Knowledge of Forms of Address in Polish Heritage Speakers

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-144
Author(s):  
Izolda Wolski-Moskoff
Keyword(s):  
Heritage Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Verbal Morphology ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Limited Knowledge ◽  
The Social ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Third Person

Limited knowledge of formal registers has been deemed one of the common characteristics of heritage speakers (Polinsky & Kagan, 2007). Because their exposure to the heritage language is generally limited to contact with immediate family, the language of heritage speakers may lack the elements normally acquired in formal settings. Polish formal forms of address, i.e., addressing all strangers and non-relative adults as pan “mister” or pani “madam,” as well as all the grammatical rules governing their use, such as third-person verbal morphology and the vocative case, are examples of such elements. The present study investigated receptive knowledge of formal forms of address in Polish heritage speakers in the United States. In this study, nine heritage speakers, four L2 learners, and six native speakers of Polish judged the acceptability of utterances addressed to various persons in various formal situations. The results indicate that heritage speakers exhibit limited knowledge of formal forms of address, both in terms of the grammar involved and the social contexts that call for them – with the latter divergence, in particular, potentially attributable to transfer from English. The responses of heritage speakers differ significantly not only from those of native speakers, but also of L2 learners of Polish, who outperformed heritage speakers in this task. Since the use of formal forms of address and the vocative case in contemporary Polish is limited to formal settings, the limited knowledge of these forms in heritage speakers may result from the insufficient input they receive.

Morphosyntactic Transfer from a Spoken Heritage Dialect to the Standard Variety

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-233
Author(s):  
Reem Faraj
Keyword(s):  
Heritage Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Standard Arabic ◽  
The Third ◽  
Third Person ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Third Person ◽  
Modern Standard

This study examines cases of morphosyntactic transfer from Syrian Arabic to Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) in the production of heritage speakers who are not only bilingual (L1 Syrian Arabic, L2 English), but also diglossic; Syrian Arabic is their heritage language (HL), and MSA is the form they learned in school. Two control groups, native speakers of Syrian Arabic and learners of MSA, were also included. The proposal presented here is that adolescent heritage speakers of Syrian Arabic have a more developed Syrian Arabic grammar, which results in- transfer to MSA, and that degree and duration of input-output and exposure to both varieties impact the type and number of non-target forms in the production of the studied heritage group. The goal is to find the extent of such transfer, how it is manifested, and whether it is also related to sentence and subject type or other factors. The focus of this study is verbs in SV and VS sentences in MSA, where the subject is a nominal DP and the verb is in the third person. The agreement patterns in VS and SV sentences are asymmetrical in MSA but they are not in Syrian Arabic. The SV order in MSA reflects different agreement patterns with both genders and all three numbers, whereas in Syrian Arabic there is one default non-singular verb form. In this paper I provide a formal account of the differences among the agreement patterns in MSA and Syrian Arabic within the Minimalist framework. Using this approach, a morphosyntactic transfer of agreement features from Syrian Arabic to MSA is argued to be a transfer of T0 features. The results demonstrate that errors in the MSA verb produced by the heritage speakers differ from those of MSA learners and that more than half of the heritage speakers’ errors are compatible with morphosyntactic agreement forms in Syrian Arabic. These findings provide evidence for transfer from Syrian Arabic to MSA. It is possible that when three linguistic systems are competing (L1, L2, and L3) and where L1 is the most dominant, L2 is less developed than L1 but more developed than L3, and L2 and L3 are typologically close, transfer takes place from L2 to L3. More research to address this question is needed. The study contributes to the understanding of agreement in heritage speakers’ production and the phenomenon of transfer in bilingual and diglossic situations.

scholarly journals Deconstructing the Native Speaker: Further Evidence From Heritage Speakers for Why This Horse Should Be Dead!

