Bilingual bootstrapping

Language mixing in young bilingual children is usually put down to language fusion or, on the assumption that they have available two linguistic systems, to insufficient pragmatic control and/or lack of code-switching constraints. It is rarely seen as a sign of what the child CAN do. In this paper we explore the linguistic knowledge that goes into the language mixing of young English/German bilinguals. It is shown that their language mixing helps them bridge not just lexical but also structural gaps. In particular, we suggest a connection between children's language mixing and the types of syntactic bootstrapping discussed in monolingual acquisition, where the child can use his or her expertise in one domain to solve problems in another. In a general sense, then, our bootstrapping metaphor avoids the negative connotations often associated with terms like interference or transfer and underscores the resourcefulness of the bilingual child.