It is a matter of debate whether the two differentiated grammatical systems in a bilingual child develop autonomously, or whether there is interdependence and in what areas (Genesee, 2001; Meisel, 2001). Extensive research is being carried out in the emergence of the two grammars, but not much attention has been given to the development of discourse in simultaneous bilinguals. This study examines longitudinal narrative data from a Spanish-English school-age simultaneous bilingual child, and, in particular, the development of character introductions in the story. The child's stories in both languages show similar degrees of appropriate use of grammatical means for discourse purposes during the period under study and inadequacies are related not to the specific language used by the child, but to semantic and syntactic factors that promote or hinder appropriateness and affect both languages equally. The child follows the characteristic style identified for each of the two languages in studies of monolingual Spanish- and English-speaking children and adults. This indicates an autonomous development. However, there is also evidence that the two styles are not as differentiated as might be expected in comparison with monolinguals. These results support the view that, although the two languages of a bilingual child develop autonomously to a great extent, there are certain aspects which develop interdependently (Genesee, 2001).
First Language Attrition Of Lexical Structures In A Contact Situation With English: A Study Among Anaañ Bilingual Child