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wintai Tsehaye ◽  
Tatiana Pashkova ◽  
Rosemarie Tracy ◽  
Shanley E. M. Allen
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
The United States ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Subordinate Clauses ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
The Difference

The category “native speaker” is flawed because it fails to consider the diversity between the speaker groups falling under its scope, as highlighted in previous literature. This paper provides further evidence by focusing on the similarities and differences between heritage speakers (HSs) and monolingually-raised speakers (MSs) of their heritage and majority languages. HSs are bilinguals who acquire a family (heritage) language and a societal (majority) language in early childhood. Naturalistic exposure from early childhood qualifies them as native speakers of their heritage language. Some HSs are simultaneous bilinguals, which makes them native speakers of their majority language as well. Others are early second language acquirers who may be indistinguishable from simultaneous bilinguals. Previous research shows that the heritage language productions of German HSs in the United States do not completely overlap with those of German MSs, who are, by default, native speakers. In overall clause type selection (independent main, coordinate main, and subordinate), the HSs differ from German MSs in German but are similar to English MSs in English. The present study examines the distribution of finite subordinate clauses and their types (relative, complement, and adverbial) across registers in 27 adolescent HSs of German in the United States, compared to 32 adolescent MSs of German and 32 MSs of English. All participants described a short video in two settings (formal/informal) and two modes (spoken/written). Results demonstrate that, even with respect to a specific phenomenon (subordinate clauses), HSs show similarities and differences to MSs of both languages. Concerning the distribution of subordinate clause types, HSs behave similarly to both English and German MSs. Concerning subordinate clauses in general, HSs use them less frequently than MSs in German. In English, the difference is more nuanced: HSs differentiate between settings in both modes, while MSs do so only in the written mode. This indicates that the category “native speaker” is not a meaningful descriptor since it covers speakers with varying production patterns. We propose that studies including native speakers should assure transparency and replicability of research by specifying and taking into account speaker characteristics such as bilingualism, proficiency, exposure and dominance.

Toward an Understanding of Heritage Prosody

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Chang ◽  
Yao Yao
Keyword(s):  
Heritage Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Late Onset ◽  
Pitch Contour ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Acoustic Data ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Mandarin Tones ◽  
Demographic Background

In previous work examining heritage language phonology, heritage speakers have often patterned differently from native speakers and late-onset second language (L2) learners with respect to overall accent and segmentals. The current study extended this line of inquiry to suprasegmentals, comparing the properties of lexical tones produced by heritage, native, and L2 speakers of Mandarin living in the U.S. We hypothesized that heritage speakers would approximate native norms for Mandarin tones more closely than L2 speakers, yet diverge from these norms in one or more ways. We further hypothesized that, due to their unique linguistic experience, heritage speakers would sound the most ambiguous in terms of demographic background. Acoustic data showed that heritage speakers approximated native-like production more closely than L2 speakers with respect to the pitch contour of Tone 3, durational shortening in connected speech, and rates of Tone 3 reduction in non-phrase-final contexts, while showing the highest levels of tonal variability among all groups. Perceptual data indicated that heritage speakers’ tones differed from native and L2 speakers’ in terms of both intelligibility and perceived goodness. Consistent with the variability results, heritage speakers were the most difficult group to classify demographically. Taken together, these findings suggest that, with respect to tone, early heritage language experience can, but does not necessarily, result in a phonological advantage over L2 learners. Further, they add support to the view that heritage speakers are language users distinct from both native and L2 speakers.

Assessing Differences and Similarities between Instructed Heritage Language Learners and L2 Learners in Their Knowledge of Spanish Tense-Aspect and Mood (TAM) Morphology

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvina Montrul ◽  
Silvia Perpiñán
Keyword(s):  
Heritage Language ◽  
Language Instruction ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Tense And Aspect ◽  
Classic Problem ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Advanced Proficiency ◽  
L1 Acquisition

