scholarly journals Comprehension and production of non-canonical word orders in Mandarin-speaking child heritage speakers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiuzhou Hao ◽  
Vasiliki Chondrogianni
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Minority Language ◽  
Home Language ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
English Heritage ◽  
Related Morphology

Abstract Across languages, structures with non-canonical word order have been shown to be problematic for both child and adult heritage speakers. To investigate the linguistic and child-level factors that modulate heritage speakers’ difficulties with non-canonical word orders, we examined the comprehension and production of three Mandarin non-canonical structures in 5- to 9-year-old Mandarin-English heritage children and compared them to age-matched Mandarin-speaking monolingual children and adults. Specifically, we examined how linguistic properties, such as linear word order, presence or absence of morphosyntactic cues, and surface structural overlap between languages, as well as child-level factors, such as chronological age and current home language use affect the acquisition of non-canonical structures in heritage children and their monolingual peers. Results showed that although heritage children could use morphosyntactic cues, they did not show monolingual-level sensitivity to passive-related morphology. Additionally, children produced more canonical SVO word order, which is shared between English and Mandarin, and preferred the reverse interpretations of non-canonical structures in comprehension. These responses were taken as evidence for cross-linguistic influence from the majority to the minority language. Finally, although non-canonical structures caused difficulties for child heritage speakers, their performance was modulated by structure and improved with age, over and above heritage language use.

Sentence comprehension in heritage language: Isomorphism, word order, and language transfer

2021 ◽  
pp. 026765832199790
Author(s):  
Anna Chrabaszcz ◽  
Elena Onischik ◽  
Olga Dragoy
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Language Transfer ◽  
Processing Strategy ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Dominant Language ◽  
Sequence Of Events ◽  
Linguistic Transfer

This study examines the role of cross-linguistic transfer versus general processing strategy in two groups of heritage speakers ( n = 28 per group) with the same heritage language – Russian – and typologically different dominant languages: English and Estonian. A group of homeland Russian speakers ( n = 36) is tested to provide baseline comparison. Within the framework of the Competition model (MacWhinney, 2012), cross-linguistic transfer is defined as reliance on the processing cue prevalent in the heritage speaker’s dominant language (e.g. word order in English) for comprehension of heritage language. In accordance with the Isomorphic Mapping Hypothesis (O’Grady and Lee, 2005), the general processing strategy is defined in terms of isomorphism as a linear alignment between the order of the sentence constituents and the temporal sequence of events. Participants were asked to match pictures on the computer screen with auditorily presented sentences. Sentences included locative or instrumental constructions, in which two cues – word order (basic vs. inverted) and isomorphism mapping (isomorphic vs. nonisomorphic) – were fully crossed. The results revealed that (1) Russian native speakers are sensitive to isomorphism in sentence processing; (2) English-dominant heritage speakers experience dominant language transfer, as evidenced by their reliance primarily on the word order cue; (3) Estonian-dominant heritage speakers do not show significant effects of isomorphism or word order but experience significant processing costs in all conditions.

scholarly journals The Development of Subject Position in Dutch-Dominant Heritage Speakers of Spanish: From Age 9 to Adulthood

Languages ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 88
Author(s):  
van Osch ◽  
García González ◽  
Hulk ◽  
Sleeman ◽  
Aalberse
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Subject Position ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Heritage Speakers Of Spanish ◽  
Language Literature

This exploratory study investigates the knowledge of word order in intransitive sentences by heritage speakers of Spanish of different age groups: 9-year-olds, 13-year-olds and adults. In doing so, we aim to fill a gap in the heritage language literature, which, to date, has mainly focused on adult heritage speakers and preschool bilingual children. The results from a judgment task reveal that child- and adolescent heritage speakers do not entirely resemble monolingual age-matched children in the acquisition of subjects in Spanish, nor do they assimilate adult heritage speakers. The data suggest that several different processes can occur simultaneously in the acquisition of word order in heritage speakers: monolingual-like acquisition, delayed acquisition, and attrition. An analysis of the influence of extraneous variables suggests that most of these effects are likely to be the consequence of quantitatively reduced input in the heritage language and increased input in the majority language.

scholarly journals Factors Affecting Language Proficiency in Heritage Language: The Case of Young Russian Heritage Speakers in Spain

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-329
Author(s):  
Tamara Vorobyeva ◽  
Aurora Bel
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Age Of Onset ◽  
The Other ◽  
Significant Variable ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Family Language

