Anaphora resolution in Italian by Croatian-Italian simultaneous bilinguals

This paper studies properties at the syntax-discourse interface, which have proved problematic in different bilingual domains. The focus is on pronominal anaphora resolution in a null subject language, specifically Italian, by Croatian-Italian simultaneous bilinguals. Based on the results of previous studies, we hypothesised that these bilinguals would not accept Italian overt subject pronouns referring to topical antecedents more often than age-matched Italian monolinguals and that they would interpret null subject pronouns in a native-like way. These hypotheses were confirmed, providing support for the representational account of interface instability, according to which difficulties with interface structures, often experienced by bilingual speakers, result from cross-linguistic influence, and not from bilinguals’ less-than-optimal processing abilities.