The acquisition of the aspectual difference between the preterit and imperfect in the past tense and the acquisition of the contrast between subjunctive and indicative mood are classic problem areas in second language (L2) acquisition of Spanish by English-speaking learners (Collentine, 1995, 1998, 2003; Salaberry, 1999; Slabakova & Montrul, 2002; Terrell, Baycroft & Perrone, 1987). Similarly, Spanish heritage speakers in the U.S exhibit simplification of the preterit/imperfect contrast and incomplete acquisition/attrition of subjunctive morphology (Merino, 1983; Montrul, 2002, 2007; Potowski, Jegerski & Morgan-Short, 2009; Silva-Corvalán, 1994). This raises the question of whether the linguistic knowledge of a developing L2 learner is similar to incomplete L1 acquisition in heritage language (HL) learners. Because heritage speakers are exposed to the heritage language from infancy whereas L2 learners begin exposure much later, Au et al. (2002, 2008) have claimed that heritage speakers are linguistically superior to L2 learners only in phonology but not in morphosyntax. The present study reexamines this claim by focusing on the interpretation of tense, aspect and mood (TAM) morphology in 60 instructed HL learners and 60 L2 learners ranging from low to advanced proficiency in Spanish. Results of four written tasks showed differences between the groups both in tense and aspect and in mood morphology, depending on proficiency levels. Implications of these findings for heritage language instruction are discussed.

scholarly journals Organizational Practices and Workplace Relationships in Precarious Work: New Survey Evidence

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hana Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Organizational Practices ◽  
Workplace Relationships ◽  
Relationship Formation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Regular Contact ◽  
Retail Workers

Organizational practices are important dimensions of the social contexts that shape relationship formation. In workplaces, the formation of relationships among coworkers are resources for personal outcomes, and they can be channels through which workers might identify common grievances, form workplace solidarity, and engage in collective action. Using a unique dataset of retail workers across the United States, The Shift Project, this paper examines two potential pathways by which organizational practices common in precarious jobs in the retail industry in the U.S. might shape the formation of workplace relationships. I find evidence of the role of both pathways: practices that limit the opportunities for regular contact and practices that negatively impact the conditions of contact among employees are both associated with fewer workplace ties. I discuss the implications of these findings for the study of collective action, and network ecology.

scholarly journals A Critical Review of the Social and Behavioral Contributions to the Overdose Epidemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Cerdá ◽  
Noa Krawczyk ◽  
Leah Hamilton ◽  
Kara E. Rudolph ◽  
Samuel R. Friedman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Prescription Opioid ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Opioid Overdose ◽  
The Social ◽  
Critical Public Health

More than 750,000 people in the United States died from an overdose between 1999 and 2018; two-thirds of those deaths involved an opioid. In this review, we present trends in opioid overdose rates during this period and discuss how the proliferation of opioid prescribing to treat chronic pain, changes in the heroin and illegally manufactured opioid synthetics markets, and social factors, including deindustrialization and concentrated poverty, contributed to the rise of the overdose epidemic. We also examine how current policies implemented to address the overdose epidemic may have contributed to reducing prescription opioid overdoses but increased overdoses involving illegal opioids. Finally, we identify new directions for research to understand the causes and solutions to this critical public health problem, including research on heterogeneous policy effects across social groups, effective approaches to reduce overdoses of illegal opioids, and the role of social contexts in shaping policy implementation and impact. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Public Health, Volume 42 is April 1, 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

scholarly journals Eye-movement benchmarks in Heritage Language reading

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-82
Author(s):  
Olga Parshina ◽  
Anna K. Laurinavichyute ◽  
Irina A. Sekerina
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Adult Readers ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Frequency Effects ◽  
Fixation Durations ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Reading Patterns ◽  
Eye Movements During Reading

AbstractThis eye-tracking study establishes basic benchmarks of eye movements during reading in heritage language (HL) by Russian-speaking adults and adolescents of high (n = 21) and low proficiency (n = 27). Heritage speakers (HSs) read sentences in Cyrillic, and their eye movements were compared to those of Russian monolingual skilled adult readers, 8-year-old children and L2 learners. Reading patterns of HSs revealed longer mean fixation durations, lower skipping probabilities, and higher regressive saccade rates than in monolingual adults. High-proficient HSs were more similar to monolingual children, while low-proficient HSs performed on par with L2 learners. Low-proficient HSs differed from high-proficient HSs in exhibiting lower skipping probabilities, higher fixation counts, and larger frequency effects. Taken together, our findings are consistent with the weaker links account of bilingual language processing as well as the divergent attainment theory of HL.