Abstract This study focuses on the issue of language proficiency attainment among young heritage speakers of Russian living in Spain and examines factors that have been claimed to promote heritage language proficiency, namely, age, gender, age of onset to L2, quantity of exposure and family language use. A group of 30 Russian-Spanish-Catalan trilingual children aged 7–11 participated in the study. In order to measure heritage language proficiency (L1 Russian), oral narratives were elicited. The results demonstrated a significant relationship between L1 proficiency and three sociolinguistic variables (age of onset to L2, quantity of exposure and family language use). Additionally, the multiply regression model demonstrated that the only significant variable affecting language proficiency was family language use and it accounted only for 33% of the variation of children’s language proficiency. The study raises the question about what are the other, yet unknown factors, which can affect heritage language proficiency.

Canadian heritage German across three generations: A diary-based study of language shift in action

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Doris Stolberg
Keyword(s):  
Heritage Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Language Shift ◽  
Language Choice ◽  
Current Paper ◽  
Fourth Generation ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Language System ◽  
Three Generations ◽  
Insight Into

AbstractIt is well known that migration has an effect on language use and language choice. If the language of origin is maintained after migration, it tends to change in the new contact setting. Often, migrants shift to the new majority language within few generations. The current paper examines a diary corpus containing data from three generations of one German-Canadian family, ranging from 1867 to 1909, and covering the second to fourth generation after immigration. The paper analyzes changes that can be observed between the generations, with respect to the language system as well as to the individuals’ decision on language choice. The data not only offer insight into the dynamics of acquiring a written register of a heritage language, and the eventual shift to the majority language. They also allow us to identify different linguistic profiles of heritage speakers within one community. It is discussed how these profiles can be linked to the individuals’ family backgrounds and how the combination of these backgrounds may have contributed to giving up the heritage language in favor of the majority language.

scholarly journals REANALYSIS IN ADULT HERITAGE LANGUAGE

2011 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Polinsky
Keyword(s):  
Life Span ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Relative Clause ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Child Language ◽  
Narrative Structure ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
English Dominant

This study presents and analyzes the comprehension of relative clauses in child and adult speakers of Russian, comparing monolingual controls with Russian heritage speakers (HSs) who are English-dominant. Monolingual and bilingual children demonstrate full adultlike mastery of relative clauses. Adult HSs, however, are significantly different from the monolingual adult controls and from the child HS group. This divergent performance indicates that the adult heritage grammar is not a product of the fossilization of child language. Instead, it suggests that forms existing in the baseline undergo gradual attrition over the life span of a HS. This result is consistent with observations on narrative structure in child and adult HSs (Polinsky, 2008b). Evidence from word order facts suggests that relative clause reanalysis in adult HSs cannot be attributed to transfer from English.

scholarly journals Input effects across domains: The case of Greek subjects in child heritage language

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 421-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evangelia Daskalaki ◽  
Vasiliki Chondrogianni ◽  
Elma Blom ◽  
Froso Argyri ◽  
Johanne Paradis
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
North America ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Syntactic Structures ◽  
Heritage Language Acquisition ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
Interface Hypothesis

A recurring question in the literature of heritage language acquisition, and more generally of bilingual acquisition, is whether all linguistic domains are sensitive to input reduction and to cross-linguistic influence and to what extent. According to the Interface Hypothesis, morphosyntactic phenomena regulated by discourse–pragmatic conditions are more likely to lead to non-native outcomes than strictly syntactic aspects of the language (Sorace, 2011). To test this hypothesis, we examined subject realization and placement in Greek–English bilingual children learning Greek as a heritage language in North America and investigated whether the amount of heritage language use can predict their performance in syntax–discourse and narrow syntactic contexts. Results indicated two deviations from the Interface Hypothesis: First, subject realization (a syntax–discourse phenomenon) was found to be largely unproblematic. Second, subject placement was affected not only in syntax–discourse structures but also in narrow syntactic structures, though to a lesser degree, suggesting that the association between the interface status of subject placement and its sensitivity to heritage language use among children heritage speakers is gradient rather than categorical.

scholarly journals Italian-German bilinguals: The effects of heritage language use on accent in early-acquired languages

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anika Lloyd-Smith ◽  
Marieke Einfeldt ◽  
Tanja Kupisch
Keyword(s):  
Heritage Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Age Of Onset ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Degree Of Certainty ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Almost All

