Ebook: The syntax of subject pronouns in heritage languages: Innovation and complexification

This study aims to investigate syntactic change in situations of language contact. The
languages included in the study are heritage Italo-Romance languages spoken in
Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada and Italy.
All heritage speakers are either sequential or simultaneous bilinguals and the
dominant language of the larger national society may affect their heritage language at
different levels. Heritage speakers acquired their native heritage language
naturalistically, but their competence differs from that of native monolinguals as a
consequence of language contact.
Since heritage speakers use their native language only in limited contexts,
they are unbalanced bilinguals. Their weaker language is their native language, while
the stronger language is the dominant language of the society.
This study focusses on discourse features involved in the distribution of
different types of subject pronouns. I investigate how different subject pronouns
interact with syntax and with information structure and what happens to discourse
features when languages get in contact with others.