Sexual Identity

Sociology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare Forstie
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Identity ◽  
Queer Theory ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Sexual Identities ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
The Social ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

Sexual identity research within sociology has largely examined the social contexts of sexuality as a central part of how we think about ourselves. While much of this research focuses on the experiences of marginalized people (gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, and other identities), critical attention has also been paid to the social construction of heterosexual or straight identities. Theoretical perspectives from fields like queer theory and psychology have informed this thinking, and activism and research specifically from queer theory has significantly influenced how researchers understand sexual identities. Intersections with other identities are also critical to understanding sexual identities, and much forward-thinking work on sexual identities examines gender, race, class, and ability simultaneously. This bibliography outlines research on sexual identity, beginning with key sources like Journals, Edited Volumes, and Online and Popular Sources. The Theoretical Foundations section includes classic works, best for those seeking an introduction to the field. The Studying Identity: Research Methods section addresses how sexual identities might be best studied, as well as ongoing methodological challenges. Also included are sections discussing how sexual identities have been defined, including histories of sexual identities, intersections with other identities and changing identity categories, research on sexual identity and the self, research that examines the relationship between sexual identity and behavior, and works discussing how sexual identities are understood in relationships and religion. Sections addressing collective sexual identities and identities in spaces examine how identities are used in social movements and how sexual identities shape and are shaped by communities. Finally, a section focused on the political economy of sexual identities addresses the relationships between sexualities, nations, economies, and policy. While the bulk of this bibliography focuses on sexual identities within the United States, sources examining sexual identities in a variety of national and transnational contexts are included in a number of sections.

Acquisition of Spanish verbal morphology by child bilinguals: Overregularization by heritage speakers and second language learners

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Fernández-Dobao ◽  
Julia Herschensohn
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Dual Immersion ◽  
Inflectional Morphology ◽  
Verbal Morphology ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Old Spanish ◽  
Present Tense

AbstractThe current study analyzes Spanish present tense morphology with a focus on overregularization. It examines written production from two groups of English/Spanish bilingual children in a dual immersion setting, Spanish heritage language (SHL) speakers (n = 21) and Spanish second language (SL2) learners (n = 41), comparing them to age-matched (nine to ten years old) Spanish majority language children (n = 15). Spanish majority children show full mastery of present tense regular, stem-changing and irregular morphology. SHL children seem to have acquired mastery of regular inflectional morphology, but not of stem-changing morphology. SL2 children are significantly less accurate than both majority Spanish and SHL children in terms of both regular and irregular morphology. Evidence of overregularization, but not of irregularization, is provided for both SHL and SL2 children. The analysis of overregularization errors supports a variational approach (Yang, 2016) to acquisition, storage and access of morphology.

scholarly journals Between syntax and discourse

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 396-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oksana Laleko ◽  
Maria Polinsky
Keyword(s):  
Information Structure ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Structural Complexity ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Structure Level ◽  
Different Types ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
The Status ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract This article examines the knowledge of topic and subject particles in heritage speakers and L2 learners of Japanese and Korean. We assume that topic marking is mediated at the syntax-information structure interface, while subject marking pertains to narrow syntax. In comparing phenomena mediated at different levels of linguistic organization, we provide evidence for the hypothesis that information structure-level phenomena present greater challenges for bilingual speakers than those mediated within syntax. While these results may be interpreted as evidence of generalized interface-related deficits, we show that such a global explanation is not supported. Instead, a more nuanced account is developed, based on the recognition of different types of topic (anaphoric, generic, and contrastive) and different types of subject (descriptive and exhaustive). Under the proposed account, non-native speakers’ deficits follow from three unrelated effects: the status of topic as an interface category, structural complexity, and the memory demands necessary for its interpretation in context.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document