Code-switching in young bilingual children: the acquisition of grammatical constraints

This chapter explains the development of certain grammatical phenomena in bilingual speech, especially during early phases, that is, before age 3;0. It raises the question when and how bilingual children acquire the necessary knowledge that enables them to use code-switching adequately, without violating the constraints that govern adult switching. There exists one more kind of mixing, which may be called code-mixing. This term refers to those instances where the speaker violates the constraints on code-switching that normally govern the linguistic behavior of the bilingual community. In fact, all studies seem to agree that, initially, the interlocutor is the most important single factor in the developing language decision system. This includes cases where a person influences the child’s choice merely by his or her presence in the room, and the interlocutor may well be an animal or a toy.