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Cited by 9Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic VariationNeurobiology of Language and BilingualismSpanish Linguistics and Language Studies

The That-Trace Effect: Evidence from Spanish–English Code-Switching

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Hoot, Bradley, Ebert, Shane·2021·Languages
DOI 10.3390/languages6040189
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Abstract

The that-trace effect is the fact that many languages (like English) ban the extraction of embedded-clause subjects but not objects over an overt complementizer like that, while many other languages (like Spanish) allow such extractions. The effect and its cross-linguistic variation have been the subject of intense research but remain largely a mystery, with no clear consensus on their underpinnings. We contribute novel evidence to these debates by using Spanish–English code-switching (the use of two languages in one sentence) to test five contemporary theoretical accounts of the that-trace effect. We conducted a formal acceptability judgment experiment, manipulating the extracted argument and code-switch site to test different combinations of linguistic features. We found that subject extraction is only permitted in Spanish–English code-switching when both the C head (que ‘that’) and the T head (i.e., the verb) are in Spanish, but not when either functional head is in English. Our results demonstrate indirect support for two of the five theories we test, failing to support the other three. Our findings also provide new evidence in favor of the view that the that-trace effect is tightly linked to the availability of post-verbal subjects. Finally, we outline how our results can narrow the range of possible theoretical accounts, demonstrating how code-switching data can contribute to core questions in linguistic theory.

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  • Code-switching is rule-governed and not a linguistic crutch; grammatical code-switching requires proficiency in both languages.

    “However, many studies show that code-switching is the opposite of these erroneous perceptions.In her seminal paper, Poplack (1980) provided evidence that codeswitching was rule-governed.Since then, the study of code-switching has flourished as researchers try to understand the syntactic rules of code-switching (López, 2020;Hoot & Ebert, 2021;among others).These studies have provided evidence that”

    From Sounds Like Politics: Cardi B and the Discourse of Español Ratatá (2026) · cites this paper as Hoot & Ebert, 2021

    Section 1 says code-switching is rule-governed rather than a random mixture, supporting the rejection of a linguistic-crutch characterization. Section 2.1 and the participant-characteristics passage discuss participants’ proficiency, but do not establish that grammatical code-switching requires proficiency in both languages; the authors excluded low-proficiency participants partly because the task used long, complex sentences. Page numbers are not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Authors
Hoot, B., & Ebert, S.
Affiliations
  • DePaul University (US)
  • University of Illinois Chicago (US)
Corresponding author
Hoot, Bradley
ORCID
Venue
Languages
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2021-11-17
Volume
6
Issue
4
Pages
189
ISSN
2226-471X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/languages6040189
OpenAlex
W3212115339
Cited by
9
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 1 · 2020: 3
FWCI
0.87
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Languages (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
  • OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Open Science Framework (cc-by)
  • University of Illinois Chicago (cc-by)
Funders
  • DePaul University
  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • University of Illinois at Chicago
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Spanish Linguistics and Language Studies
Keywords
that-trace effect, Spanish-English code-switching, subject extraction, cross-linguistic variation, acceptability judgments

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