ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of language contact phenomena in developing child grammars, from language borrowing as a temporary relief strategy to cross-linguistic influence as a permanent feature of bilingual grammars which can extend into adulthood. We examine the influence of age of acquisition, language dominance, and amount of input on cross-language contact in child grammars as well as the question of whether certain typological factors such as structural overlap play a role in facilitating cross-linguistic influence in children’s. Finally, we discuss implications of research findings from language contact in bilingual development for theories of language acquisition and change.
