PARAMETER HIERARCHIES AND LANGUAGE CONTACT: THE PRESENT PERFECT IN ECUADORIAN SPANISH

This article explores the hypothesis that the ‘fine-grained’ grammatical differences that adult grammars under contact are said to be sensitive to (e.g., Hicks et al. 2023) amount to micro/nanoparametric distinctions, in the sense of Roberts (2019). To test this proposal, the study examines two properties of the present perfect in Ecuadorian Spanish as spoken in the UK: (i) the expression of evidential/mirative values; (ii) a specific pattern of adverb placement. Data from 28 speakers (18 first-generation migrants, 10 monolinguals in Ecuador) and four tasks provide preliminary support for the hypothesis. With respect to evidentiality, exposure to peninsular Spanish reduced the acceptability and use of the expected forms, while exposure to English showed no significant effects. Conversely, exposure to English affected the acceptability and ratings of the adverb placements examined. By modelling both phenomena through parameter hierarchies, it is shown that the ‘size’ of the parametric distinction between the varieties involved correctly predicts the presence/absence of cross-linguistic influence. In formalizing the size of grammatical differences affected by short-term contact, this approach offers a framework for future research on syntactic vulnerability in language contact. The study also contributes to the documentation of language contact in under-researched Latin American communities in the UK.