Nominal Predication in Purepecha and Spanish

Abstract

In this study I show how two typologically different languages interact (Purepecha and Spanish) in one concrete contact situation. In order to do this I analyze the mastery of nominal predication as it is revealed in the written work of bilingual children. I establish the notions expressed through this construction and the mechanisms that are employed for its codification in both languages. In spite of the fact that the children show a highly normative use of this structure in the two languages involved, the analysis permits us to observe transference phenomena in both directions, from Spanish to Purepecha and from Purepecha to Spanish.