GALA 2025 plenary talk

 I was deeply honoured to be invited to deliver one of the keynote presentations at the 17th Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition conference (GALA 2025) in Tours. 

Reflections on syntactic complexity, through the lens of adolescent language

This study examines syntactic complexity conceptualised as difficulty experienced by individual language users. It focuses on early adolescence: a stage where core syntax is assumed to be acquired, but there remains an effect of difficulty associated with syntactic complexity. I start by addressing three questions: (1) How is syntactic complexity defined within a generativist perspective? (2) How is it operationalised in language acquisition research? (3) To what extent can the effect of narrow syntax be disentangled from processing effects? I argue that Phase-based complexity (as defined in the Minimalist framework) could help us answer the third question.

The main part of the talk reports on a novel investigation of syntactic complexity effects in young adolescents from socio-economically disadvantaged communities in the UK. Performance was assessed across three complementary tasks: sentence repetition (LITMUS SR), narrative production (LITMUS MAIN), and a purpose-designed reading comprehension task (ARCA). Results reveal substantial inter-individual variability across all three tasks, challenging assumptions about homogeneous syntactic competence in this age group.

The analysis focuses on complexity at the clausal level and on the distinction between phasal and non-phasal subordination. I argue that difficulty patterns in sentence repetition primarily reflect processing capacity constraints rather than core syntactic deficits. In narrative production, distribution patterns of clausal subordination are shown to correlate with lexical diversity, morphosyntactic abilities, and reading comprehension abilities (indexed by the York Assessment of Reading Comprehension). I argue the syntactic complexity of narratives is a manifestation of strategic information management and of the sophistication of discourse representations. The reading comprehension data (from the ARCA) reveal that while figurative language constitutes a more substantial comprehension barrier than syntactic complexity per se, complex syntactic structures can impede the successful interpretation of non-literal meaning when these factors co-occur.

The findings converge on the conclusion that, at adolescence, syntactic complexity functions as a proxy measure for language-mediated information processing demands. This is consistent with the central tenet of the generative approach, according to which narrow syntax is inherently economical. 

How detailed do measures of bilingual language experience need to be? A cost-benefit analysis using the Q-BEx questionnaire

What is the optimal level of questionnaire detail required to measure bilingual language experience? This empirical evaluation compares alternative measures of language exposure of varying cost (i.e., questionnaire detail) in terms of their performance as predictors of oral language outcomes. The alternative measures were derived from Q-BEx questionnaire data collected from a diverse sample of 121 heritage bilinguals (5- to 9-years of age) growing up in France, the Netherlands and the UK. Outcome data consisted of morphosyntax and vocabulary measures (in the societal language) and parental estimates of oral proficiency (in the heritage language). Statistical modelling exploited information theoretic and cross-validation approaches to identify the optimal language exposure measure. Optimal cost-benefit was achieved with cumulative exposure (for the societal language) and current exposure in the home (for the heritage language). The greatest level of questionnaire detail did not yield more reliable predictors of language outcomes.

The preprint is available on the OSF, along with the data and script. This paper was accepted for publication in Bilingualism: Language and Cognition.

Individual language experience determinants of morphosyntactic variation in heritage and attriting speakers of Bosnian and Serbian: A causal inference approach

Using a causal inference approach, we explored the relationships among the language experience determinants of morphosyntactic sensitivity, to identify the factors that indirectly and directly cause its acquisition or maintenance in immigration contexts. We probed the sensitivity to Serbian/Bosnian clitic placement violations with a self-paced listening task, in a diverse group of bilinguals in Norway (n = 71), born to immigrant parents, or having emigrated in childhood or adulthood. The outcomes included a metalinguistic violation detection score and a listening/processing time difference between licit and illicit structures.

Structural Equation Models revealed that literacy (as reading practices) was among the most influential determinants of the ability to detect violations, while Bosnian/Serbian use across contexts and age of bilingualism onset determined violation sensitivity in processing. We identified a significant threshold of societal language (SL) exposure at age 8. Rather than SL exposure before this age precluding bilinguals from developing and maintaining morphosyntactic sensitivity, this threshold seems to reflect a protective effect against attrition which intensifies the later after age 8 SL exposure starts. The length of residence in Norway did not determine attrition, suggesting that heritage and attrited speakers should be considered on a continuum rather than as distinct bilingualism profiles. 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.24016.tom

Unpacking language richness as a predictor of bilingual children’s language proficiency

