked with ergative case (-ne). Human specific direct objects, indirect objects, and dative subjects are marked with the particle -ko. We compared knowledge of case marking in Hindi-English bilinguals with different dominance patterns: 23 balanced bilinguals and two groups of bilinguals with Hindi as their weaker language: 24 L2 learners of Hindi with age of acquisition (AoA) of Hindi in adulthood and 26 Hindi heritage speakers with AoA of Hindi since birth in oral production and acceptability judgments. The balanced bilinguals outperformed the English-dominant bilinguals; the L2 learners and the heritage speakers, who showed similar lower command of the Hindi case marking system, with the exception of -ko marking as a function of specificity with direct objects. We consider how dominant language transfer, AoA of Hindi, and input factors may explain the acquisition and knowledge of morphology in Hindi as the weaker language.

Keywords: Hindi; case; differential object marking; dominance; ergativity; heritage speakers; second language.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Dominance profiles of the bilinguals tested.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Mean distribution of scores in the written Hindi proficiency cloze test.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Mean acceptability ratings for ergative marking (-ne) with transitive and intransitive perfective predicates.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Mean acceptability on -ko marking with animate, specific direct objects.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Mean acceptability on -ko marking with inanimate objects.
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Mean acceptability ratings on indirect objects and dative subjects with and without -ko.
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
Mean acceptability ratings on ungrammatical sentences with omission of obligatory case marking.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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