“a branca Schere” or “a tesoura weiβe”? Adjective placement in Portuguese–German code-switching by bilingual children and adolescents

This study investigates code-switching (CS) within the noun phrase in Portuguese-German bilingual children and adolescents (aged 8-16) in German-speaking Switzerland. Using an elicited imitation task with 49 participants, we examine how linguistic and extralinguistic factors shape CS behaviour. The experiment manipulated matrix language (German vs. Portuguese), insertion type (adjective vs. noun), and adjective position (prenominal vs. postnominal). The results show that CS strategies vary depending on the grammatical properties of the matrix language. In German, prenominal adjective position-regardless of the language of the inserted adjective-was the strongest predictor of repetition accuracy. In Portuguese, the language of the adjective played a central role. We propose the Constraint Integration Model to account for the interaction between matrix-language properties and lexical features. Additionally, older age and more positive attitudes towards German increased the likelihood of producing switched utterances.