Bilingual children’s language abilities are influenced by the richness of their language experience, which is typically estimated using parental questionnaires and often expressed as a composite score based on frequency-based variables (e.g., time spent reading). We evaluated whether the composite richness score in the Q-BEx questionnaire was fit for purpose. Data were collected from 173 bilingual children aged between 5 and 8 in three different countries (France, the Netherlands and the UK). Parents completed the Q-BEx questionnaire and children completed proficiency tasks in their societal language. We analysed the predictive power of the original score in comparison to several alternatives, derived using a principal components analysis. We found that (i) these alternatives were no more informative than the original, (ii) scores including interlocutor diversity and proficiency in addition to frequency-based measures fared better, (iii) the latent variables underlying richness were comparable across languages, and (iv) whether SES was included made little difference.

Preprint DOI: https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/rquvc

Accepted for publication in the Journal of Child Language (August 2025)

Justice To Youth Language Needs: Human rights undermined by an invisible disadvantage

Language difficulties can be a hidden source of inequalities for young people facing the youth justice system.   youthjusticelanguage.org is a European network funded by COST to bring this to light and inform and influence policy-making and practice. I'm grateful to be part of this important project. 

Key findings from the AcqVA Aurora project on individual differences in language outcomes in contexts of immigration

This project investigates language acquisition and language attrition in speakers of Bosnian and Serbia living in Norway. It seeks to unveil how individual difference factors predict language outcomes. The original title of the project is: "MultiLingual Minds and Factors Affecting MultiLingual Outcomes". It was funded by UiT the Arctic University of Norway, from 2020 to 2024.  Investigators: Aleksandra Tomić, Yulia Rodina, Fatih Bayram, Cécile De Cat.

We created the HeLEx questionnaire to document bilingual language experience in Heritage Speakers, based on an adapted and augmented version of the LSBQ.  See our publication Documenting heritage language experience using questionnaires, where we compare the two and discuss the impact of methodological choices regarding question phrasing, visual format, response options, and response mechanisms. The HeLEx is available on Gorilla (link to be posted soon). 

Our study investigated the individual variation in language outcomes in speakers of Bosnian or Serbian who had emigrated to Norway in childhood or adulthood, or who were born there to immigrant parents.  We carried out three studies in adult speakers (n=71), each probing a different aspect of language outcomes: (i) the knowledge of clitic placement, (ii) morphosyntactic competence, and (iii) lexical competence. We also probed (iv) the knowledge of clitic placement in children, using an elicitation task. 

Knowledge of clitic placement: Our self-paced listening study demonstrates that P2 clitic placement in Bosnian and Serbian is vulnerable in bilingual speakers in contexts of immigration. The outcomes included a violation detection score and a listening/processing time difference between licit and illicit structures. Through causal inference modelling, we demonstrated that language background variables are part of a complex web of associations, and that seemingly age-related effects (such as the onset of exposure to Norwegian as the societal language, or the length of residence in Norway) are in fact proxies for key aspects of the quantity and quality of language experience. Literacy as reading practices was one of the most important factors promoting sensitivity to P2 violations as a metalinguistic measure, whereas the extent of HL use across contexts and later SL Exposure Onset boosted clitic position sensitivity in the processing measure. By contrast, length of residence in the SL country was not predictive of attrition. This suggests that heritage speakers and attrited speakers should be considered on a continuum rather than as distinct bilingualism profiles.  See our publication "Individual language experience factors in morphosyntactic variation in heritage and attriting speakers of Bosnian and Serbian: A causal inference approach" (currently in press). 

Watch this space for the outcomes of our other studies. 

A citizen science approach to the assessment of pragmatic language in adolescents

This pilot project will attempt to provide a proof of concept for a Citizen Science approach to better inform the assessment of pragmatic language in adolescents.  Pragmatic language is the ability to use and understand implicit meaning during social interaction. A number of standard tools exist to assess pragmatic language, but speech & language therapists find these tools inadequate for that age group, which seems to be characterised by very different ‘norms’ to other age groups. We will facilitate the creation of videos by young people from Bradford, on their experience of pragmatic language. This will inform a critical review of existing assessment tools, and lay the foundation for a larger-scale project. 

The pilot is funded by the University of Leeds' Cultural Institute. It is a collaboration between the University of Leeds, the University of Bradford, and political theatre company Common Wealth (Bradford and Cardiff).