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions:This study investigates perceived accent in the two early-acquired languages of 21 adult-aged bilinguals with Italian as the heritage language (HL) and German as the majority language (ML). We test the relative ability of ‘age of onset (AoO) in German’ (range = 0–6 years) and ‘Italian use’ to predict perceived nativeness in Italian and German.Design/methodology/approach:Two accent rating experiments were carried out (one in each language) comparing the bilingual speech samples to those of monolingual and second language (L2) control groups. The samples were rated by German and Italian-speaking judges for foreign accent (‘yes’ or ‘no’) and for degree of certainty (‘certain, ‘semi-certain’, ‘uncertain’).Data and analysis:The effects of ‘AoO in German’ and ‘Italian Use’ (operationalized as an Italian Use Score) were analysed using correlational analyses and logistic regression.Findings/conclusions:Our results show that almost all bilinguals were indistinguishable from monolingual controls in German, and that their perceived accent in Italian lay somewhere between that of the monolingual and L2 controls. Based on regression analyses, we conclude that a later introduction of the ML has neither a negative effect on the ML itself, nor does it show up advantages in the HL. Instead, how native-like the heritage speakers (HSs) sound in the HL largely depends on HL use. No negative effects of HL use are found for German.Originality:We test a new population of Italian HSs in South Germany and compare these results to findings from other HS populations in Germany.Significance/implications:This study shows that, although it may be the case for child-aged bilinguals that introducing the ML earlier causes more phonological pressure on the HL, this effect seems to have disappeared by adulthood – at least with regards to perceived global accent. Also, accent in the HL depends on HL use across the lifespan.

A Preliminary Study Examining Parent Perceptions and Practices in Heritage Language Transmission in Texas

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 1540-1551
Author(s):  
Casey L. Taliancich-Klinger ◽  
Kendra Gonzalez
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Parent Perceptions ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Home Language ◽  
Language Transfer ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Language Transmission

Purpose The purpose of this project was to explore characteristics impacting the transmission of a heritage language from a parent to a child from the parent's perspective to better understand challenges that families may face when trying to pass on a heritage language to their children. Method In this pilot study, 14 interviews were conducted with individuals who reported they were currently raising or had raised at least 1 child to be able to speak about language transfer practices and beliefs. Participants were interviewed regarding their own language use and proficiency. Participants were asked questions pertaining to their attitudes and their children's attitudes toward their home language. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed for emergent themes related to language transmission and challenges to passing down the heritage language to their child. Results Common themes that emerged related to parents passing down their heritage language included the community the families resided in and the parent's proficiency level. Conclusion It is important for educators and clinicians to understand how a parent's decision to pass down their language may be impacted by how much community support they experience and how proficient parents are in their heritage language. Implications of these results for educators and caretakers are discussed.

Voices from the Margin: Developing a Profile of Chinese Heritage Language Learners in the FL Classroom

2006 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-46
Author(s):  
Heather Weger-Guntharp
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Home Environment ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Home Language ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Classroom Activities ◽  
Chinese Heritage Language

While defining a heritage language (HL) learner is problematic, it is critical for how HL issues are framed. Underrepresented in the discussion are those learners who identify the HL as key to their development of self identity while having limited exposure to the HL in the home environment. This study investigates such students in the context of first semester Chinese classes at a U.S. university and draws on theories of motivation, HL learning, and social identity. Results suggest that a learner’s heritage is an important factor in that it affects the construction of a language learner’s identity and the coconstruction of motivation, and influences attitudes towards classroom activities. The study found that the complexity of individual backgrounds problematizes the identification of HL learners based on their home-language use or place of birth. Finally, the data reveal a HL learner classroom profile consisting of at least three interwoven components (self, teacher, and peer).

Voices from the Margin: Developing a Profile of Chinese Heritage Language Learners in the FL Classroom

2006 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-46
Author(s):  
Heather Weger-Guntharp
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Home Environment ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Home Language ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Classroom Activities ◽  
Chinese Heritage Language

While defining a heritage language (HL) learner is problematic, it is critical for how HL issues are framed. Underrepresented in the discussion are those learners who identify the HL as key to their development of self identity while having limited exposure to the HL in the home environment. This study investigates such students in the context of first semester Chinese classes at a U.S. university and draws on theories of motivation, HL learning, and social identity. Results suggest that a learner’s heritage is an important factor in that it affects the construction of a language learner’s identity and the coconstruction of motivation, and influences attitudes towards classroom activities. The study found that the complexity of individual backgrounds problematizes the identification of HL learners based on their home-language use or place of birth. Finally, the data reveal a HL learner classroom profile consisting of at least three interwoven components (self, teacher, and peer).

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