Abstract
The article deals with the analysis of syntactic pattern replications of Czech -German bilinguals. The analysis draws on spontaneous language data from narrative interviews with two groups of bilinguals who were born in Czechoslovakia around 1955 and emigrated to West Germany in the late 1960s.
These are described in regard to language acquisition and language attrition. The study makes a strong case for the usefulness of an interpretive framework in the area of argument structure and related valency for the analysis of pattern replications.
For this purpose, traditional valency theory and cognitive construction grammar are combined. In this way, the cognitive processes behind contact -induced patterns differing from the homeland variety can be captured, as shown by the example of the accusative construction.