Bilingual language exposure and the peer group: Acquiring phonetics and phonology in Gaelic Medium Education

Abstract

Aims and objectives: This paper aims to examine the acquisition of phonetics and phonology in the context of Scottish Gaelic immersion schooling. I explore the effect of differing home language backgrounds among primary school children on the production of laterals and stop consonants. Design/methodology/approach: Acoustic analysis was performed on Gaelic and English speech data collected from children in Gaelic Medium Education in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Data and analysis: Word list data were collected from 18 children aged 7–11 and analyzed using measurements of formants and duration of stop phases. Half of the sample had little or no exposure to Gaelic in the home, while the other half had differing degrees of family input. Statistical analysis was conducted using Conditional Inference Trees. Findings and conclusions: This study finds that any initial differences between children who enter Gaelic Medium Education as fluent speakers and those who do not are leveled out by late primary school, at least in terms of pronunciation. I suggest that leveled varieties of minority languages can develop in pre-adolescence in peer group settings such as minority language education. Originality: This study is the first to examine phonetic and phonological acquisition in Gaelic-English bilingual children. It is one of a small number of studies to examine bilingual phonological acquisition in immersion schooling. The study supports recent research exploring the development of peer group varieties among young minority language speakers. Significance and implications: This research aims to expand traditional models that consider the extent of exposure to two languages as key in predicting phonetic and phonological production. I suggest that the impact of the peer group and the context of language use are also significant factors. Results suggest potential development of education varieties of Gaelic. These findings have implications for future revitalization strategies for minority languages across the world.

Can you tell by their English if they can speak Welsh? Accent perception in a language contact situation

“…Thus, our previous work on speech productions by 16- to 18-year-old students from a secondary school in West Wales with an English-medium and a Welsh-medium pathway showed no differences in the vowel realisations (Mayr et al, 2017) and lexical stress patterns (Mennen et al, under review) of monolinguals and bilinguals. We argued that the effects of linguistic experience may have been overridden by membership in a homogeneous peer group with shared values (see Nance, 2019, for similar results from children attending a Gaelic-medium primary school). In contrast, Morris (2013) found differences in the realisation of /r/ across peer groups from North Wales who differed in their home language use and the values that defined them.…”

Scottish Gaelic

“…Some younger speakers do not produce the three-way lateral contrast (Nance 2014, Nance 2019 The production of eclipsis in two speaking styles of Irish. Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 47, 125-153.…”

Acquiring allophonic structure and phonetic detail in a bilingual community: The production of laterals by Sylheti-English bilingual children

“…Sequential bilinguals, who are typically defined as acquiring the second language after the age of 3 (McLaughlin, 1978), are less likely to acquire monolingual-like productions than simultaneous bilinguals in the majority language. However, Kim, Park & Lust (2018) show that the sequential/simultaneous distinction does not always neatly map onto age and, to this end, the use of more monolingual-like productions is also likely to depend on other factors, such as the amount of exposure in each language, as well as the ambient language environment (Darcy & Krüger, 2012;Khattab, 2000;McCarthy, Mahon, Rosen & Evans, 2014;Nance, 2019).…”